Stories from Monday, December 3, 2018

On Thursday, November 15, 2018, Buena Vista County conducted its first post-election audit under a new law designed to monitor and protect election processes. Iowa law now requires that after each general election, the Secretary of State will choose, at random, one precinct in each Iowa county to be audited. ...

Ronald D. Wipperling, age 55, of Storm Lake, died on Tuesday, November 27, at the Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge. Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 3, at 10:30 a.m. at the St. Peter Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. Visitation took place on Sunday, December 2, at the Sliefert Funeral Home in Storm Lake. Burial will be in the Poland Township Cemetery in Marathon. The Sliefert Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

Julie Hamilton has been photographing barns since 2010. She enhances and changes the image to create a more interesting artistic version. The ultimate goal is to impress upon people to take notice of barns. To see them as a dying structure that should be treasured and cared for...

Free Chili Feed during Miracle on Lake Avenue at Real Life Community Church 610 Michigan St. (located behind Storm Lake Bakery). Thursday, December 6 5 - 7 p.m. Come for chili, cinnamon rolls (donated by Storm Lake Bakery) and other refreshments. There will also be a kids craft creation for the kids to create a craft and take home all night as well...

Monday, Dec. 3 Storm Lake Home-style Scalloped Potatoes & Ham with Dinner Roll, Fresh Baked Sub Station, Oven-Roasted Hot Dog, Cheeseburger, Crispy Chicken Sandwich, Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Pork Fritter Sandwich, BBQ Rib Sandwich, Fresh Baked Cheesy Pizza, Fresh Baked Sausage Pizza, Turkey Combo Deli Wrap, Grilled Chicken Salad with Roasted Flatbread, Vegetarian Chef Salad with Roasted Flatbread, Fruit, Yogurt & Cheese Platter...

Witter Art Gallery in Storm Lake featured a showing of historic military posters during November.

While decrease of bone density is a natural occurrence in aging, steps can be taken to enhance bone health and decrease a person’s risk of osteoporosis-related injuries and illnesses. Dr. Dan McGuire, spine specialist with Iowa Spine Care of Spencer Hospital, will speak at a free lunch and learn event on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at Spencer Hospital...

Thousands of foster children may be getting powerful psychiatric drugs prescribed to them without basic safeguards, says a federal watchdog agency that found a failure to care for youngsters whose lives have already been disrupted. A report released Monday by the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office found that about 1 in 3 foster kids from a sample of states were prescribed psychiatric drugs without treatment plans or follow-up, standard steps in sound medical care...

Storm Lake Middle School choir and orchestra performed a winter concert last week celebrating the diversity in their school and world. A large crowd filled the high school auditorium for the event.

Popular area country/rock cover band LD3 returns to Innspiration Wines & Vines at Linn Grove, Friday, December 14. The band, with members from Spencer and Manson areas, has grown from a family trio that has been playing together since 1968, to a core group of six performers with many guest musicians. Second generation performer Duane “Deacon” Davis leads the group today...

In a battle between the internet and John C. Reilly, who among us wouldn’t root for the latter? Leave us IMDb.com and a few podcasts, John, but by all means, go smashy-smashy with the rest. Having liberated arcade game characters from their rigidly ordained roles in 2012s “Wreck-it Ralph,” its sequel, “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” sends our charmingly lopsided duo — the hulking, big-fisted Ralph (Reilly) and the glitchy pipsqueak candy-colored racer Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) — into that expansive netherworld where clickbait lurks and pop-ups proliferate.. ...

Buena Vista University has signed agreements with Drake University to provide BVU undergraduates the opportunity to apply to three different advanced degree programs—allowing them to earn their Drake degree and a BVU bachelor’s degree in an accelerated timeframe...

Presented at the Closing Party and Awards Reception Wednesday, the Clay County Fair and Events Center received first-place recognition in two categories, along with 10 other awards, at the annual International Association of Fairs and Expositions Convention in San Antonio, Texas...

The Adopt-A-Family for Christmas project has seen a heart-warming season, with 185 families adopted as the holiday deadline nears. The Pilot-Tribune and Upper Des Moines Opportunity co-sponsor the program each year, matching generous individuals, families, businesses, clubs, classrooms and church groups with needy local families to provide the Christmas experience they might otherwise not have...

