News

The Miracle on Lake Avenue holiday celebration returns in Storm Lake, Thursday, December 2, offering many activities for families to enjoy. The lighted holiday parade is set to start at 6:15 p.m. on Lake Avenue. This year’s theme is “Cozy Up For Christmas.” The annual tree lighting ceremony will take place immediately following the Miracle on Lake Avenue Parade outside of Santa’s Castle. Santa Claus will be making appearances throughout downtown...

Nearly 700 spectators turned out on Sunday, Nov. 21, to enjoy the “Roots and Wings” scholarship tour bass-baritone Simon Estes brought to Schaller Memorial Chapel on the campus of Buena Vista University. Estes, one of the world’s best known opera talents, commanded the stage for portions of a two-hour show that also featured soloist Dr. ...

Former Alta-Aurelia and Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn schools superintendent Lynn Evans announced this week that he will run for a seat in the Iowa Senate. Evans hopes to represent District 3 which includes the counties of Cherokee, Buena Vista, O’Brien, Osceola, and parts of Clay county...

The annual Adopt-A-Family for Christmas program is off to a good start, with 64 families and individuals “adopted” within the first day, and 96 currently on the list. The Pilot-Tribune and Upper Des Moines Opportunity co-sponsor the program each year, matching generous individuals, families, businesses, clubs, classrooms and church groups with needy local families to provide the Christmas experience they might otherwise not have...

When asked directly if he would consider running against Chuck Grassley for the senate, controversial former western Iowa Congressman Steve King gave neither a definitive yes or no. In an appearance in Storm Lake Sunday, King said he is enjoying life outside of the political arena - saying that he is able to watch the sunrise and the sunset from the same place for the first time in 45 years. “It feels good,” he said...

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Master Gardener Program have announced the schedule for the 2021-22 Winter Webinar Series, beginning in December and continuing into March. The programs will focus on pollinators, landscaping, and propagation, and are free and open to the public. Interested individuals can choose to attend any and/or all webinars that interest them...

The annual Adopt-A-Family for Christmas program begins today. The Pilot-Tribune and Upper Des Moines Opportunity co-sponsor the program each year, matching generous individuals, families, businesses, clubs, classrooms and church groups with needy local families to provide the Christmas experience they might otherwise not have...

The Storm Lake Early Elementary School construction is racing the clock, with finishing touches on the building taking place. Plans are to move classrooms in on December 22, with school to begin on January 4. The $15 million building includes includes 14 kindergarten classrooms, with an option to add on wings for preschool and first grade if needed. ...

The Storm Lake City Council recently set a series of goals to pursue moving forward - starting with community recreation as the top goal, followed by economic development, public involvement, business retention and housing among top targets. A recent “Meet the Mayor” session followed up, inviting the public to add its input on Storm Lake’s direction...

While COVID-19 numbers are ballooning elsewhere, numbers remain relatively low in the local area. Eighteen new cases were reported last week in Buena Vista County, down 21 percent from the week before. As of the end of the week, the county had recorded 5,001 cases since the pandemic began, and 48 deaths. Ten of those fatalities have come within the last 90 days, according to the New York Times tracker data...

The Iowa Catholic Conference and the four Catholic Dioceses of Iowa recently launched a video campaign across Iowa to help encourage the use of the COVID-19 vaccine. Made possible in part by The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the Catholic Cares Coalition and by the Iowa Department of Public Health, the campaign features Iowans from across the state sharing their reasoning for supporting the vaccine...

Over three dozen landowners have asking the Iowa Utilities Board to require Summit Carbon Solutions to release names and locations of landowners impacted by the proposed carbon pipeline that would pass through the region. “Summit Carbon Solutions, owned by Bruce Rastetter, has requested that the landowner list remain private. They do not want the landowners to have the ability to communicate and organize against the pipeline,” the Sierra Club of Iowa environmental group said in a statement...

CauseBOOM!, a social-interest organization created by the Strategic Public Relations course at Buena Vista University, is conducting A Cause for [Thanks]giving viral event during Thanksgiving week. This online event highlights the release of eight informative videos created to informing the public of local nonprofit organizations serving Northwest Iowa communities. ...

The Iowa Board of Education is moving ahead with the implementation of a new state law that changes the way charter schools can form and operate. Thomas Mayes, general counsel for the Department of Education, said the first few charter school applications may be a “choose-your-own adventure” as the state adjusts to the new law...

Jordan Anderson burst through the line to corral the quarterback, recording a sack in a Buena Vista University football victory over Wartburg College on Oct. 30. Hours later, he corralled Hawkeye, his 700-pound calf at BVU’s Agricultural Experiment Station (AES), where Anderson reports twice each day, to feed, water, and work with a pair of show pigs and Hawkeye...

St. Mary’s middle school students competed at the regional mock trial competition in Sioux City on Wednesday, November 2. Mock Trial is a program that not only introduces students to the foundations of our legal system but also is an avenue for students to develop skills in public speaking, critical thinking skills, and teamwork. ...

With crowded buildings, the Storm Lake schools must limit open enrollment. The school board discussed the situation at its meeting this week. After March 1, the district won’t sign paperwork for students wanting to open enroll in from other districts unless they can show what the state defines as good cause - either their family moving into the district, or proof of a bullying or harassment situation at their current school. ...

