Stories from Friday, May 4, 2018

Storm Lake St. Mary’s High School has announced that John P. Meyer, 1968 St. Mary’s High School alumnus, will be the commencement speaker for the 2018 graduation exercises on Sunday, May 13 at 2 p.m. in the St. Mary’s High School Gymnasium. Nineteen students will receive diplomas from the local Catholic high school at the commencement ceremonies...

Buena Vista University (BVU) has been selected to host the only Tech Trek camp in Iowa this summer on June 24-30. This year, more than 30 seventh grade girls will take part in Tech Trek – an engaging one-week summer camp featuring hands-on science and technology classes, a fun and educational field trip, opportunities to meet inspiring women role models, and a unique college campus experience at BVU. ...

Buena Vista University (BVU) has officially reinstated Omega Pi Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), an international honor society in education. To mark the occasion, a formal initiation ceremony took place on April 5 on the BVU campus, where 28 education students -- including students from the area -- were inducted into KDP membership...

BURGLARY On April 24, a burglary was reported in Storm Lake. Total damages were estimated at $100.

A babysitter’s training course will be held at The Meeting Place in Galva on Thursday, June 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you are 11-15 years old and want to become a babysitter, this one-day American Red Cross class will provide youth who are planning to babysit with the knowledge and skills necessary to safely and responsibly give care for children, toddlers and infants. Note: A mature 10-year old can attend...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s School received $5,000 towards their bleacher replacement project from the Buena Vista County Community Foundation Saturday night. Other funds for the bleacher replacement will come from the St. Mary’s Athletic Boosters, St. Mary’s Foundation and estate funds...

On Monday, April 30, John Murray, author of the book, “Fathers, Sons, and the Holy Ghosts of Baseball” was the speaker. He told about living in Storm Lake until the 8th grade and reported some of the trials and tribulations of refusing to play baseball for his father, the Coach. He also went into the trials of writing a book and having an editor critique it before it was published.  ...

With the biking season getting under way, you’re likely to see some different machines on the trails. Road bikes have evolved, some with hydraulic disc brakes, new gear sets with a single front chainring and safety lighting integrated into the frames. ...

Terry Johnson and Sandy Pingel, CEO and director of services at Genesis Development, updated the Buena Vista County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning on the challenges and growth at Genesis. Thanks to grants for government services, the non-profit has been able to help put its disabled recipients through programs to find work. These programs give them the opportunity to look at other things they may be able to do after trying jobs for a limited number of hours...

The Storm Lake School Board met Tuesday evening to accept resignations, approve of offer contracts, vote on a severance agreement and make arrangements for early retirees. Three elementary school teacher resignations were approved for Chelsea Smith, a second grade teacher, and Megan Behrendt and Pamela Fox, both special education teachers. ...

Storm Lake Public Safety announces its nationally recognized Neighborhood Outreach Program is gearing up to come to a neighborhood near you this summer. The Neighborhood Outreach Program is designed for public safety personnel and other community partners to come to neighborhoods and parks throughout the city on summer evenings for the purpose of networking with our community members and visitors to Storm Lake and sharing information, fielding questions and addressing concerns...

Police Week is designated for May 13 through May 19, with Police Memorial Day designated at Tuesday, May 15. The Storm Lake Police Department will join local, state and federal law enforcement agencies across the country in honoring those who have paid the ultimate price with their lives serving and protecting their communities and jurisdictions...

After 10 years of lean, threadbare, Lilliputian tales, Marvel Studios has, thank heavens, finally decided to go big. The scale of “Avengers: Infinity War,” of course, isn’t a departure for Marvel. It’s an apotheosis. But is it possible to supersize what is already colossal? “Infinity War,” which brings together more than 30 significant characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and enough spandex to clothe a small nation, is a little like launching an invasion after the war was already won. ...

On May 31, at 7 p.m., Albert City Public Library will be hosting a public screening of Josiah, a documentary that traces Josiah Henson’s harrowing journey from slavery in Maryland and Kentucky to freedom in Canada. Josiah Henson (1789-1883) spent 41 years as a slave. He was a dynamic, driven man with unyielding principles who overcame incredible odds to escape his cruel masters and improve the lives of hundreds of freed people throughout his long life...

