Stories from Monday, April 23, 2018

December 19, 1936 - April 18, 2018

April 4, 1925 - April 20, 2018

This session shows signs of ending soon. The committees working the hardest right now are Ways and Means and Appropriations. We honored four members of the Senate who are retiring this year: Wally Horn (D) Cedar Rapids who had served for 46 years, Bob Dvorsky (D) Coralville who served for 24 years, Rick Bertrand (R) from Sioux City, and Mark Chelgren (R) from Ottumwa. Both Rick and Mark have spent the last eight years as members of the Iowa Senate. All will be greatly missed...

The Legislature is continuing work on the State budget and tax reform. Most of the major policy bills have been dealt with, although a couple controversial pieces of legislation are still alive, and could somehow appear on a budget bill. I hope that does not happen. I have always believed that policy bills which have not moved all the way through the process should not be used to hold budget bills hostage at the end of the session...

SIBLEY (AP) — A former football coach and teacher accused of sexually assaulting a child in northwest Iowa has been imprisoned for a similar crime in Nebraska. Court records say 39-year-old Kyle Ewinger was sentenced Thursday to 55 to 85 years and credited for 105 days already served. In January a jury in Omaha found him guilty of sexual assault of a child. Prosecutors say he assaulted the 9-year-old son of a woman he was dating in 2012 and 2013...

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, along with Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin have introduced the bipartisan Facilitating Accessible Resources for Mental Health and Encouraging Rural Solutions For Immediate Response to Stressful Times (FARMERS FIRST) Act to provide our nation’s agricultural community with critical mental health support and resources...

On the morning of Thursday, April 19, at approximately 11:22 a.m. the Storm Lake Fire Department responded to 319 East 4th Street #3 in reference to a reported fire in a kitchen. Upon arrival SLFD entered the apartment and determined that the fire on the stove top had been extinguished by the occupants...

On the afternoon of Thursday, April 19, at approximately 5 p.m. the storm Lake Police Department was dispatched to 319 East 4th Street on a report of a person beating on a door at that location. Upon arrival of police they met with the reporting party who alleged that an Atem Anyoun, age 40 of Denison, had engaged in a verbal argument with residents and was put out of the residence. He then reportedly began screaming and beating on the door and would not leave the premises...

On the afternoon of Thursday, April 19, at approximately 2:45 p.m. the Storm Lake Police Department took a report at the police station in reference to a theft. Police met with Joshua Krayenhagen, age 34 of Storm Lake. Krayenhagen wanted to report a possible theft to police. ...

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office’s newest deputy walks on four legs instead of two. The K-9, Kash, recently joined the force after training with his handler, Deputy Tyler Heck. Heck said he decided to apply for the position of handler after witnessing first hand how a K-9 unit could benefit law enforcement and the community at large...

Buena Vista University students who are interested in the field of forensic psychology don’t have to look far for expert advice and unique and first-hand experiences. Instead, they can look to BVU’s Dr. Tracy Thomas, assistant professor of psychology, who is the only forensic psychologist certified by the American Board of Forensic Psychology (ABFP) with a practice in the state of Iowa...

Following an organizational meetIng held on April 13, 2018, the Judicial Election District 3A Nominating Commission has established procedures for filling the vacancy resulting from the retirement of District Court Judge Patrick M. Carr in July of 2017...

Volunteers and community leaders in Storm Lake are planting trees in the new park at 10th Street & Ontario St., the park at Russell Street and 5th Street and the golf course to save energy, improve air quality and reduce stormwater runoff. The local effort is a partnership through Alliant Energy and Trees Forever’s Branching Out program...

Buena Vista University’s digital media students and organizations received 31 awards in the annual Society for Collegiate Journalists national media contest. SCJ’s national contest entries are judged by professionals in the media industry. The organization currently has more than 100 chapters across the nation, and all active members are eligible to enter original works in the contest. ...

Seasons Center for Behavioral Health has been awarded grant funding from the Clay County Community Foundation in the amount of $4,000. Grant funds will be used to purchase furniture to update the conference room located at 201 East 11th Street in Spencer...

Autumn’s Center was formally recognized as a “Community Development Best Practice” site by the Iowa Rural Development Authority in Grinnell, on April 5. Seasons Center was nominated for several categories pertaining to Community Development Block Grant projects at Autumn’s Center and Camp Autumn...

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Buena Vista County will be hosting a ServSafe® food safety certification class in Storm Lake on June 12. Ann Heuer, Nutrition and Wellness Specialist, will be teaching the class. This class will prepare individuals to become a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM), a requirement for food establishments in Iowa. ...

