Stories from Friday, April 13, 2018

LAKE VIEW - Expect an abundance of live music on Black Hawk Lake this summer, as the Stone Pier Summer Concert Series has announced the schedule for four free outdoor concerts with eight acts. Since its inception in 2011, the Series has presented respected acts from around the country representing a range of musical genres. ...

WheelHouse, a nationally-touring Americana and bluegrass band hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, will make their first local appearance at this year’s Star Spangled Spectacular in Storm Lake. They will offer two free concerts July 4, 12:30 and 3 p.m. at the Sunset Park Bandshell...

A new event is planned for this summer’s Buena Vista County Fair. ATV Barrel Racing is scheduled for Monday, July 9, with tickets at $10. Other grandstand events include the Central Iowa Pullers tractor pull July 7, a Buena Vista Raceway Demolition Derby July 8, and Fair Race Night July 11. See bvcountyfair.com for more announcements and a full schedule of Fair events...

When grasping a plastic bottle, few people ever ponder the chemical ingredients or process used in making it. But, a determined group of farmers and researchers at the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) have done this very thing in their quest to make a greener bioplastic ingredient that will stimulate the future of the corn industry...

Funding for water quality approved by the Iowa Legislature is a step forward in advancing Iowa’s nutrient reduction goals. But Senate File 512 represents a timid response to a vital need for establishing widespread, sustained and measurable progress on an issue important to farmers and all Iowans, says the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA)...

A shortage of high-skilled jobs is a primary factor driving Iowa’s brain drain, according to a new analysis by Iowa State University researchers. The report measured Iowa’s competitiveness in attracting and retaining highly skilled, educated workers as compared to the rest of the country. ...

The Sanford Museum and Planetarium, a little-known gem in Cherokee, has been educating local kids and adults for generations. With engaging exhibits, extensive archives and the only public planetarium in Iowa, it has connected Iowans with their pre-historic past, showing them that Iowa has been a place where people have wanted to live for thousands of years. It also gives them hope for the future with its newly installed planetarium projector...

Like drunk driving, drugged driving is impaired driving, which means it is illegal in all 50 States Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. Whether the drug is obtained legally or illegally, driving while drug-impaired poses a threat to the driver, vehicle passengers and other road users. ...

The Storm Lake Community School District budget for 2018-19 was approved during a special meeting Wednesday. A public hearing was held with no comments. The budget calls for a property tax levy of $15.53 per $1,000 assessed property value, a reduction of about 14 cents from the current budget. ...

On April 10, 2018, the Music Boosters of Ridge View High School were the recipients of $300. Dennis Cook of Schaller, a member of the Happiness Express Chorus of Denison, made the presentation to Mrs. Kistenmacher and her vocal music class. The donation is part of the chorus’s program of “Enriching Lives Through Singing.”...

The Little Sioux River at Linn Grove is expected to crest Saturday near flood stage of 18 feet, according to the National Weather Service At Spencer, the river is expected to crest at 10.2 feet today, slightly not flood stage. At Cherokee, the river remains below flood level at 12 feet. The North Raccoon River at Sac City was near nine feet at midweek, considerably below flood stage...

On April 11, House Republicans released the Middle Class Tax Relief Act. Major changes in the federal tax code enacted last year would result in a $153 million windfall to the state in 2019 due to federal tax reform, if we were to make no changes in Iowa rates. ...

The Annual Sac County 4-H lock-in was held at the Sac Community Center on February 23 with 93 Sac County 4-H youth and over 30 Sac County volunteers. Your Passport to Adventure 4-H Lock-In began Friday night at 6:30 p.m. and concluded at 8 a.m. on Saturday...

For two local community members, their own lives were at one point weighed in the balance against the generosity of others. Over 116,000 American names are on the organ transplant waiting list according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. ...

DES MOINES, (AP) — Lawmakers signed off on a bill Monday that will prevent Iowa students from being treated unfairly by school officials if their parents owe lunch money. Under the bill, Iowa schools would be prohibited from so-called “lunch shaming” tactics, including publicly identifying students whose parents owe money or throwing away meals that were already served. Schools would be allowed to accept private donations to pay off individual students’ debts...

The Ridge View high school students recently had their prom this last weekend.

DES MOINES – With support from a federal grant, the State Historical Society of Iowa will launch a new multi-year research project this spring about the African-American Civil Rights Movement in Iowa during the 20th century. The $50,000 grant comes from the U.S. ...

Scott D. Leininger, age 40, formerly of Spencer, was charged in Clay County with Ongoing Criminal Conduct, a Class B Felony for his alleged role in committing fraud against Homesite Insurance Company following an insurance fraud investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau and the National Insurance Crime Bureau...

ACCIDENTS On April 9, at approximately 8:27 a.m., at 1520 E. Lakeshore Drive in Storm Lake, a vehicle driven by Dwight Young of Sioux Falls, SD, struck a parked vehicle owned by Quirk Farms of Odebolt. The total damages were estimated at $1200.