The Quebe Sisters started fiddling in their pre-teens. Growing up in Burleson, Texas, a southern suburb of Fort Worth, Hulda, Sophia and Grace were ages 7, 10 and 12 in 1998 when they attended their first local fiddle competition. Along with headlining their own shows to ever-growing audiences, they have shared stages with American music legends like Willie Nelson, George Strait, Merle Haggard, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Ray Price, Marty Stuart, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, Riders in the Sky and many others.. ...

Money is not everything, but how you manage it can be key to whether you make it or break it. Iowa State University Extension, in partnership with Iowa Central Community College’s English Second Language program, taught “Your Money, Your Future”, a course aimed at helping Storm Lake become more financially literate. The course provided some helpful tips that anyone can use to make their dollars stretch further...

Mediacom Communications announced this week that it now provides discounted broadband service to K-12 students in more than 1,000 low-income households, and that participation in the company’s educational Connect2Compete program increased each month over the past year...

Three Alta High School students did not quite make it to the moon, but they did get a trip to Texas recently to participate in the Regional Space Settlement Design Competition in Houston. The three students, Grace Meiers, a senior, Michael Ryherd, a sophomore, and and Michael Weiland, a junior, were chosen for the unique opportunity based on their essays and teacher references for class performance...

As spring revs up its engine, the Buena Vista Raceway is starting to speed up in its prep for the rest of the year. “Right now we’re trying to get the track in shape,” said Joey Ciechanowski, manager of the raceway. ...

The Alta City Park Board is in the process of bringing a new and updated park to the Alta community. We have not started any fundraising yet and currently have a couple of designs we are going through. We want to make sure we have the one we want before we begin fundraising. The one that has been in the paper is one of the designs...

On Wednesday, April 25, the Alta-Aurelia Trap team attended a shoot hosted by the Humboldt Wildcats Trap team. The shoot was held at the trap range near Palmer. The first place High School squad was A-A’s squad of  Noah Sundene, Cody Goodwin, Cory Goodwin, Matthew Arnts and Wyatt Tuttle...

The search continues for the City of Alta as it tries to fill the open Street Department position. A City Council meeting held Monday fell flat. Two candidates had interviews scheduled to fill the position. One withdrew their application, and the other did not show up...

• Kid’s Creation Stations – Come & Go Children are invited to the library on Saturday, May 5 to visit our creation stations where we will have puppets, cars and floor mat, legos, crafts, floor puzzles and wedgits etc. • Movie Night At The Library: The Alta Community Library will be presenting “Peter Rabbit” Movie on Monday, April 14 at 4 p.m. Snacks will be provided. All ages are welcome...

Bring a lawn chair and celebrate Storm Lake’s multi-cultural legacy by sharing in the Soccer World Cup. The soccer tournament will be held on Saturday, May 19 at the Field of Dreams and begins at 10 a.m. There will be a ceremony at 1 p.m., followed by semi-finals at 4 p.m. and the championship match at 5 p.m...

In a landscape of rural America, most small towns seems to be dying—except for Storm Lake. In America Inside Out on National Geographic, Emmy award-winning journalist Katie Couric makes a stop in Storm Lake as part of her episode on “white anxiety” in light of increasing diversification and an election that has made voters in fly-over states “something of a national obsession.”...

Stacey Cole, director of education services for the Fort Dodge Community School District who was recently named to become Storm Lake Superintendent of Schools, has been honored as Iowa’s 2018 Central Office Administrator of the Year by the School Administrators of Iowa...

A group of forgery suspects went to the well once too often, and have been apprehended by Storm Lake Police at a local bank. Monday afternoon, the SLPD took a report of a forgery incident from Central Bank in Storm Lake. Bank officials reported that four forged checks had been cashed on April 27 and 28 at the bank’s main branch and north Storm Lake branch...

