Stories from Monday, March 4, 2019

Nine Buena Vista University business students and nine science students have been selected for the Clifford A. Rae Academic Achievement Award for the 2018 calendar year. The awards, which range up to $5,000, were created by two separate $750,000 endowments from the foundations established by Dr. ...

On the morning of Thursday, February 28, at approximately 9:48 a.m. the Storm Lake Fire Department responded to 96 Lakeshore Drive in Lakeside, IA in reference to a vehicle on fire on the side of the road. Upon arrival of fire fighters they observed a 2008 Dodge SUV totally engulfed in flames. Fire fighters extinguished the fire without further incident...

As recently as early 2017, tobacco use had declined to an all-time low among teens, but a new report has addiction prevention officials wondering if the rise in e-cigarette use has stemmed years of progress. “The people who are using e-cigarettes, that’s going up,” said Mary Sloan, prevention supervisor for Compass Pointe. ...

AMES – Recreational cannabis is legal in 10 states and Washington, D.C., but regulations regarding potency do not exist. The results of a new study, led by an Iowa State University researcher, may prompt states to reconsider. Higher average potency cannabis at first use increases the risk for the first symptom of cannabis use disorder within a year of use, according to the study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. ...

Fort Dodge – UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center is proud to announce their Radiology department will now offer PET/CT services Monday through Friday. Early in January, Trinity started offering PET/CT five days a week. Before this addition to Trinity Radiology, this service and technology was available only one day each week which meant patients would have to wait or travel. ...

Cade Thompson, an energetic and soulful contemporary Christian artist with a sound that appeals to believers and mainstream pop audiences alike, is scheduled for the No Apologies Conference, Wednesday, March 13, 6:30 p.m. at the Clay County Regional Events Center, Spencer. The event is aimed at youth and youth leaders...

Billed as America’s number one show band, Arch Allies returns to northwest Iowa for a show Friday, April 26 at Wild Rose Casino in Emmetsburg. Doors open at 7:15, the show begins at 8. Tickets are available now at $16.50, and a couples hotel package is available...

In March, the Northwest Chapter of the Iowa Archaeological Society will host a special guest, Dr. Anne Dowd, the Archaeologist at Pipestone National Monument. Dr. Dowd will be presenting on the importance of pipestone as a stone and the history of the sacred quarry location...

The “Pink Beautiful Trauma Tour 2019” will be coming to the CenturyLink center in Omaha, NE. The concert is set for Tuesday, May 7 from 7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at https://beautifultraumatour.com/#!/event/440917.

Iowa’s senior U.S. senator isn’t sure a 16-state lawsuit will stop the president’s declared national emergency before work on a southern border wall begins. “I don’t know that it’s going to stop the fence from being built,” Sen. Chuck Grassley said, adding it might halt particular aspects of the overall plan. “We’ve already got the OK for 55 miles that probably can’t be completed before the end of this fiscal year anyway.”...

Leadership at Alliant Energy expect 2019 to be a year which holds a number of changes. In addition to the company’s wind farm near Everly and command center in Spencer being expected to go fully online this spring, the company is also currently filing an electric rate review and a gas rate review with the Iowa Utilities Board...

A student with a sexual abuse conviction presented a dilemma for the Storm Lake Board of Education last week. A 16-year-old is a former student returning to the district, will reside with his family, and has applied to enter high school. Due to the nature of the teenager’s offense, which is included on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry, Superintendent Stacey Cole recommended that the student not attend the school or any extra-curricular events. ...

Storm Lake businesses will participate in the annual Walking Warehouse sale event next week. From Thursday, March 7th through Saturday, March 9th visit any of the stores listed below for special savings: Bomgaars, Brown’s Shoe Fit Co., The Buckle, Celia’s Antiques, the Daily Apple, Fareway, Hoffman’s Flowers, Hy-Vee, Loews Carpet One Floor & Home, Maurices, Melander’s, Osweiler’s Paxtons Jewelry, Rust’s Western Shed & Menswear, Shoe Sensation, Sugar Bowl Gift Shop, and Zone Home Entertainment...

