Stories from Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Summer time, and the living should be easy – compared to last summer, anything should be a breeze. More boats and jet skis on the lake, more folks out, and about, so with that, music is always a great option. Here are some selections for your streaming playlists, vinyl pursuits, or CD’s...

Storm Lake United’s Lighthouse Summer Concert Series returns with a free show June 26 at Sunset Park, featuring La Exclusive Banda Trankzitos, a South Sioux City, Nebraska group with many young performers. The group has been performing around the midwest for seven years. The band has shared the stage with groups such as Recoditos, Huracanes del Norte, Banda el Limón, among others. The concert will run from 7-11 p.m...

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) will host a free virtual Alzheimer’s educational conference for Iowa residents on Wednesday, June 30, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. as part of its 2021 national Educating America Tour. The conference, which is free and open to everyone, will allow participants to learn from, and ask questions of, health, caregiving and legal experts. To register, go to www.alzfdn.org/tour...

The corona virus’ grip on Iowa loosened across the board the past two weeks, but the state’s vaccinations continue to slow. The number of new daily cases averaged 96 in the past week, down 49% in two weeks, the New York Times reported. Deaths were down 41% and hospitalizations fell 9%. The number of tests fell 32%...

Four of Buena Vista Regional Medical Center’s OB nurses are expecting five babies within the next few months and they recently had a baby shower to celebrate together. Babies are their business after all!

Storm Lake Police located a wanted subject in a vehicle in the 1300 Block of East Lakeshore Drive in Storm Lake Thursday morning, identified as Nicholas Thomas, age 30, of Storm Lake. Thomas was wanted on a Buena Vista County warrant charging him with Theft 5th Degree. A Storm Lake police dog showed a positive alert for narcotics in the vehicle, and officers located a quantity of methamphetamine, marijuana wax, and numerous items of drug paraphernalia.  ...

A lack of housing continues to hold Storm Lake efforts back. School district officials noted at a recent meeting that they are still trying to fill many positions for next school year. “A lot of folks are saying they can’t take a position because they can’t find a place to live,” Superintendent Stacey Cole told the board of education recently. Noting that many businesses and services are having the same problem, “it is pouring over into our world too,” she said...

Naturalist Lunch Box is back for summer 2021. Naturalist Lunch Box is held at noon on selected Fridays in the summer at South Cove Park. Pack a lunch and join the fun. Naturalist Lunch Box is designed for all ages. The naturalist will present a short program on a selected topic and have hands on activities for younger audience members...

Storm Lake Rotary Club delivered peanut butter supplies to Upper Des Moines opportunity charity recently. They spend a Saturday morning in front of Hy-Vee and Fareway collecting jars of PB or any canned/dry goods people wanted to donate. They also used their weekly “fine money” as well as members bought cases of peanut butter. ...

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said he is asking Senate colleagues to sign a letter asking the Biden administration to appeal a judge’s ruling banning higher line speeds at meatpacking plants. “So far, no Democrats have joined me in that effort,” Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters on a phone interview. “And that’s very disappointing, because it’s going to affect profitability, it’s going to affect cost to consumers and stuff like that. I think it’s a pretty serious situation.”...

A 2004 Spencer High School graduate has made the transition from a career in crime scene investigation to becoming a publisher and author. Last year Jodi Monahan Adams launched her first crowdfunding campaign for her first children’s book, “The Train Rolls On,” and within 24 hours she had been fully funded. Now, less than 10 months later, the Omaha, Nebraska resident’s passion project has hit the stands...

The downtown area of Storm Lake has many interesting old buildings from the time of rapid growth following the arrival of trains in 1870, and the influx of many newcomers, both from parts of North America further east, and from several countries in Northern Europe. ...

Dr. Joel Berrien, Jr. grew up in a small Georgia town, a sanctioned home to a nearby Ku Klux Klan chapter that often marched, rallied, burned crosses, and harassed and threatened residents of color. His community was adjacent to two “sundown towns.”...

An Iowa school district acted unreasonably when it refused to let a teacher who had been the victim of domestic abuse return to work without first seeking counseling. The school district’s actions resulted in the teacher losing pay and employment, even though she posed no threat to anyone at the school, the judge found...

The Storm Lake schools hosted their first Community Lunch Day Friday, though weather forced a move from the football stadium to inside the high school. Kids took part in games in the gym, with music and face painting, as well as hamburger and hot dog meals for all who wished to take part. Part of the summer meals program, food was free for children and available at a small cost for adults. Two more Community Lunch events are planned, July 9 and August 6. / Pilot photo by Dana Larsen...

Nothing says summer like playing ball and eating hot dogs, muses Scott Kilbride, Newell-Fonda activities bus driver and perhaps the ultimate connoisseur of the all-American treat. “Hot dogs are simply the summertime food - simple and fast. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like a good hot dog fresh off the grill,” he says with the reverence of a poet describing a sunset...

As soon as the last cotton candy is scraped from the last child’s face and the last horse trailer pulls away, preparation begins for the next Buena Vista County Fair. “The planning begins almost as soon as the fair is over - in fact, a lot of entertainment has to be booked a year in advance. Then there is a fair convention in December where you can shop for new attractions,” says Dana Christen of the Buena Vista County Fair Board...