Stories from Monday, January 23, 2017

Community Theatre hosts a 1920s inspired gala featuring live and silent auctions and catering by Chef Susanne

No matter your age, a performance by the Lettermen is bound to bring back a flood of memories. Few other groups from any genre have earned such a key position in the fabric and history of American music. The classic pop vocal group will present the next show in the 2016-17 performance series at the Rosemary Claussen Center in Holstein, Saturday, Feb. 11. Showtime is 7:30. For ticket information, call 712-368-4849...

A shortened week two of the 2017 session is nearly completed. The Legislature was not in session on Monday due to the Martin Luther King holiday and with several of our legislative leaders obliged to attend the inauguration in Washington D.C. Tuesday was a short day...

Spencer will act as one of eight stops along the route of the 41st annual Air Race Classic, an all-women transcontinental airplane race that traces its roots to the 1929 Women’s Air Derby. The race is open to any female pilot over the age of 17 and a range of planes are allowed to compete as it will be a handicapped race...

In response to the Army Corps of Engineers announcement of its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (IES) in connection with the Dakota Access pipeline, anti-pipeline protest group Bold Iowa called on Iowans to write the Army Corps of Engineers and demand that the Corps’ Environmental Impact Statement consider the pipeline’s impact on Iowa’s land and water, too. Bold Iowa insists further that the EIS must weigh the pipeline’s impact on climate change as well...

Jason Sammons, 43, rural Storm Lake, was killed, and a 23-year-old woman injured after a semi that Sammons was driving fell off of Interstate 229 in Sioux Falls, S.D., onto Minnesota Avenue just before 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning. The Department of Public Safety says a 2017 International semi was traveling northbound on Interstate 229 nearing the Minnesota Avenue bridge just before 4:30 a.m. when it went off the road and hit the guard rail...

The familiar adages of “Attitude is everything,” or “You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind,” describe the mindset of long time Storm Lake resident, Marjorie Berkler Miller, who looks forward to celebrating her 100th birthday on Saturday, January 21, 2017...

Sen. Chuck Grassley is concerned about high prescription drug costs and is looking into the misclassification of certain drugs under the Medicaid Prescription Drug Program. He made the following comment on the Justice Department’s prosecution of the price fixing of generic drugs and the lack of responsiveness from the Obama Administration on misclassification concerns...

Ninety percent of the population will experience a need for blood at some point during their lives. Whether it’s a trauma victim, surgery patient, cancer fighter, premature baby or mother in distress after delivery, someone in the United States needs blood every two seconds. Since there is no substitute for human blood, these patients rely on LifeServers to regularly roll up their sleeve and make a lifesaving donation!...

• Feb. 2 - Young at Heart, Healthcare Decision Making, Speaker: Maggie Martinez, Social Worker, 10 a.m. KEC • Feb. 6 - Watch Me Grow, 10 a.m . - 7 p.m. CFW • Feb. 7 - Storm Lake Community Blood Drive-LifeServe Blood Center, 12:30 - 6 p.m. Main Entrance...

Welcoming a new baby into a family is always an exciting event and so is moving into a new home. In 2016, the labor and delivery professionals at Spencer Hospital were able to help welcome over 250 babies and relocate to a new birth center. “It was a wonderful year for our birth center team as we said ‘goodbye’ to the hospital’s previous obstetrics center where thousands of babies were born and memories created, and we moved to our new, state-of-the-art birth center,” expressed Jeannette Hasley, Spencer Hospital Birth Center Director. ...

Can’t seem to shake the wintertime blues? Feeling depressed in the winter is not that uncommon, but for some people it affects their life to a higher degree. You may be suffering from seasonal affective disorder otherwise known as SAD. Often times it starts in late fall and is alleviated during the early to mid days of spring. ...

St. Mary’s Ball and Charity Auction attendees are asked to put their CSI and Law and Order detective skills to work this March as there is a crime to solve and a culprit to apprehend. Sort of. “Mystery at the Forum” is the theme for the March 25 major fundraiser for the local preK-12 Catholic School and all are encouraged to solve a “murder mystery.” The ball and auction will be held at 6 p.m. ...

Cherokee residents had an impromptu brush with a native daughter this week to kick off the Jazz & Blues Festival. As a last-minute addition to the festival, the local theater showed the film “Adam’s Run” Friday night, a “video opera” composed by Cherokee native Ruby Fulton...

December 6, 1942 - January 15, 2017

Devastating disasters like a flood or a tornado are a vivid reminder of life’s uncertainty. Have you ever wondered what you would do if you had to leave your home suddenly? What would you grab if you only had minutes to escape? Make your own grab-and-go file case so that family members can quickly “grab it and go.”...

The Storm Lake Public Library will host a puzzle contest on Saturday, January 28 in honor of International Puzzle Day! Assemble a team of up to 4 people and sign up to compete by calling the library at 732-8026. Space is limited so anyone who is interested should sign up as soon as possible. ...

Registrations continue to be accepted for the 2017 Women in Denim conference scheduled for January 27 and 28 held at Buena Vista University. The Women in Denim conference targets women involved in all facets of agriculture or those who enjoy rural living. Participants may choose from a wide variety of sessions, covering topics such as farm and personal finance, agriculture marketing, estate planning, gardening, decorating, exercise, cooking, home improvement, quilting and more...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s Alumni Association members presented a record breaking check for $63,063 to St. Mary’s School administration at the high school’s homecoming game last week. The amount represents the St. Mary’s Annual Appeal fund drive amount raised since the 2016 homecoming game. ...

Storm Lake community members showed their creative side on Thursday, January 19 at the “Art with a Heart” event located at Our Place. A committee organized the event in hopes community members will share their stories as well as artistic abilities in a safe and accepting environment. The event is open to a variety of artistic expressions such as music, poetry readings, and more. A community member is also welcome to stand up front and share their story...

Sixth grade students at Storm Lake Middle School honored Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with an afternoon devoted to service of others this week. Students devoted one session to thanking those who make their school a pleasant place to be and discussed how they can inspire others through random acts of kindness. ...

U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, has been of high spirits since the November 2016 general election which saw his party gain control of the presidency as well as the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. “The feeling is really, really good (among his fellow Republicans in Washington),” King said. ...

Superintendent Carl Turner gave an introduction and presentation of the Iowa School Report Card and how it can be used as a tool for measuring the district’s status and to show ways to improve the system to bring the scores in certain areas up to acceptable levels. It is available for viewing on the Storm Lake School District Website...

A Sioux Central student suffered through a blood clot health crisis, and shares this story of her ordeal in hopes of helping others. Her story is featured on the National Blood Clot Alliance website as part of its “Stop the Clot” awareness campaign.