Stories from Friday, February 22, 2019

MidAmerican Energy Company today announced its support for legislation that advances renewable energy policy by supporting customer fairness. The policy eliminates the shifting of electric grid costs from those who can afford private solar to all other customers and gives customers more options for connecting solar to the electric grid. ...

Americana is the perfect concoction of American roots music that comprises our musical ethos as we know it today. It is something so engrained in our history, folklore, tradition, and mythology that it is not as simple as just “becoming” Americana, but rather, it is something that you are born into. It’s that old cast-iron Coca-Cola sign that’s been in your neighbor’s shed for 50 years, a banjo and a Fender telecaster playing together, a 1955 Chevy with a modern stereo...

Storm Lake Witter Art Gallery’s current exhibit, “The Venus Represented,” examines women through the eyes of a dozen different female visual artists, including some local artisans. The frank works range from the sentimental to the discomforting, reflecting personal truths through self-expression...

A Storm Lake woman is charged with Assault and Burglary after entering a victim’s vehicle and attacking s female victim inside, causing facial injuries. Storm Lake Police were called to the 1700 block of East Milwaukee Avenue late Monday afternoon on a report of a fight in progress. Responding officers were advised that some of the fight participants were separating and a vehicle connected to the disturbance was now located at a residence nearby...

Faced with hard-to-fill positions, Prairie Lakes Education Agency is considering financial incentives to attract applicants. At its board meeting Monday, Chief Administrator Jeff Herzberg shared information with the Board on possible incentives. The Board asked Herzberg to research what private companies, and the other Iowa AEAs, are doing to attract employees. The Board will further discuss the possibilities next month...

The annual Parade of Bands Concert featuring band members from 5th through 12th grades will be held on Tuesday, March 5, at Storm Lake High School. Everyone is invited to hear the talents of the students and help support music in the local school system...

January Interim, or “J-Term,” is often the time Buena Vista University students serve internships that allow real-world experiences. But in one Interim class this January, the intern served as teacher, an instructor from the Mayo Clinic Career Development Internship Program...

The Buena Vista County Historical Society is assembling a “Main Street of the Past” exhibit for the coming season, to open in April. Anyone with historical items to share from former downtown Storm Lake businesses is invited to share them with the museum for the exhibit. ...

In rural Iowa, land is everything. And with most of the state’s rich black soil owned by people over age 65, the future is uncertain. A unique drama harvests a crop of emotion that goes with facing the future of our farms. Practical Farmers of Iowa and Center for Rural Affairs are partnering to bring several performances of “Map of My Kingdom,” a play that explores many of the thorny issues surrounding farmland transfer decisions, to communities across Iowa in March and April...

You may know that February is Black History Month, but do you know why it’s Black History Month? Or why it’s celebrated annually? If you didn’t, you’re not alone. Many students hearing those questions Thursday at Buena Vista University posed didn’t either...

Updates from the Storm Lake Police Department, the Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office and the Storm Lake Fire Department.

Unlike our typical March weather, AccuWeather this year forecasts a mid-March with temperatures in the mid-40’s, and snow limited to occasional flurries. As further proof that Spring is coming, “Touch of Broadway” will be performing at the Fonda Arts Center on Sunday, March 17th, at 3:00 p.m.! Touch of Broadway is the traveling part of the Buena Vista Community Theater, and has been on the road for eighteen successful years, sharing its impressive talent in an uplifting, family oriented show. ...

David and Laura Turnquist of Alta announce the engagement of their daughter Lesa Turnquist to Tanner Heckt, son of Angela Keese and Bob Heckt of Dysart, Iowa. Lesa graduated from Alta High School in 2011, and Tanner graduated from Union High School in 2013. ...

January 21, 1960 - February 16, 2019

The Storm Lake School Foundation raised $545 for the Tornado Alley Program at its’ Trivia Night Fundraiser on February 2. Dave McCoy won the 50/50 raffle and donated his share back to Tornado Alley. These funds along with support from Family Dental Center who donated 144 toothbrushes and toothpaste HyVee were used to donate personal care (soap, deodorant, shampoo, feminine hygiene products) and food items to Tornado Alley...

