Stories from Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Witter Gallery has organized a virtual event with the Smithsonian American Art Museum on Saturday, March 6 at 2 p.m.. Former Buena Vista University professor Bob Ferguson will lead a Zoom tour of the art museum for Witter Gallery members. The tour will review some of the major styles and movements in American art, ranging from Colonial portraiture through the Hudson River School, the Civil War and its aftermath, the Gilded Age, abstraction, and contemporary conceptual art...

The deadline for artists to apply to a part of the 17th annual Artisans Road Trip (A.R.T.) is Monday, March 1st, and it’s coming up fast! Artists who work in all mediums and disciplines are invited to apply – painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed media, jewelry, fabric, wood, photography, pottery, and more!...

So what happens when two PTSD victims converge in a lonely cabin during a Colorado blizzard? That’s the setup for Halfway to Someday, a psychologically engaging novel by Osage, Iowa, author Layla Dorine. Rocker Jesse Winters, who suffers from the aftereffects of a past relationship from a man who still stalks him, meets up with Ryker, a former Army Ranger who is trying to overcome survivor guilt and his own wounds and trauma brought on by eight tours in Afghanistan...

The Iowa State Fair Grandstand is bringing back the soulful harmonies of the 90’s with Boyz II Men and special guest Bell Biv DeVoe on August 15, 2021. Although the groups have a list of awards and accolades from the past two decades, Boyz II Men with special guest Bell Biv DeVoe have never been on the Iowa State Fair Grandstand...

Native northwest Iowan singer-songwriter Chad Elliott blends folk roots, swampy blues and soulful writing to deliver an original Americana sound. Chad Elliot and Friends will perform at Byron’s in Pomeroy, Sunday March 21. A four-hour show is planned, starting at 5 p.m...

Most of this week has been dedicated to committee work. If a bill has passed through subcommittee and a standing committee, 95% of the due diligence has been done. When it is brought to the House floor, passage is pretty well assured. Floor debate just allows for opponents or proponents to pontificate to a wider audience. What follows in this letter, are some of the things that are coming out of various committees that may be of interest to the district...

House and Senate committees passed a 36-page election bill Thursday that would shorten the window for absentee and early voting and would introduce harsher penalties for election officials who do not follow state guidelines. Lawmakers introduced the identical bills, House File 590 and Senate File 413, just two days before...

Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake) Most ice is reported to be around 15 inches. Ice is covered with snow and drifts. There are thinner areas from a pressure seam extending from Casino Point to the northeast. Ice near the big island and near Chautauqua Point may by thinner and unsafe. ...

Every parish in the Diocese of Sioux City will be promoting the Sacrament of Reconciliation with the March 2 “The Light is On for You” initiative. Father Andrew Galles, director of the diocesan Office of Worship explained the goal of this event is two-fold – to strongly encourage the faithful to take advantage of the sacrament and to increase the availability of confessions...

A familiar face with the Spencer music scene both as an educator and performer, Jack Ryan, passed away Wednesday at the age of 82 in Des Moines after succumbing to his battle with melanoma. Ryan who was regularly seen performing in a variety of music and art house venues throughout northwest Iowa was a longtime Spencer High School band instructor who continued to teach until recent years as health challenges began to take their toll...

Viola B. Ehlers, age 98, of Storm Lake, died on Sunday, February 14, at the Pleasant View Nursing Home in Albert City. Funeral services were held on Friday, February 19, at 11 a.m. at the Grace Lutheran Church in Storm Lake. To watch the stream of the service, follow the link- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87547924985?pwd=RUxJb1pFZW5ZaDJyWUFuZ0h3VkRXQT09 and enter in the password: funeral. ...

In 2018 George Whitehouse wrote an article for this newspaper about the longest surviving early Storm Lake Industry, beginning life as the Storm Lake Tank and Butter Tub Industry. It started in 1895, and was still in operation as late as 1980, manufacturing redwood water tanks and silos. ...

While almost every American can’t wait to get the vaccine and resign the coronavirus to the pages of future history books, it’s likely that many of us are also eager to part with certain pandemic-related words and phrases – hopefully never to be uttered again. ...

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), is providing an additional incentive for frontline workers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The company, which already offers free, on-site COVID-19 vaccinations at its U.S. plants, consistent with prioritization regulations and as vaccine supplies become available, has announced it will also compensate workers for up to four hours of regular pay if they are vaccinated outside of their normal shift or through an external source. ...

If you were to ask a bunch of random Americans what they consider to be the fiercest state rivalries, one may point to college football, such as the annual Michigan vs Ohio game. Another person might claim the biggest rivalries exist between each state’s local gastronomy scene. ...

Progress on plans for safety improvements to the intersection area of West Milwaukee/Highway 7 and 90th Avenue/Abner Bell Road are frustrating slow, Storm Lake school officials say. Schools and city officials have long been pushing for the project. The busy intersection, site of several accidents in recent years, will see even more traffic when the Early Elementary School opens just north of the intersection. ...

Members of the Storm Lake City Council are taking heat for terminating negotiations with potential operators for the Storm Lake Marina. The council member who made the termination motion said that he felt the decision was in the long-term best interests of Storm Lakers...

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the need for more aid to small- and medium-sized meat processors and added work to connect farmers with customers online and at farmers’ markets, Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said Friday. Naig told the Iowa Farmers Union he called a meat locker to get a steer processed, and the appointment is in November. ...

Folks around Buena Vista University felt as if life was inching its way back to normal in recent weeks as Siebens Fieldhouse hosted winter sports activities, beginning with a women’s basketball game on Jan. 23. Along with the game, came the familiar sounds of Blue Steel, the only pep band gracing the sidelines of the American Rivers Conference...

COVID-19 cases in Buena Vista County continue a steady nosedive. Eighteen new cases were reported during last week. Earlier in the winter, the county at times saw 30 or more new cases in a day. The highest percentage of the new BV cases reported were to people in the age 70-79 age group last week, with children under age 17 second at 25 percent of the new cases. Sixty percent of the new cases were to females...