Stories from Wednesday, February 21, 2018

The sixth week of the session was busy. It was a funnel week, which means that bills must be passed out of a committee in order to move on. This is the time when most bills will “die” for the year. It is too early to know what survives and what falls by the wayside. I will report on this in future newsletters. One bill that appears to be finished for the year is the death penalty legislation...

This weekly fishing report is compiled from information gathered from local bait shops, angler creel surveys and county and state parks staff. Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake) Most ice is around 14-18 inches, but there are variable conditions near shore - some areas of shoreline had open water within the last couple weeks so use caution. Walleye - Fair: Use rattle spoons and jigging spoons with a minnow head in 8 feet of water on the edges of the old dredged area in the west end. ...

Week six was the last week before the first funnel. Senate bills that haven’t made it through Senate committees are no longer eligible for this year, unless they deal with tax, spending or oversight issues. For me this means life can return to normal. There is a limit to how much a legislature can do in 100 days  The funnel deadlines help us to stay on schedule...

On the morning of Friday, February 16, at approximately 10 a.m., the Storm Lake Police Department was dispatched to the Storm Lake Walmart store in reference to a burglary to a vehicle. Upon arrival police met with the reporting party who alleged that while their vehicle was parked in the store’s parking lot overnight and was burglarized with several items being removed from the vehicle...

Storm Lake Public Library will host its first adult coloring night of 2018 on Thursday, February 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Coloring pages, pencils, and refreshments will be provided. Come to relax and enjoy a fun and creative evening. Two more adult coloring nights are scheduled for April 5 and May 17...

On the evening of Sunday, February 18, at approximately 11:38 p.m., the Storm Lake Fire Department responded to Meridian Manufacturing located at 2897 Expansion Blvd. in reference to a semi-tractor fully engulfed in flames. Upon arrival of fire fighters they extinguished a large fire in a 2012 Kenworth semi-tractor...

When Beth Holloway spoke to a Lakes audience about the disappearance of her daughter, she let them know she was still looking for answers. Now, she says she feels duped by a six-episode cable network series that teased an end to the search — Holloway has filed a lawsuit about the show and the distress it has caused. ...

A woman accused of stealing from a Storm Lake store is scheduled to be sentenced March 26. Court records say 19-year-old Abigail Clark, of Early, pleaded guilty Monday in Buena Vista County District Court to fraudulent practice and identity theft, after prosecutors dropped other charges. ...

Western Iowa Tech Community College (WITCC) conferred degrees, diplomas and certificates at its fall commencement ceremony Dec. 21 at the Orpheum Theatre, Sioux City. The following is a list of WITCC graduates and their hometown. An asterisk (*) denotes students graduating with honors...

• Peyton Price of Alta • Danielle Neumann of Pocahontas • Jessica Smith of Pocahontas • Alex Burhop of Schaller • Khoi Hoang, Raymond Khothisen, Dionne Pamon, Mariah Santellan and Nguyen Nguyen of Storm Lake

The 2018 Buena Vista County Farm Bureau and Iowa Farm Bureau (IFBF) scholarship applications are now available to interested high school seniors of Iowa Farm Bureau members. The application is available on the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation website in a working PDF format...

Alta • Jose Manuel Candelario, senior, Electrical Engineering • Laura Marie Dekok, senior, Child, Adult, and Family Services • Cole Robert Drenth, sophomore, Aerospace Engineering • Emma Louise Kaskey, sophomore, Nutritional Science (H SCI) • Paige Elizabeth Sivinski, senior, Architecture-Professional Degree...

Graduation honors #  Presidential Scholar +  Fall Graduate Sioux Rapids • Kelsey Miller ***#+, Associate in Applied Science, Accounting Specialist Storm Lake • Maria Zaragoza **+, Associate in Arts...

