Stories from Wednesday, January 2, 2019

The City of Storm Lake provides residents of the city with an easy christmas tree disposal program. Live trees used during the holiday season can be disposed of at the drop off location (in the parking area south of the Storm Lake Water Treatment Plant at the intersection of HWY 110, Abner Bell Road, and West 5th Street) beginning on Wednesday, December 26, and running through Sunday, January 6, 2019...

Members of Buena Vista Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, continued their annual holiday tradition. They signed Christmas and other cards to be sent to veterans who will be hospitalized over the Christmas season. This year the chapter signed 115 cards for the VA Medical Center in Des Moines. Supporting veterans during this special season and throughout the year is a major activity for DAR members...

On the afternoon of Thursday, December 27, at approximately 4 p.m. a Storm Lake Police officer made contact with a wanted person in the 300 block of West Milwaukee Avenue. Police arrested Wesley William, age 57 of Storm Lake, who was wanted on a Buena Vista County warrant charging him with Contempt of Court reference Driving While Revoked...

Shirley Pepper, age 92, of Storm Lake, died on Wednesday, December 26, at the Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, January 5, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Storm Lake. ...

Maria Guadalupe Villanueva Navarrete, age 79, of Storm Lake, died on Wednesday, December 24, at her home in Storm Lake. Funeral mass was held on Saturday, December 29, at 10 a.m. at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Storm Lake. Burial will be in the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Storm Lake. Visitation took place on Friday, December 28, from 4 - 9 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

George Kestel, age 60, of Storm Lake, died on Thursday, December 27, at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake. Funeral Mass were held on Monday, December 31, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Storm Lake. Burial will be in St. ...

Sioux Rapids P.E.O. Chapter GJ announces that applications are being accepted from area women post-secondary students for $300 and $500 scholarships to be awarded in February 2019. To be eligible for a scholarship the applicant must be from, or living in, the Buena Vista or Clay County area. They must have completed one year of post-secondary education and currently be enrolled in a college, university, community college or va-tech school. All applications must be postmarked by January 15, 2019...

January Art Wall: Mavis Wolfgram January West Gallery Exhibit: Wilderman’s Treetop Tales; Artwork by Chad Elliott January 1: Closed for New Year’s Day January 2: Public Planetarium Show - To Eat the Sun: Eclipses: People have been fascinated with eclipses for thousands of years. Learn about the Mayan eclipse beliefs and then fly out into space to better understand how solar and lunar eclipses happen. 4 p.m...

Have you ever done a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters in northeast Minnesota? Did you know there are many archaeological sites hidden between those lakes? Learn about the ancient stone tool quarries of the Boundary Waters and how ancient Native Americans used them in this educational opportunity at Sanford Museum in Cherokee, presented by Dr. Mark Muniz, Anthropology Professor at St. Cloud State University. The event is Thursday, January 17, 6 p.m. (rescheduled from January 2.)...

Sunday, January 6, 2019 8:45 a.m. - Adult Bible Study 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School 9:45 a.m. – Nursery 10 a.m. – Worship 11 a.m. – Coffee & Conversation

Youngsters strike a pose, then take a toboggan ride behind an all-terrain vehicle on the frozen lake near Lakeside Campground, an extra bit of rope allowing the youngest to tag along.

Scheduling and attending a doctor’s appointment can be challenging. It may involve juggling work and childcare schedules, driving during rush hour or sitting in a crowded waiting room. It’s no wonder virtual care (also known as remote care, telehealth, telemedicine or online visits) is growing in popularity. ...

We often think of the healing being done at local hospitals as occurring primarily through medicines or procedures, however music also plays a healing role for hospice and behavioral health patients. Spencer Hospital officials said the music performed by the hospital’s therapeutic musician, Robin Keith, has quickly grown into the most popular service offered in hospice care. ...

Sac County Sheriff’s deputies charged nine people with minor in possession of alcohol after they received information from another county of an underage party at a residence in Odebolt. Deputies checked the home just after midnight Christmas Eve. As deputies approached the residence, people on the porch outside were heard yelling “cops” as they ran into the home. ...

In the 2010 documentary “Marwencol,” the world met Mark Hogancamp, the survivor of a vicious beating 10 years earlier who had turned to art as a form of therapy. In strange and strangely moving photographic dioramas, Hogancamp documented life in an imaginary world he had constructed in his upstate New York backyard: A miniature, World War II-era Belgian town populated by foot-tall dolls and filled with meticulously rendered details. ...

What better way to pass a New Year’s Eve than a safe and sane evening on the sofa with a good movie? Here are our picks for the best New Year’s themed flicks of all time. 12. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Bridget (Renee Zellweger) is struggling against her age, weight, job, perpetual single-ness and countless imperfections. ...

Gasoline prices in Iowa have fallen 8.0 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.06 to start the week. This compares with the national average that has fallen 5.9 cents per gallon versus last week to $2.31. Storm Lake prices slipped below the $2 mark for super unleaded, and continues to slowly decline, reaching a low of $1.87 Dec. 27...

A gofundme page has been established for Joanne Alvarez of Storm Lake, who has been diagnosed with End-Stage Kidney Failure, a disorder in which the functioning kidney starts to decline. It is an irreversible malfunction of the kidney that requires ongoing surgeries, medication, and dialysis treatments...

The Storm Lake Student section does the roller coaster on during a recent game.

Two prominent and influential eras of American history will be the topic of two future exhibits at Clay County Heritage. A traveling exhibit, “Boys in Blue: Grand Army of the Republic,” will open Jan. 15. The exhibit takes a regional look at those fighting the war which pitted the union against the confederacy for the future of the United States...

Someone has outfitted the statue of a young baseball player at the memorial gardens at Awaysis Park with an official Storm Lake Tornadoes team cap.

After a rare bipartisan compromise with the Farm Bill signed by President Trump, the Department of Agriculture has announced it will proceed with some of the changes resisted by Congress anyway, in the form of policy changes. Propositions for the Farm Bill previously championed by Rep. ...

After a dozen years as a County Supervisor, Dale Arends says he’s proud of what the county has been able to accomplish during this time. Leaving something you’ve loved after 12 years is nothing short of bittersweet, he says, though he’ll stick around in case freshmen supervisor Kelly Snyder needs to know anything after he’s sworn in January 2...

Third graders at Storm Lake Elementary School wished the crowd a Happy New Year as part of their recent holiday concert.

It has been a year of change and growth for Storm Lake, one that saw both challenges and achievements, multi-million-dollar projects and raised awareness. All of this was reflected in the headlines of the Pilot-Tribune. Here’s a month-by-month rundown of our top stories...