The public is invited to join Buena Vista and Pocahontas County Women, Land, and Legacy for a Learning Session on Beefing Up Your Diet on Friday, June 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Beth Doran, Beef Specialist, ISU Extension and Outreach will be presenting on various topics related to beef. Can you be sure your beef is safe? Fitting beef into your diet?, and favorite recipes.)...

America’s Farmers Grow Communities, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, gives farmers the chance to win a $2,500 donation for their favorite community nonprofit organization. Jim Eldridge of Terril  was the 2018 Clay County winner and designated his winnings to the Spencer Regional Healthcare Foundation...

Spencer Community Theatre will open its doors for the fourth show of its 58th anniversary season, “The Bridges of Madison County.” The show opened Friday. Additional performances are April 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. on April 29...

311 have sold over 9 million albums in the U.S. Nine of their albums have debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Sales Chart…and nine of their singles have reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Alternative Radio Chart (including the #1 singles Down, Love Song & Don’t Tread On Me – along with Amber, All Mixed Up, Come Original, Creatures For Awhile, Hey You and Sunset in July)...

Black Hawk will be performing Friday, June 29, at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $25 for regular seating or $170 for the Hotel Bundle which Hotel Bundle which includes 2 Premium Concert Seats, 1 standard hotel room and 2 free drinks. Blackhawk is a musical group of seasoned professionals with decades of dedication to their music. They have played together in different configurations for years and the band is as much a family as it is a touring group...

The Storm Lake Board of Education is enthused about local graduation rates. The five-year high school graduation rate (which includes charter school in Storm Lake) is 93.29 percent, virtually equal to the statewide rate. Considering that the rate was 86.2 percent two years ago, a lot of progress has been made, Superintendent Carl Turner told the board...

Several area communities are among nominees in the new Opportunity Zones program from Iowa: Storm Lake, Lakeside, Laurens, Cherokee, Ida Grove and Pocahontas. Multiple tracts within regional cities Fort Dodge and Sioux City are also nominees. They now advance for consideration by the federal Department of the Treasury. Final designees will be able to utilize incentives to attract new business...

The Storm Lake Board of Education has unanimously approved a resolution opposing anticipated state legislature action to remove “backfill” dollars in the wake of a commercial property tax cut. The Storm Lake district would lose about $23,000 per year starting next year if such action is taken. Schools are uniting to call for the state to “keep its promise” to backfill the money...

Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signature on Iowa House File 2407 earlier this month was seen as a solid step in deterring the private use of chemicals in Iowa lakes — a local concern, given rumors of property owners pouring pesticides off their docks to kill invasive curlyleaf pondweed in the Iowa Great Lakes. ...

Buena Vista University will formally install its 18th president, Dr. Joshua D. Merchant, on Friday, May 4. The ceremony is open to the public and will take place at 4 p.m. in Siebens Fieldhouse on the BVU campus. The BVU Board of Trustees appointed Merchant as the University’s President in February 2017. Merchant officially began his term on June 26, 2017, after working in higher education for more than 20 years...

The new operators of the Storm Lake Marina are moving quickly to get renovations finished in time for the summer. The group of six entrepreneurs—Jennifer and Chad Hustedt, Nathan and Nancy Jensen and Natalie and Nathan Schuman—are making a go of an ambitious $24,000 investment to make the Marina the hot spot in town, no matter the temperature outside...

A ‘Meet & Greet’ event has been rescheduled to welcome new Buena Vista University head men’s basketball coach Todd Lorensen to campus. The event will now take place on Tuesday, April 24 inside of the Dows Conference Center at the Siebens Forum on the BVU campus. A cash bar and light refreshments will be available beginning at 5 p.m. with a program to follow starting at 5:30 p.m...

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Buena Vista softball team got a pair of strong pitching performances and some timely hitting on Saturday afternoon, as the Beavers picked up a much needed sweep of Coe College by scores of 4-3 and 2-0 in Iowa Conference games played at Mount Mercy University due to unplayable conditions in Storm Lake...

CEDAR RAPIDS - Freshman Nick Henrichs blasted a pair of home runs, added a double and drove in four runs to help lift the Buena Vista baseball team past Coe College on Friday afternoon in the opener of their three-game weekend series that was shifted to Cedar Rapids, 10-5...

The world of athletics has always been the wheelhouse of Buena Vista junior Brooke Runneberg. The volleyball player, and former track athlete, has seen her career start at the small school of Laurens-Marathon and grow to where she is at now. Runneberg began her athletic career as a youngster due to her family being what she deemed as a sports family...

July 6, 1935 - April 23, 2018

September 20, 1960 - April 17, 2018