Seven Storm Lake Middle School students were recently selected for participation in the thirty-fifth annual Iowa Opus Honor Choir Festival. Over 2,200 students were nominated by their directors for 720 positions in the four Opus Honor Choirs. Selections were made by means of a recorded audition. ...

The Storm Lake Music Department is currently holding their Annual Fruit/Cheese Fundraiser, going through November 12th. SLHS Music students are reaching out to everyone in our community to support performance opportunities and educational experiences for music students at Storm Lake Community Schools...

Storm Lake High School presents Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein’s prize-winning musical classic South Pacific on stage at the Storm Lake High School Auditorium November 4-6 at 7 pm. Based on James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize winning book Tales of the South Pacific, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific has music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples -- US Navy nurse Nellie Forbush & French plantation owner Emile de Becque and Navy Airman Joe Cable & a young local native girl Liat -- and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of the war and by their own prejudices.. ...

Storm Lake schools enrollment has decreased by 35 students from last year, though the district expects its overall trend of growth to continue. Iowa school districts submit their enrollment numbers to the state Department of Education on October 1. The number is used to calculate the amount of school funding aid received from the state. Because open enrollment into the district increased by 14 this school year, the district funding will only decline 20 students’ worth...

Six band students have been selected to participate in the 54th annual Northwest Iowa Junior High/Middle School Honor Bands Festival. On Saturday, October 16, over 300 seventh and eighth grade band students from 35 Northwest Iowa schools auditioned for a position in two honor bands. Approximately 190 students were chosen. These selected students will perform a concert at Storm Lake High School, Saturday, November 6. Selected from Storm Lake Middle School are:...

Zachary Z. Zoul, Owner and Managing Member, has announced that Zoul Properties LLC has acquired the Historic Lewis Hotel at 231 W. Main Street in Cherokee. The Lewis Hotel was constructed (completed) in 1899 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ...

At the Annual Business Meeting of the Professional Developers of Iowa, the membership elected Shannon Landauer, president and CEO of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, as its president for 2022. “It is really a special time to have the opportunity to serve as the president of Professional Developers of Iowa,” Landauer said. ...

The Board of Directors of Seasons Center is pleased to announce Dan Ries has been named the new President and CEO of Seasons Center, effective immediately. Dan has been serving as Interim CEO since September. Dan has been with Seasons Center since June 2010, serving as the agency’s VP of Finance. ...

The Storm Lake business community’s Holiday Open House saw plenty of traffic in a new three-day format through last weekend. Some new businesses celebrated their first holiday season, including at left (Back Road Finds Antiques and Collectibles) and Storm Lake Candy Company. / Pilot photos by Dana Larsen...

Wishing Wells had their ribbon cutting on November 10th. The owner is Morgann Wells who lives in Fonda. This is her first business, she realized how much she loved helping people look good and feel confident in their clothes while working at the Buckle while in high school...

Pocahontas County Economic Development Commission (PCEDC) announced that they have awarded Med Spa Express, Tavern 119, and Creator’s with Jump-Start Accelerator Grant awards. The Jump-Start Accelerator Grant Program is supported by the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative. ...

Morgann Wells has dreamed about helping people feel better about themselves for a long time – she just had to find the right avenue to make it happen. The 2013 Alta High graduate came back to the area, after a potentially solid sales career in Des Moines, to find love, marriage, family, and something else. ...

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that the state is not wrongfully detaining sex offenders by delaying the treatment they must complete to be considered for parole. The opinion issued Tuesday states that the Iowa Department of Corrections has acted reasonably in attempting to address the fact there are too many sex offenders in the system to provide treatment on a timely basis. ...

Iowa’s rape shield law cannot be used to protect a 10-year-old victim from cross-examination about her past relationship with a second abuser, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled. The court said while Iowa’s rape shield law prevents defense lawyers from questioning rape victims about past sexual experience, a Sioux County case provides an exception to that prohibition because it resulted in the defendant losing his right to confront witnesses against him...

The COVID-19 pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a short but drastic recession, generating a wave of layoffs and business closures. But a new analysis found that the first seven months of the pandemic actually ended with fewer Iowans delinquent on credit card and student loan debts...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s School participated in the Operation Christmas Child service project recently. Students in grades PK-12 packed 176 shoebox gifts filled with toys, school supplies, and personal hygiene items. A school assembly was also held for students to gather and pray for all those involved in the transport of the boxes and for those receiving the shoebox gifts. ...

It was a busy week in Washington as Democrats advanced both of their major spending bills, breaking months-long stalemates. In the background, Iowa’s delegation was working on bipartisan bills on cattle price transparency and health care provider aid, and Republicans moved for a vote on overturning vaccine mandates...

A second lawsuit that alleges Iowa pizza-delivery drivers are being shortchanged on their wages has been filed in U.S. District Court. Recently, a lawsuit was filed alleging Iowa delivery drivers working for Domino’s Pizza were effectively earning 35 cents an hour because the company wasn’t fairly compensating the workers for the use of their own vehicles. The new lawsuit is aimed at Casey’s General Store...

Gov. Kim Reynolds improperly used $450,000 of federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay 21 staff members, according to a new state audit. Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand released the report on Monday. It reveals that the Office of the Governor used $448,448 of federal coronavirus relief funds to pay salaries and benefits for 21 employees between March 2020 and June 2020...