Stories from Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Richard Lee Severson, age 79, of Bella Vista, Arkansas died Saturday, April 13, at Circle of Life Hospice House located in Bentonville, Arkansas.  He was born August 23, 1939 in Storm Lake, Iowa. The son of Dorothy Anderson and Melvin Severson. He attended Hayes Country School and was active in 4H showing cattle as a child growing up on the farm.  ...

Joy Huegerich, age 76, of Sioux Rapids, formerly of Varina, passed away on Saturday, April 13, at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center after a long battle with cancer. Funeral Mass was held on Wednesday, April 17, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Varina. ...

Myron Nourse, age 72, of Storm Lake, died on Saturday, April 13, at the Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake. No services will be held at this time. Burial will be in the Storm Lake Cemetery. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

Aleene C. Johnson, age 90, of Temple, TX, formerly of Holstein, passed away on Tuesday, March 26, at the Cornerstone Gardens Healthcare & Rehabilitation of Temple. A funeral service was held on Monday, April 15, at 1 p.m. at the Nicklas D. Jensen Funeral Home of Holstein with the Pastor Jay Wallace officiating. Burial will be at the Holstein Cemetery of Holstein. A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service starting at 12 p.m. at the Nicklas D. Jensen Funeral Home of Holstein...

Funeral services for Ray J. Vring, 81, of Alta, are being held Wednesday, April 17, at 10:30 a.m. at the Church of Christ in Alta, with Pastor Ben Michaels officiating. Burial will be in the St. John Lutheran Cemetery, Hanover. Visitation will be at the church. The Redig Funeral Home in Aurelia is in charge of arrangements...

On the morning of Sunday, April 14, at approximately 5:10 a.m. the Storm Lake Police Department was dispatched to 700 Prairie Lane in reference to a report of several underage people consuming alcohol at that location. Upon arrival of police they made contact with an adult home owner and subsequently located several underage persons in the basement of the residence allegedly consuming and/or in possession of alcohol...

There are those who claim Iowa weather is in a state of flux like never before, and government must do something. It may appear that way to some, but remember, if you can, the 1930’s were the hottest decade on record in Iowa. My grandparents often told me as I was growing up how all the corn turned white on the Fourth of July in 1936, and how bad the winter of 1935 was with cold and snow. ...

This year’s Ridge View Mock Trial team participated in the Iowa State Bar Association’s annual High School Mock Trial regional competition at NIACC college in Mason City. This year’s civil case “Kelly Crown v. Bryce Cutter d/b/a Charity Operations Network” was given to all high school teams in December to prepare for trial this March. ...

The Storm Lake Community School District’s focus on project-based learning continues to pay off in big ways. The latest example unfolded recently at the National History Day district competition, where 26 Storm Lake students qualified for state. The theme for this year’s competition was ‘Triumph and Tragedy in History.” Students spent hours researching topics before condensing their work into completed projects. ...

The Storm Lake Music Department recently performed in the state IHSMA solo/ensemble contest held at Sioux City North High School.  Students performed for a judge and received a rating for their performance.   Band Ratings: Soloists receiving a division I rating (superior):  ...

Cinco de Mayo with tequila, tacos, and nine holes of golf, Saturday, May 4, at the Buena Vista University Golf Course at Lake Creek Country Club. Tee time is 4 p.m. with food to follow play. This is a group golf event with no score counted (only hole prizes). Bring your friends and have some fun...

“No one is ever really gone,” says the voice of Luke Skywalker in the first teaser trailer for “Star Wars: Episode IX,” which audiences finally learned will be called “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” Friday at a fan event in Chicago. The closely guarded film from director J.J. ...

Arnolds Park Amusement Park has announced the lineup for its 2019 Grand Opening Series at the new Roof Garden. To kick off the new Roof Garden, Arnolds Park Amusement Park will be hosting a Grand Opening Concert Series. Tommy James & The Shondells will start the series with a concert on Friday, Aug. ...

