Stories from Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ended limits on sports and recreational gatherings as of Friday on a day when the state recorded 59 additional deaths caused by the coronavirus. Reynolds announced Thursday night that she would end restrictions on the number of fans who can attend high school sporting events. Spectators still must wear masks and adhere to social distancing rules at indoor events...

John and Kathi Hinn of Spirit Lake are safe and sound after a fire consumed a portion of their home Friday morning. But, if their morning had been just a few minutes different, the day might have been marked by tragedy. “Had I gone to work when I was supposed to, John would have burned up,” Kathi Hinn said. “It was that fast.”...

An Iowa man was jailed early Saturday on charges accusing him of taking part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump. Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said officers assisted the FBI in arresting 41-year-old Doug Jensen on Friday night at his home on the south side of the city...

The Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Nursing Scholarship Committee will again be accepting scholarship applications until March 31 for the 2021-2022 academic year. The annual scholarship award is $1000. Since its inception in 2003, one-hundred fifty two scholarships have been awarded to area nursing students provided entirely by donations to the scholarship program...

After a year of toxic stress ignited by so much fear and uncertainty, now is a good time to reset, pay attention to your mental health and develop some healthy ways to manage the pressures going forward. Brain science has led to some drug-free techniques that you can put to use right now...

Hy-Vee, Inc. announces the launch of its new, virtual dietitian services platform, Healthie, as another way to connect with its customers during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Free services include virtual store tours, dietitian discovery sessions and monthly virtual classes led by a Hy-Vee registered dietitian to help customers start – or continue – their wellness journey. ...

The current Witter Art Gallery virtual exhibit Quar-Art-Tine features Storm Lake area artists, reflecting the works they have been able to tackle during the months of pandemic. Even gallery director Cindy Barahona Roth got into the act with this painting. See the Witter Gallery Facebook page for a video tour of the exhibit, and a continuing series on some of the participating artists. / Photo submitted...

Pete Docter’s “Soul” features stairway-to-heaven visions of the afterlife, a pre-birth “before” realm where souls are glowing turquoise orbs and an in-between spiritual realm trafficked by some kind of psychedelic pirate. And yet, kind of magically, it’s about “just regular old living.”...

Canadian folk musician Ben de la Cour will return to the stage at Byron’s in Pomeroy Sunday, February 7 for an unplugged concert. Showtime is 5 p.m. There are singer-songwriters, and there are troubadours. Singer-songwriters are sensitive, polished souls, sharing their journal entries with the world… whereas troubadours do their best just to stay out of jail. ...

District 4 Congressman Randy Feenstra issued a statement Friday opposing efforts to forcibly remove President Trump from office. “We are at a critical point in time in our nation’s history - a time where both parties need to come together for the good of the American people. Any effort by the House to impeach President Trump will only deepen divisions, and I will strongly oppose any attempt to remove the president from office before the end of his term...

After a busy December in Spencer Hospital’s Birth Center, January started very quietly – so quiet that the first baby of the New Year didn’t arrive until January 6th. As long as the wait seemed for the birth center staff, it really felt long for new mom Patty Schulz and her husband Dave. Patty’s labor started Tuesday morning yet baby Reba Jayne didn’t make her appearance until early Wednesday evening, after 36 long hours of labor for her mom...

Alliant Energy has presented 300 face shields for Alta-Aurelia High School, to help protect students and staff from virus concerns. Randy Brummer and Jeff Jensen of Alliant Energy delivered the shields recently. Students showed off some of the shields: Front: Jimmy Segovia, Armando Alarcon, Kiersten Ryherd. Back Row: Matthew Kueny, Jeff Jensen, Randy Brummer, Cade Ahneman. / AA schools photos...

Sometimes, the creative needs to push a community service project forward come from unexpected sources - opportunity presents itself, and people figure out what to do. For Will and Landon Voyles, they just wanted to get rid of some toys from their collection. ...

One element of the pandemic year that has been positive for schools is federal funding that has made school lunches free to all students until the end of the school year. The action is relieving schools of a burden in a time when many families are struggling. Storm Lake Superintendent of Schools Stacey Cole and other superintendents would like to see that program be permanent, so schools can concentrate on education...

Education advocates are calling on the Iowa Legislature to hold school districts that lost enrollment due to COVID-19 financially harmless. Iowa’s public schools experienced a 1.2% reduction in enrollment, totaling nearly 6,000 students in fall 2020 as families chose to send their kids to private school or keep them at home instead...

Education advocates are calling on the Iowa Legislature to hold school districts that lost enrollment due to COVID-19 financially harmless. Iowa’s public schools experienced a 1.2% reduction in enrollment, totaling nearly 6,000 students in fall 2020 as families chose to send their kids to private school or keep them at home instead...

A wanted Storm Lake man turned himself in to the county jail Friday after allegedly breaking into a home, choking a woman and threatening to kill her with a knife. Jesus Adrian Herrera Calcada, age 32 of Storm Lake, was held without bond. On January 3, police received a report of a burglary that had happened earlier in the day at a home in the 500 block of Lincoln Road...

Buena Vista County providers have nearly completed vaccination of the health care community, the first stage of the massive vaccine rollout to battle COVID-19, but expectations of availability to the general public have slowly been pushed backward...