Danica Arzaga, who was sought as a person of interest in connection to the disappearance of her three children, prompting an Amber Alert in September 2017, and arrested 24 hours later, charged with three counts of felony kidnapping, was placed on probation last week after pleading guilty to three reduced charges of child endangerment. She entered her guilty plea in Clay County District Court...

Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom will strengthen its agriculture education programs for students in the seven-county area thanks in part to a $5,000 donation from the Flint Hills Resources Arthur ethanol plant. The mission of Siouxland Agriculture in the Classroom is to educate students about the agriculture industry to promote a greater understanding of where food comes from and lessen the knowledge gap between producers and consumers...

Randy Tilk, Alta Municipal Utilities Manager visited with Kiwanis Tuesday morning. Randy is in charge of city electrical, water, and telecommunications systems. Recently the city purchased eight acres of land north of the fairgrounds. May of this year, Alta will drill well six. ...

The Alta-Aurelia Trap Team traveled to M&G; Gun Club near Schaller for their first shoot of the 2018 season on April.  In the High School division the squad of Noah Sundene, Cody Goodwin, Cory Goodwin, Matthew Arnts and Wyatt Tuttle placed first as a squad...

The Alta-Aurelia Community School Board of Directors met Thursday night to address budget items, review leadership materials, approve bids, review contract offers and a resignation, and sent a resolution to the Iowa Legislature. A presentation shown by Superintendent Lynn Evans focused on elemental drivers of success and helped the Board get in a frame of mind to formulate plans and missions going forward...

The Joint School Improvement Advisory Committee met Tuesday night to discuss and review annual policies, gather input from community members and formulate a working draft of the Alta-Aurelia Community School District’s mission statement for the next year. The well-attended meeting at Aurelia Middle School actively provided feedback for the superintendent and administrators of the School Board to use moving forward...

Pets play an important part in many people’s lives. For veterans, dogs serve a more critical component to their life after discharge. Many veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders and other physical challenges after discharge rely on their canine partners for a variety of tasks. That is where Deb Mongan of Aurelia comes in...

Storm Lake schools have achieved a 93.29 five-year high school graduation rate for the past year, an improvement from about 91 percent the previous year, and right at state average. The district’s dropout rate of 1.7 percent is better than the statewide mark, currently at 2.8 percent...

Before there can be a project, there has to be a place to put it. That was the philosophy when the Storm Lake Community Schools Board of Education approved a purchase agreement for a site to locate a proposed new Early Childhood Center, during a special meeting Wednesday. It hopes that construction can be getting underway at this time next year...

Dialogue at the Food Summit on Tuesday was concluded by a panel of experts, including Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, and Michelle Book, CEO of the Food Bank of Iowa. Naig addressed questions about tariffs on pork and soybeans that have had an increasing urgency in recent weeks as the Trump administration doubles down on what could be a risky trade war with China. Book illustrated the face of hunger and dispelled negative stereotypes that affect our perceptions of need...

After decades of delays and years of construction and detours, the end is in sight. By November 1, Highway 20 is to be completed as a statewide four-lane superhighway. Original project cost estimates totaled $286 million, but state officials now expect the work to come in well under that amount...

A situation with a 12-year-old who refused to go home led has led to the arrest of the boy’s mother on a charge of Child Endangerment. Tuesday night, Storm Lake Police were called to the middle school, where a boy was refusing to go home. When officers met with the child, he told them he was being physically abused at home and did not want to return there...

STORM LAKE - The Buena Vista men’s tennis team returned home on Tuesday afternoon and hosted Iowa Central Community College in a non-conference match outside on Buntrock Tennis Courts. Playing under sunny skies and more spring-like conditions, the Beavers were unable to get into sync against the Tritons, as they fell 9-0 for their fourth straight loss...

LINCOLN, Neb. - The Buena Vista baseball team jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after two innings at Nebraska Wesleyan on Tuesday afternoon, but the Prairie Wolves plated five runs in the second and sixth in the eighth to edge the Beavers 11-10. Each of the first six batters in the BVU batting line-up had at least two hits, led by Peyton Renning who was 3-for-6 with a triple, two RBI and three runs sored. ...

STORM LAKE - The Buena Vista softball team played its home openers on Wednesday afternoon by hosting fifth-ranked Luther College, but the Beavers came up just short in both contests, losing by scores of 6-4 and 5-4, respectively. BVU hung right with the Norse all afternoon, but couldn’t get the big hit late in either game which could have pulled them even if not given them the lead. ...

STORM LAKE - The 2018 season finally got underway on Tuesday night for the Storm Lake girls tennis team and they suffered a hard 9-0 setback against the Spirit Lake Indians. Storm Lake’s no. 1 singles, Destiny Syhvaong battled but fell 10-0 to Casie Barba; Serena Chaiyawong bowed 10-0 to Ashley Thorn; Jenny Almanza was defeated 10-0 by Lauren Goth; Briana Soto fell 10-4 to Anna Ascheman; Natalia Garza bowed to Emily Samuelson, 10-3; Beauna Thammathai played hard but fell 10-7 to Paige Hilde...

March 27, 1930 - April 10, 2018