The Storm Lake Board of Education met in closed session Wednesday, eventually adopting a recommendation to terminate employment of a non-teaching member of the buildings staff, who has been with the district since 2000. School officials said they could not discuss the cause for the termination...

Most people wouldn’t take being termed a “caveman” as a complement. But 2004 Buena Vista University grad Joel Green delights in being the foremost authority on Robber’s Cave, a Lincoln, Nebraska attraction that after being long sealed off, is now open to the public once again - it’s sandstone passageways filled with history and legend...

Coming out of a strong fiscal year in 2018, Professional Developers of Iowa says there is still work to be done in 2019’s legislative session to bring Iowa up from its slipping rank of 18 among all states for business as it’s dragged down by lack of housing and a nearly tapped out workforce...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s High School Silversteppers Dance Team took first place honors in Pom and Hoopla in the Class 1A competition at the State Dance Championships in Des Moines this week. Team head coach is Tori Stille. Front row - Vivian Keenan, Ashley Green, Lizzie Lenhart, Addie Young. Second row – Alondra Melendez, Grace Murray, and Jordan Hewett. Back – Emily Nothwehr, Ariana Elsden, Danika Demers and Ellie Bacon...

Domestic abuse is sneaky. It doesn’t present itself on the first date. If it did, you’d walk away—which makes it critical to be able to recognize the warning signs early. What makes the cycle of abuse physically and emotionally pervasive is the fact that by the time an abuser gets to the point of using physical threats on their victims, they often don’t need to—the intimidation is already a persuasive enough force...

At 56, Terry Paulson had been working for the Fort Dodge school district all his teaching career. As part of that career, Terry was active officiating football. With all that running up and down a 100- yard field every Friday night, one would assume Terry was pretty healthy. Terry thought so, too. Yet a small voice made him think he should go get a physical...

MAPLETON - The Raptors took part in their first Western Valley Conference meet on Thursday night and came away with a split evening. RV was able to best MVAOCOU, 57-19 but fell to OA-BCIG, 54-27. “It was a good night of competition for us. We wrestled well for our first conference duals of the season. ...

NEWELL - The 2018-19 Twin Lakes Conference opener for the Newell-Fonda Mustangs and Sioux Central Rebels girls’ basketball teams went in the Mustangs’ favor thanks to a hard nosed defense in the opening 16 minutes. N-F moved to 3-0 on the year following a 68-36 victory over Sioux Central...

Though the lobby of the new Spirit Lake Veterans Affairs Clinic was standing room only for its mid-October ribbon cutting, several northwest Iowa legislators were unable to attend. U.S. Rep. Steve King circled back to the VA facility last week to tour the building and speak with the clinic staff...

ALTA - It was the Twin Lakes Conference opener on Friday night for both the St. Mary’s Panthers and Alta-Aurelia Warriors. The Warriors defense came to play against the Panthers, smothering them with hard nosed defense. A-A picked up their second win on the season, a 58-35 decision...

ALTA - The Alta-Aurelia Warriors and St. Mary’s Panthers girls basketball teams did battle on Friday night on the hardwood for 32 minutes. After a close first half, the St. Mary’s team began to pull away in the final 16 minutes, winning both schools’ Twin Lakes Conference opener, 41-25...

SIOUX RAPIDS - Storm Lake entered the new wrestling season with some high expectations on themselves and they came out looking strong on Thursday night in their first three duals of the season. They were able to best Pocahontas Area, Sioux Central and West Bend-Mallard to pick up three wins on opening night...

STORM LAKE - The green and white girls had a rough shooting night on Thursday against Denison-Schleswig but played hard nosed defense through the first 16 minutes. The second half showed a different contest as the Monarchs pulled away from Storm Lake for a 59-33 decision...

STORM LAKE - After a tough opening night loss on Tuesday night, the Storm Lake boys’ basketball team went home looking for some home cooking on Thursday evening against Denison-Schleswig. Storm Lake kept up the scoring ability but the defense was able to ward off a run from the Monarchs in the second half on a few occasions to pull out a 78-66 win and were led by senior Mach Nyaw’s 29 point effort...