The high school girl’s basketball tournament is going on in Des Moines this week, and the boys will be in town next week. At this time of the year, the average high temperature is 40 degrees. Unfortunately, we are not even close to that, and the forecast shows little improvement. The cold, snow, wind and ice make travel a little more difficult than usual, so if you are coming to Des Moines for basketball, take your time and arrive safely to enjoy the action...

The first funnel of the 2019 session is March 8th. Funnels were created to establish order in the legislative process. There was a deadline in late January for legislators to request individually authored bills. This first funnel requires that a bill has been approved in a policy committee in either chamber in order to remain alive for the session. ...

This chainsaw carved creature, which we estimate to be at least 7 to 8 feet tall, is waist deep in snow piled up around parking spaces and on the sidewalk in front of Zone on Lake Ave. At least somebody is comfortable. / Photo by Elijah Decious

College students might have their “May term” or “J-term,” but they’re not the only ones having all the fun. Students at Newell-Fonda High School dive deep during in the winter for their “WE term” (winter exploration), a two-week project that makes learning an experience...

Despite seven weather cancelation days, the school year is on pace to end May 31 for the Storm Lake Schools. Three planned professional development days will be replaced with school makeup days, March 20, April 11 and 12. The district operates on an hourly system, and has plenty of hours to meet requirements, the Storm Lake Board of Education was told recently...

An innovate app is helping to connect an army of energetic high school volunteers with a community in need of extra hands. Nearly 40 percent of the students at Storm Lake High School have used the new Helper Helper program to find volunteerism roles, contributing over 1,700 hours of labor since the end of June...

The Storm Lake High School Building and Trades program survived this school year after a new teacher for the program was found at the eleventh hour, but it could still face an uncertain future. The lot the class is currently building a home on, in the city’s new housing addition, is the last the school district has access to. A developer has made an offer to buy all the remaining lots in that addition...

If Clay County Sheriff Chris Raveling can afford enough funding, the Clay County Courthouse may have additional security in the future. The sheriff met with the Clay County Board of Supervisors to discuss a pilot program for a part time armed security guard present in the courthouse during days of high traffic. Raveling suggested hiring retired sheriff’s deputy and current Buena Vista County Supervisor Kelly Snyder for the trial program...

The Newell-Fonda Mustangs jump for joy as the final horn of the 2018-19 season sounds. The Mustangs marched through the 1A State Tournament and captured their second championship after besting West Hancock in Saturday night’s final by 24 points. See today’s sports section for full coverage and visit the Pilot-Tribune’s Facebook page for a photo gallery from State...

Storm Lake St. Mary’s School is “Rounding Up the Class of 2032” and holding Kindergarten Round Up Monday, March 11 at 6 p.m. Catholic and non-Catholic students are welcome to attend Round-Up and to enroll at St. Mary’s Catholic School. To reserve a spot at round-up, families interested should contact the school office at 712-732-4166. ...

DNR Fisheries Biologist Matt Mork checked dissolved oxygen levels Friday at lakes around the district.  Storm Lake had over 20 mg/L (ppm) near the surface and 10 mg/L (ppm) near the bottom.  In other words, dissolved oxygen concentrations remain high in Storm Lake despite the thick ice and amount of snow on top, which should help to prevent a seasonal fish kill...

Iowa Congressman Steve King is making a plea to supporters to fill his campaign coffers. “We’re still more than $1,700 below the level of resources we’ve budgeted for our early campaign activities and we need to turn this around while we still have time,” King said in an email blast...

Being the first Sioux Central boys basketball team to reach the State tournament didn’t happen overnight, but from the outset of the season, this year’s group of Rebels knew they were special and weren’t afraid to reach for greatness. “We had some high goals in our initial meetings,” Sioux Central head coach Stephen Tjaden said. ...

DES MOINES - Much like they have done in their previous 26 games this season, the Newell-Fonda girls relied on their swarming, and pesky, pressure defense to force mistake after mistake against opposing teams. For the 27th time this year the Mustangs used that to their advantage, and in the biggest game of the year, came away with their second State Championship after besting West Hancock, 76-52 in the 1A final on Saturday night...