In last week’s newsletter I mentioned that one of the bills that I have been assigned to floor manage this session is HSB38; “An act relating to stand up scooters and providing penalties.” When those in my generation think about scooters we go back to the scooters of our childhood that consisted of a short platform mounted between two wheels with a handle bar extending from the front steering wheel and where the “deluxe” model had a brake on the rear wheel. ...

DES MOINES — Gov. Kim Reynolds is dismissing criticism of her decision to schedule a special election for a state Senate district in the Cedar Falls area while University of Northern Iowa students are on spring break. Asked Tuesday if she knew students would be gone when she scheduled the election for March 19, the Republican governor responded, “It doesn’t really matter.”...

SIOUX RAPIDS -- Minor injuries were reported in a Tuesday morning accident involving three vehicles near Goat Hill on U.S. Highway 71 which blocked the busy north-south route for approximately an hour. Clay County Sheriff’s responded to the call at 7:48 a.m. ...

An Iowa commission has rejected a proposal from two environmental groups to adopt stricter standards for the state’s nearly 160 recreational lakes - including Storm Lake - saying the effort would be too expensive. The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission rejected the proposal Tuesday because of the $205 million estimated cost...

Throughout the fall semester, several Buena Vista University students visited the Storm Lake Middle School to conduct science experiments and projects with youth after school as part of the Tornado Learning Club. One of the sessions involved the BVU science students working alongside teams of 5th-8th graders to build bridges made of one sheet of printer paper. ...

Western Iowa Congressman Steve King announced this week that he will be running for another term in 2020. King made the announcement in response to a question about his plans, during a taping of the “Iowa Press” television show. Asked about looming opponents for a Republican primary, King said his supporters should not “let the leftists in this country, the power brokers in this country tell you who is going to represent you in the United States Senate.”...

Storm Lake continued to prepare for the 2020 Census, in hopes of getting a more accurate accounting of the city’s population. “We all know there’s more than 10,600 people,” City Council member Tyson Rice said during a council meeting this week, referring to the Census estimate based off the 2010 count, which local official have agreed is an underestimation. City officials have suggested that the actual population may exceedd 13,000...

Storm Lake Superintendent Stacey Cole has seen enough snow, but says she has a sneaking suspicion that winter hasn’t delivered its last punch… yet. Students in area schools will soon be paying a price for those highly-anticipated snow days, too. If it can be avoided, Storm Lake school officials want to avoid make-up days at the end of the school year...

“We have people saying, ‘We need the space, go right back after it, don’t let this fall by the wayside.” - Stacey Cole

The Iowa Girls Coaches Association released their All-Region teams along with the coach of the year awards for those regions. Two area athletes made the list this year along with an area coach. Newell-Fonda senior Olivia Larsen was named to the 1A-Northwest Team for her efforts this year. The future Morningside Mustang put up nearly 14 points a game this year and hit 48 percent of her shots. She was second on N-F in rebounds with 138, but also had 111 assists and 130 steals...

SAC CITY - Sioux Central picked up their third win this season over a scrappy Newell-Fonda squad, 54-44 in a Class 1A District final Thursday night. In the battle between familiar Twin Lakes rivals, the #1-seed Rebels led the entire contest with steady play from their all-seniors staring five. They built an edvantage as hefty as 16 points early in the fourth quarter, with the Mustangs fighting back to cut it to 6 in the late going before SC free throws sealed the deal...

STORM LAKE - Twice. That’s the number of time that the Storm Lake boys came back from a double-digit deficit in a 3A-Substate 1 semifinal contest. In front of a standing room only crowd, the Tornadoes and Spirit Lake Indians put on a thriller for their third game against each other this season. In the end, the green and white were unable to muster one final push to keep their season alive, dropping a 68-62 decision...

Storm Lake’s eighth grade is getting down to business to put together this year’s showing of Mulan Junior, this year with two shows to feature nearly double the cast. About 125 auditioned for the last Mary Poppins production, so music teacher Jolene Schaefer knew it was time to step up the production...