Stories from Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Wanted On the evening of Wednesday, December 28, at approximately 8:15 p.m., a Storm Lake police officer stopped a vehicle near the intersection of Lake and 7th Streets for a traffic violation. Upon contacting the driver identified as Bounmy Xayyavong, age 26 of Storm Lake, police learned that Xayyavong was wanted out of Buena Vista County on a warrant charging him with Failure to Appear in court reference OWI. In addition police allege that Xayyavong had a suspended driver’s license...

Series of three webinars to be shown by ISU Extension and Outreach Cherokee County

According to a famous children’s story – Owl Moon - a person needs to bring quiet, heat, bravery and even a little hope when going on an owl calling adventure! Midwinter is a great time to listen for these nocturnal birds as they start to stake their territory. An “Owl Calling” program presented by the O’Brien County Conservation Board is an excellent opportunity for people of all ages to learn more about these amazing birds...

Ag Partners of Albert City made this Christmas season extra bright for a Buena Vista County family of five this year! Ag Partners employees came together to purchase gifts for a family of five who receive services at Centers Against Abuse & Sexual Assault (CAASA). / Photo submitted...

May 22, 1929 - December 28, 2016

The following is the Ridge View High School honor roll for the first trimester of the 2016-17 school year. 4.00 Seniors Amanda Bruns Cole Degan Madison Grieme Harlee Wagoner Juniors Katie Brinkman Elizabeth Pickhinke Andrew Snyder Paige Todd Brittney Vincent...

System supports great teaching; impact on students not yet known

Albert City-Truesdale Elementary students finished their semester with board and card games, STEM activities and book buddies in the gym. The students learned a lot of games that they could play with family over Christmas break. / Photo courtesy of Albert City-Truesdale Elementary...

The Galva-Holstein 2nd-5th grade had fun attending a movie at Holstein's State Theater for their Accelerated Reader party during December. / Photo courtesy of Ridge View Raptors

A license plate in the Buena Vista University lot says it all. / Photo by Dana Larsen

The first Pizza Hut opened, Alaska became a state and The Beatles booked their first recording session back in 1958. That’s also when the first Stephens College students made their way to north for a summer-stock experience that has become a way of life in the Iowa Great Lakes...

• On a scale of 5 popcorn buckets, “Passengers” fills 3 tubs — with all the real good flavor in the first two thirds of the bucket. Pratt and Lawrence are good, but I guess I was expecting a better ending. What I got was very predictable. MPAA rating: PG-13. Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes.

Buena Vista County plans to replace bridges near Sioux Rapids and Rembrandt. Bidding for a 70-foot concrete slab bridge on M-50, southeast of Sioux Rapids, came in with a low bid of $476,000, well over the estimate for the project, due to rising cost of materials...

Brent Johnson, Manson, has been elected to the Iowa Farm Bureau board to represent 12 counties of District 4 in west and central Iowa. He is a previous president of the Crawford County IFB board. Terry Murray of Buena Vista County was one of nine delegated elected to represent Iowa at the American Farm Bureau Convention in Phoenix later this month...

The O’Brien County Bald Eagle Watch will be held March 4 at the Prairie Heritage Center near Peterson. The event will feature a live eagle shown by Christina Roelof of Saving Our Avian Resources. Photography is encouraged. Reliefs will speak about the eagle’s special adaptations and current population status...

The Storm Lake School Board recently approved the final payment for the new elementary school gym floor, for $112,479. The bulk of the cost, $88,000, was covered by insurance after the floor suffered damages. The district chose to add a sealant, which accounts for the additional cost...

This week it looks like there will be some high winds but very few storms. Let’s hope that this allows for some good fishing to start off the new year. Take caution when venturing out on the ice as there may be some weaker areas. Here is a look at the DNR Fishing Report...

After nine years and 489 visits to Fairview Elementary in Spencer and local retirement homes, Katie the golden retriever therapy dog died at age 10 from a ruptured tumor. Owners Judy and Jim Taylor said she shared a lot of love and received plenty in return during her life...

A southbound train collided with a semi tractor-trailer at the crossing on Plymouth Street East (Hwy. 3) in Le Mars at 3:33 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30. The Union Pacific train was southbound approaching Highway 3 in Le Mars. The train was operating under the power of three locomotives and pulling 87 empty railcars...

Pocahontas Area School District has declined a Laurens-Marathon offer to reach a draft agreement for whole grade sharing, according to LM Superintendent Jeff Kruse. The draft agreement would have had to be approved by the end of the year for whole-grade sharing to have progressed...

The Northwest Iowa Pond Hockey league will be hosting a tournament in Storm Lake for the first time. The event is scheduled for January 27 through January 29, and will be called “The Storm Lake Winter Classic.” Eight novice to intermediate teams and eight teams in an open division will compete in four-on-four play. No admission will be charged for spectators...

Presidents don’t get to see all of their promises come to fruition, but U.S. Rep. Steve King said the Donald Trump must build something up and tear something down during his presidency. President Obama’s effort to expand healthcare in the United States must come to an end, according to King – the congressman anticipates legislation to repeal “Obamacare” will surface in the first week of a new congress...

Mission accomplished! On December 12, Laurens-based Rally4Veterans welcomed guests from the Puppy Jake Foundation to the Busiest Little Town in Iowa to present the non-profit group with a check for $20,000. The funds raised by Rally4Veterans will be used to train a service dog for an Iowa veteran...

Young family bounces back after Aycee’s birth defects

As a state legislator, I take my role balancing the budget and wisely using taxpayer money very seriously. Investing their hard earned money in services that directly help and protect Iowans is one of the most important things we need to do in the Iowa Legislature...

Saving money — that’s what it’s all about. Why buy the expensive trash bags when the store brand is just as good? They’re probably made in the same factory. The ones they make on Monday when half the crew has a hangover become the store brand, and the ones they make the rest of the week are the premium stuff...