Two years after being formed, the Storm Lake Mayor’s Committee on Parks, Trails and Urban Forestry is growing impatient for a “win.” With several of the projects it has discussed on hold, talk at the group’s monthly meeting turned unexpectedly to new goals - a better park playground and preventing litter...

Storm Lake is looking for a new location for community gardens. The former site on West 9th Street will no longer be available due to an upcoming project. The city asked members of the Mayor’s Committee on Parks, Trails and Urban Forestry at a meeting this week to scout for new locations...

After decades of debate, Iowa’s era of legalized medicinal marijuana is rapidly taking root with a flurry of activity this season. First, the Iowa Department of Public Health posted a Request for Proposal for a second medical cannabidiol manufacturer in the state, with a licensee to be chosen in late June...

Hawkeyes great Chuck Long will share stories of his football life and career and sign copies of his just-released biography Destined for Greatness during a meeting of the Storm Lake Rotary Tuesday, May 15, noon at King’s Pointe in Storm Lake. Long, who played quarterback for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1981-85 and holds numerous school, Big-Ten and national passing records, will autograph and personalize copies of Destined for Greatness, greet and join in photos with guests and share memories of playing for legendary Hawkeyes football coach Hayden Fry. ...

STORM LAKE - Loras jumped on Buena Vista pitching from the early going of the series finale on Tuesday afternoon played in Storm Lake, and the Duhawks completed the sweep of the Beavers with a 16-1 (7 inning) victory. BVU committed a fielding error on the first pitch of the game which led to an unearned run in the inning, and Loras never looked back from there. ...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s High School held their inaugural Hall of Fame induction Saturday, April 28, to induct all of the past athletic state team and individual athletes. Those honored include the 1983 1A baseball team and coaches Brian Van Haaften and Scott Bailey, 2011 1A boys’ basketball team and coaches Brad Wilkening and Nick Landgraf ‘00, 1981 girls’ sprint medley team (Libby Kestel ’81, Beth Loats ’84, Julie (Loats ’81) Rohrer and Amy (Andrews ’82) Hurley. ...

SIOUX CITY - The Warrior girls golf team added another accolade to the trophy case this week as they were able to take the Sioux City East Invitational on Wednesday. Alta-Aurelia won the event by five strokes with their score of 389 as Atlantic was on their tail taking second with 394 and LeMars finished third...

LE MARS - Tuesday night was a rough evening for the Storm Lake girls tennis team as they were swept by LeMars, 9-0. In singles action: Destiny Syhavong was defeated 10-4; Serena Chaiyawong was defeated 10-2; Jenny Almanza was defeated 10-1; Briana Soto was defeated 10-1; Beuna Thammatha was defeated 10-2; and Kaying Vang was defeated 10-3...

STORM LAKE - The Tornado tennis team won a couple of matches against the Bulldogs on Tuesday night but ultimately lost the war, 7-2. “LeMars is second in our conference and is a very solid team,” Coach Sam Lipps said. “We were able to compete with them in about every match. I would like to see us improve late in sets. A lot of times we get leads early and struggle to close them out. Two of our freshmen, Kevin Lopez and Jaylen Saenchanpheng came out with our two wins in their singles matches.”...

STORM LAKE - It was a Tuesday night to remember for the number one team in 2A, Storm Lake. They defeated the West Sioux Falcons, 8-0, and saw senior Kevin Duque break the school record for career goals. “Tuesday night was one of our better games this season. We played with a lot of confidence,” Coach Ben Scherkike said. “We possessed the ball well and kept it on their half. We had over 30 shots to their zero.”...

STORM LAKE - The Storm Lake and West Sioux girls needed more than 80 minutes on Tuesday night to decide the victory in their soccer match. Despite the iffy weather, the green and white girls prevailed for their second straight win with a 1-0 win in overtime...

Storm Lake’s resident IRONMAN competitor, Matt Hanson, etched his name into the record books at Woodlands, Texas on Saturday with a time of 7:39:25. Originally, Hanson only knew of his IRONMAN record in the marathon portion of the event Saturday, but the news broke on Tuesday that his overall time set a new record as well...

May 1, 2018