Arnolds Park was scene to many stunts designed to draw amusement park crowds over the years, right up to a resident elephant and tightrope walkers in recent history. But the amusement park recently unearthed and posted a photo of one of the most unique - the wrestling black bear Victor, who appeared during an “All Star Wrestling” event hosted by the Roof Garden in 1968...

The Buena Vista Community Theater is in the process of putting a variety show together, under the direction of Jacob Pedersen. They are looking for additional singers and actors for this exciting event. They need approximately 15-20 adults, ages 21 and up, to make the show possible...

Longtime comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short will play a one-night-only show, An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life, on Saturday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. Martin and Short will be joined by the Grammy®Award-winning bluegrass band The Steep Canyon Rangers and Jeff Babko...

It is an exciting time for STEM in Iowa, especially after last Wednesday, February 14, where STEM Day was held at the Iowa State Capitol. The day celebrated was filled with student exhibits from across the state and bipartisan legislative speeches to discuss the progress of STEM in Iowa...

Rep. Gary Worthan, Storm Lake, voted in favor of legislation Monday that he said would provide school districts with additional state funding to pay for transportation costs.   “This is a huge win for schools in rural Iowa.  The more dollars spent just to transport a student to the school means that much less money makes it into the classroom,” said Worthan.  “This additional funding will provide schools with much-needed relief and ensures that more resources can be used to improve student’s educational experience.”. ...

The Storm Lake City Council agreed Monday to provide $2,500 in funding for a “Leading Communities” leadership development program to be put on by Salud! in collaboration with Iowa State Extension and Outreach. The program is deigned to provide participants with the fundamental skills to develop and sustain local leadership efforts, while “bringing people together to create change for the good of the community.”...

Storm Lake City officials must perform a archaeological study of an area planned for a Wastewater Treatment wetlands project before it can proceed with construction. At Monday’s City Council meeting, the council agreed to retain an experienced archaelogy team from Augustana University for the study, the low bidder for the work, for $3,135...

A disturbance at a local pub led police to arrest an armed man who is wanted on weapons charged. Officers were called to Mo’s Bar downtown in the early morning hours Monday for a disturbance. They were told that two patrons, later identified as Gilo Akwai and Garhoth Dak, both age 21 of Storm Lake, had been told they couldn’t leave with open bottles of beer. ...

Storm Lake Police Officer Gerardo Bravo is one of several members of the Department taking part in the Run Ranger Run program this month. In the program, teams of volunteers attempt to log 565 miles running, walking or biking during the month of February, in hopes of raising awareness and funds for issues facing military veterans, working with the GallantFew organization...

Thirteen percent of surveyed youth in Buena Vista County say they have contemplated suicide, and 60 percent said they have struggled with feelings of worthlessness, while relatively small numbers said they have used drugs. Those are among the findings of the most recent Iowa Youth Survey. A new survey is in the works to begin next fall...

An energetic troupe of dancers transformed the stark Schaller Chapel stage into a steamy jungle populated by fierce Zulu warriors. And a campus quad where the first African American students admitted to college in the early 1900s gathered to share the simple rhythms and movements of their culture that would become the precursor for the art of stepping. ...

The Raptors archery teams competed in tournaments over the weekend and will see a handful in two different events go to the State archery meet in the near future. Starting with a regular tournament on Saturday, Ridge View took second place, Sergeant Bluff-Luton claimed first, as the Raptors had a score of 3023. They had five individuals place in the top 15: Brant Price at sixth, Cassie Allen at eighth, Jaden Droegmiller 11th, Rayann Volkert 14th and Cloe Droemiller 15th...

AC CITY - The weather may have been cold, the roads icy, but the gym on Monday night was rocking as the Newell-Fonda Mustangs and West Monona Spartans went to battle for 32 minutes with a bid to the 1A State Tournament on the line. The Mustangs led through most of the game and did enough in the final moments to put away the Spartans for good, taking a 66-57 decision to advance to the tournament next week in Des Moines. This marks their 13th appearance in the tournament and first since 2016...