Stories from Monday, October 11, 2021

No notable photograph exists of President Abraham Lincoln giving his famous Gettysburg Address — it’s said the speech was so brief that the photographer hadn’t finished setting up his camera before its conclusion. But a number of folks lined up to have their photos taken with “Mr. Lincoln” following his recital of the well-known speech last week at the Milford Community Center...

The Rocky Horror Picture Show - with audience participation - will be a Halloween season special event at Holstein State Theatre, Saturday October 30, 7 p.m. Wear your Halloween best and join in the 5th Anniversary celebration of reopening the historic theatre. Props for participation will be provided with the first 50 tickets sold...

Live music by Paper Moon - Rebecca Carlson on vocals, Mike Monnahan on guitar and Tim Schumacher on bass - will be on tap at The Beach Club in The Inn Hotel, Arnolds Park. The show will be Thursday, October 28, 6-8 p.m. Paper Moon will also be featured at InnSpiration Winery in Linn Grove, Friday, Nov, 19, 6:30 p.m...

Boji Scare: A Haunting Experience is now open, offering fright nights at Arnolds Park Amusement Park through Halloween. Chilling thrills await in the Haunted Mirror Maze, the Tormented Tipsy House, the Haunted Chamber, and Terror on the Tracks. Come explore this new haunting experience in Arnolds Park...

Rural Americans died of COVID-19 in mid-September at rates twice as high as the rate of urban Americans, according to a study from the University of Iowa. The RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis has tracked COVID-19 rates in metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties since April 2020. In the second week of September, the Center found that rural areas in the U.S. had COVID a mortality rate of 0.85 people per 100,000. Metropolitan areas had a mortality rate of just 0.41 per 100,000...

On October 6, Dr. Garrett Feddersen, BVRMC Medical Director of Emergency Services, and Dr. Kyle Glienke, Chief of Medicine/Critical Services, were recognized as 2021 Iowa Hospital Association Hospital Heroes at the Iowa Hospital Association Annual Virtual Meeting. Both doctors have been key leaders of Buena Vista Regional Medical Center during the COVID-19 pandemic...

The Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Auxiliary Annual Meeting was held on September 29 at King’s Pointe Resort. The BVRMC Gift Shop presented the Auxiliary a check for $15,000 from the proceeds of the Gift Shop over the past year. The Auxiliary uses this contribution and money from membership dues, fundraisers and donations to buy needed equipment for the hospital. Patti McKenna, Gift Shop Buyer, along with Jean Bennett, Gift Shop Treasurer, presented the check...

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, along with other congressional Republicans, objected Thursday to Justice Department plan to investigate violent threats made against local school board members and teachers, arguing that the federal agency is “policing the speech of citizens and concerned parents.”...

Iowa schools can keep their mask mandates in place after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against a state law which prohibited schools from requiring face covers. Parents of children with disabilities sued the state in early September, arguing that the state’s prohibition on mask mandates was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. ...

Previous tales have been told of the various ways our lake has provided water attractions in the past for both townsfolk and visitors. Using mostly contemporaneous accounts in old newspapers online, this article attempts to uncover new information and create a timeline of developments in this area, involving pleasure boats, destinations along the lakeshore they sailed to and activities that greeted people there. ...

Marie Roberts, 83, passed away on October 4, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. She was born in Fresno, CA, on February 4, 1938, to Stuart and Gladys Stringham. Marie enjoyed genealogy, quilting, and loved playing cards with her grandkids and watching their football, baseball and track events. She was an avid Oakland Raiders and NASCAR fan...

A friend to many, a treasured brother, brother-in-law, uncle, and a beloved son. Terrence Arthur Stull, known as Ted (Teddy), age 35, passed away unexpectedly October 4, 2021 at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. He was born in Ames, January 20, 1986 to Terry Allen and Margaret Mary (Moeller) Stull...

Vera Hallengren, age 89, of Alta, died October 3, 2021 at Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake. Visitation was Friday, October 8, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Alta. Private Family Service will be at Trinity Lutheran Church in Alta, Iowa. Burial will be at Buena Vista Memorial Park in Storm Lake, Iowa. The family would appreciate masks be worn. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Alta, Iowa is in charge of arrangements...

When you’re busy juggling work, family, social life, health goals, and other obligations, balancing these competing areas of your life may seem exhausting or impossible. We’ve likely heard about work-life balance over this past year, but how many of us can say we have taken the opportunity to stop, breathe and evaluate our own work-life balance goals?...

There is nothing worse than frost in the forecast and a garden full of vegetables not quite ready for picking. Use some simple strategies to extend the growing season and keep enjoying garden-fresh vegetables. Fortunately, some vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts tolerate frost and even taste better after a slight chill. Most of these can tolerate temperatures as low as 24 to 28˚ F...

Kristal L. Phillips, Cherokee, has been appointed as a district associate court judge of the Third Judicial District by the district court judges of District 3. She fills the position created by the future retirement of Associate Juvenile Judge Mary L. Timko of Storm Lake...

Santa has a new lead elf, and she’s already brimming over with holiday panache. Melissa Pearson has been hired to direct Santa’s Castle in Storm Lake this season, as work continues to reopen the holiday showplace after a year lost to a pandemic. “Christmas is such a big deal for me, I want to bring that excitement to the whole community,” Melissa says. “Christmas shouldn’t be just something for children.”...

Less than two years after Facebook hired Frances Haugen to help correct dangerous distortions spilling across its platform, she had seen enough. The idealism she and countless others had invested in promises by the world’s biggest social network to fix itself had been woefully misplaced. The harm Facebook and sibling Instagram were doing to users was rivaled only by the company’s resistance to change, she concluded. And the world beyond Facebook needed to know...

The Storm Lake Community School District is hiring for more than 40 open positions throughout its schools. Among the available positions are 16 instructional specialists working with students with some of the greatest needs. The district seeks to hire seven instructional specialists at its East Childhood Center, four elementary school, four high school and one high school...

No injuries were reported in an early-morning fire Friday at Ag Partners grain elevator in Albert City. The fire broke out before dawn, and was brought under control by about 8:30 a.m. The blaze broke out on conveyor belts near the top of the elevator, making it hard for the local fire department to reach the flames. An aerial truck was brought in from Storm Lake to attack the problem area, as black plumes of smoke rose into the sky. Crews continued to work during the day to contain hot spots...

Buena Vista University celebrated the inauguration of President Brian Lenzmeier in a ceremony on Friday at Schaller Memorial Chapel. Lenzmeier was named BVU’s 19th President on Oct. 26, 2020. Public health safety protocols related to COVID-19 put the formal inauguration ceremony on hold until Friday, when an on-campus celebration unfolded beneath bright blue skies and temperatures topping 80 degrees...