Stories from Monday, January 14, 2019

Barbara Halverson, age 93, of Spencer, Iowa formerly of Sioux Rapids, died on Thursday, January 10 in Spencer. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, January 16, at 3 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church in Sioux Rapids. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the church. ...

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley along with Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Steve Daines of Montana, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Jim Risch of Idaho, Mike Lee of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska introduced the End Government Shutdowns Act to permanently prevent the federal government from shutting down, ensuring that essential government services aren’t disrupted and protecting taxpayers who must bear the resulting cost. ...

WASHINGTON – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota today introduced the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act of 2019, which would permit the importation of prescription drugs from approved pharmacies in Canada...

DES MOINES – Blood donors who roll up their sleeve to make a lifesaving gift with LifeServe Blood Center can give someone one more year! One blood donation can save up to three local hospital patients. It’s not just trauma victims who need blood; premature babies, cancer patients, transplant recipients, and new mothers can all use blood as part of lifesaving treatment...

“Gender equality” took on a new meaning at Spencer Hospital’s Birth Center in 2018 as exactly the same number of baby boys and baby girls – 137 of each - were born at the facility for a total of 274 babies. “It’s been a wonderful year in our birth center as our team loves the opportunity to help families welcome their little ones into the world and we enjoy educating and pampering new moms,” commented Jeannette Hasley, Spencer Hospital Birth Center Director...

AMES – Losing just a couple hours of sleep at night makes you angrier, especially in frustrating situations, according to new Iowa State University research. While the results may seem intuitive, the study is one of the first to provide evidence that sleep loss causes anger...

There will be a bridal showcase on Sunday, January 20, from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. in the Awaysis ballroom located at King’s Pointe Resort. Local venders will be available to assist in planning your special day. The bridal show is free of charge and open to the public...

HOLSTEIN – Internationally renowned expert on Christianity and the U.S. Constitution, Col. John Eidsmoe, will speak at Faith Lutheran Church AALC in Holstein at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20. Eidsmoe, an Iowa native, constitutional attorney and theologian, will discuss “The Faith of Our Founding Fathers” and will answer questions following his talk. ...

The 2018-2019 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has been established to help qualifying low-income Iowa homeowners and renters pay for a portion of their primary heating costs for the winter heating season. Applications will be talken November 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019. ...

Students take a break with a game of ping pong in the newly developed game room at the Buena Vista University Siebens Forum. The facility also features shuffleboard, foosball, table bowling, skee ball, a few classic arcade games, and tv-watching nooks. A grand opening event for the public to get a look at the renovated Forum Wednesday will be held evening, 5 - 6 p.m...

The second annual Great Lakes Toy Show will be held January 18 and 19 at the Dickinson County Expo Center on the fairgrounds at Spirit Lake (1600 15th Street). The hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. There will farm toys, NASCAR, trucks, cars, pedal tractors, etc. Admission is $2, children 11 and under are free...

The international sensation STOMP is coming to northwest Iowa Wednesday, February 13. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City. Tickets are on sale now, starting at $25.. STOMP is explosive, inventive, provocative, witty, and utterly unique – an unforgettable experience for audiences of all ages. ...

The Byron’s Birthday Party is set for Saturday, February 9 at the popular pub and music hall in Pomeroy. Joe and Vicki Price will be performing, starting at 8 p.m. When it comes to music in Iowa, Joe Price stands as one of the art’s legendary practitioners...

As Monty Python’s Flying Circus used to say, “And now for something completely different.” Goat yoga has become a thing. No, really. It’s exploding coast to coast, and a session was even held at the Iowa State Fair last summer. Did you know goat yoga is available in western Iowa? Honey Creek Creamery, nestled in the Iowa Loess Hills, will be having Namaste Goat Yoga classes again this year from April 17 through the end of May. ...

UnityPoint Health® is among 12 health systems across the United States that have joined Civica Rx as founding members. The UnityPoint system includes a clinic in Storm Lake. Civica Rx was established in 2018 by three philanthropies and seven leading health systems that experience first-hand the impact of drug shortages, which have become all too common and affect all aspects of the health care delivery system. ...

By Joseph Hopper Special to The Pilot The Auto Assistance Committee, chaired by six area social service agency representatives, is hoping to grow its vehicle donation program throughout their four-county area of Clay, Dickinson, O’Brien and Osceola counties. The group hopes by expanding their efforts and addressing critical transportation needs, area families will be able to live healthier lives...

Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake) Large areas of open water mid-lake and near the inlet. Reports of 8-9 inches of ice in the west end. Conditions are extremely variable. Use caution if venturing out on any remaining ice; wear float coats, bring picks and check ice thickness often. Walleye - Fair: Use minnows and jigging spoons during low light conditions in 5-6 feet of water. Yellow Perch - Fair: Try waxworms in 4-6 feet of water in mornings or evenings...

Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB) announced the winners of the 9th Keep Iowa Beautiful Photography Contest aimed at raising awareness of Iowa’s natural and environmental beauty. KIB wants to learn what resonates with Iowans based on the photographs they share through this annual photography contest...

Bike routes, park projects and clearing overgrown lakefront continue to be on the agenda for the Storm Lake Mayor’s Committee on Park, Trails and Urban Forestry. On plans to mark bike trail routes on city street with painted stencils, City Manager Keri Navratil told the group at its first meeting of the year Thursday, “We need to get things finalized so we don’t spend the spring and summer” organizing without getting the painting done...

Congressman Steve King finds himself playing defense against a sudden wave of national media coverage accusing him of racism. A day after learning that he would have a Republican primary challenger for 2020, King was using all of his social media resources to fend off a New York Times article that accused him of racist remarks and extremist ties, and said he has been denounced as “a white supremacist.”...

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel. It may be dim, but there’s light.” That’s how Jon Kruse, head of the Buena Vista County Trails Advisory Council describes the much-delayed, often frustrating process of pursuing bike trails for the area. After around six years of effort, the council hopes to finally see bike route signs installed next spring on a network of county roads, depending on the schedule of the county road crew...

A burglary early Friday morning in Aurelia is connected to two other burglaries in Alta and Marcus, police say. Mud on Main and New Reflections on Aurelia’s Main Street sustained about $2,000 worth of damage from pried doors, said Aurelia Chief of Police Brian Flikeid. An undisclosed amount of cash was stolen...

POCAHONTAS - The Ridge View wrestling team traveled to compete in a quad duel meet against Pocahontas Area, Cherokee, and West Sioux on Thursday night. The Raptors went 2-1 on the night and improve their record to 8-13 on the season. “We wrestled well tonight. Our kids went out and competed well. We are a young team, so learning to just compete on the mat is what we are trying to work on, I feel like we are starting to do that,” RV Coach Caleb Christensen said...

The Warrior grapplers got back at it at home on Thursday night. They split the two duals they took part in, falling to Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Aryshire but managed to best East Sac County. “The wrestlers honored coach BJ Stevicks tonight as honorary head coach on Thursday night for all that he has done for the program (he was diagnosed with cancer) - Coach Stevicks, Coach Brad Gustafson, and Coach Drenth covered for us while all three coaches were in Afghanistan in 2010-11,” A-A Coach Mike Fry said. ...

STORM LAKE - It was a rough Friday night at the Panther Pit for the St. Mary’s basketball teams who hosted East Sac County. Both the Panther teams fell against the Raiders on the night. The St. Mary’s girls bowed in a 55-42 decision. The Lady Raiders got off to a five point edge after the first quarter, 13-8. ...

STORM LAKE – The GK Storm gymnastics teams began their 2019 competitive season over the weekend at their opening meet in Sioux Falls, SD. Thirty-two GK gymnasts will compete in USA Gymnastics Xcel meets this season at the platinum, gold, silver, and bronze levels on four apparatuses—floor, beam, vault, and bars...

CARROLL - The Storm Lake wrestlers came close to going unbeaten on Saturday at the Kuemper Catholic Dual Tournament. The green and white suffered one dual loss while picking up four others to settle for second place on the day. “We had a really good day on Saturday and wrestled really well. ...

ALTA - It was a tough, defensive slugfest on Friday night when the Alta-Aurelia boys locked up with the South Central Calhoun Titans. The Warriors were on the short end of the stick for the first time in seven games, bowing in a 45-41 decision. “We had a few bad stretches in the first half and were fortunate to go to halftime only down by six. ...

SIOUX RAPIDS - The Sioux Central boys got off to a quick start on Friday night against Southeast Valley and used it to keep them at arm’s length for the rest of the game. The Rebels took a 65-44 decision to keep pace atop the Twin Lakes Conference with South Central Calhoun...

ESTHERVILLE/NEWELL - The top ranked Mustangs faced a bit of a challenge on Thursday night in a non-conference contest against Estherville-Lincoln Central. Newell-Fonda was able to keep enough distance to take a 62-50 decision against the Midgets to move to 12-0...

ESTHERVILLE/NEWELL - The Newell-Fonda’s boys desire and will to win was tested on Thursday night in a non-conference road tilt against Estherville-Lincoln Central. The Midgets got off to an early edge but the Mustangs furiously fought back and ended up taking a 78-69 decision for their sixth win on the season...

TORM LAKE - The offense was clicking on Friday night for the Storm Lake boys basketball team. Through the first three quarters the shots were falling through the hoop like rain on a warm summer night. This allowed the green and white to take a 26 point decision against Estherville-Lincoln Central, 76-50...

Storm Lake schools are in a state of flux—something reflected in exploding attendance numbers, state evaluations and graduation rates. School administrators are hoping it’s an evolvement to an even better school district more equipped to handle the unique problems of today’s students in the sheer numbers they’re enrolling in...