Viral sensation #IMOMSOHARD will bring their unique comedy act to the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City on Wednesday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets sales have opened. Moms, best friends and funny ladies Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley are the creators of the viral web-series #IMOMSOHARD, where they discuss the good, the bad and the funny about motherhood – with the help of a bottle of red wine. In addition to a performing tour, they’ve written a popular book of the same title...

The Storm Lake Public Library Board of Trustees will be holding a Community Forum on April 23, at 5:30 p.m. The public is invited to voice their concerns and suggestions regarding the library. The forum will be held in the main reading room. For more information, please call the library, 732-8026...

Wednesday, April 10 kicks off a new campaign in the Storm Lake Community. Habitat of Humanity of Buena Vista County is attempting to collect over 1,000 volunteer hours. The campaign is titled “A Shingle Act of Kindness,” and aims to encourage people to support Habitat for Humanity in Storm Lake by volunteering to help build the next home in Storm Lake this summer...

Hope Evangelical church members of Storm Lake made Easter cards for Methodist Manor residents over the weekend.

Officials at the 11,000-square-foot Webster County Museum are weighing whether to try and quickly repair a leaky roof, move the artifacts to another building or disband the collection altogether. Phyllis Stewart, the museum’s volunteer curator, said the former Otho Elementary School building holds all of Webster County’s history. ...

MidAmerican Energy Company has dispatched dozens of electric line workers, trucks and equipment, including emergency generators, to restore electric service to thousands of customers in northwest Iowa affected by recent intense storm. Extremely high winds, along with snow and ice, downed more than 50 transmission line poles between Rock Valley and Inwood in Lyon County. ...

A Muskrat and an American Coot ( mud hen) share a tasty morsel at Burrow’s Pond in Sac County.

A Newell man has been arrested for exposing himself in the parking lot at the Storm Lake Dollar Store. Police took a report of alleged indecent expoasure on the afternoon of February 27, as a witness said an adult male was exposing himself and committing a lewd act in a car outside the store. The suspect had left by the time officers arrived, but the witness was able to provide a vehicle description...

A Spirit Lake woman and an infant child were injured Monday afternoon in a single-vehicle accident east of Sioux Rapids. Officials say the car went airborne after striking an embankment, sailing over a fence and two trees before coming to a rest. A caller reported the accident shortly before 3:30 p.m., on C13, just west of 150th Street. The car was eastbound approaching the county road when it left the roadway and entered the north ditch...

A motorcycle rider was killed in a collision with an anhydrous tank being pulled by a truck on a rural road north of Alta Monday night. The Suzuki GSXR motorcycle being driven by Lien Tejeda Lores, age 29, of Storm Lake, was northbound on M31, just north of Alta. A pickup driven by Norman O’Bannon, age 67, of Storm Lake, had pulled off of 150th Street to turn south on M31, towing the tank on a trailer...

Storm Lake Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety Mark Prosser is urging Iowa lawmakers to relay the importance of permanent protections for Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status immigrants, whose futures remain in limbo...

“They’re going ahead with the dissolution,” reported Buena Vista County Supervisor Kelly Snyder, telling Supervisors Tuesday that all but five of Compass Pointe’s 35 employees were dismissed yesterday, locking the doors in all nine counties in the abrupt closure of the mental health institution...

The City of Storm Lake was recently named the statewide 2018 Innovative Leadership Award winner by 1000 Friends of Iowa, a group dedicated to responsible land use. Director Kari Carney presented awards during Monday’s city council meeting, citing Storm Lake for building a sustainable community through food efforts, flood control, stormwater management, watershed improvement, and efforts involving high school ecology and university science students on behalf of the local environment. ...

Storm Lake college student Isabel Haas is being honored with an Excellence in Mentoring Award presented by Governor Kim Reynolds this week at the state capitol rotunda. The award program, established in 2009, gives certified mentoring programs such as Storm Lake’s the opportunity to recognize outstanding long-time youth mentors. Individuals selected have served as a mentor a minimum of two years and exemplify both the spirit and positive benefits of mentoring...

Storm Lake prom-goers in all their finery pose with the backdrop in the Storm Lake High School Commons. After moving the event back to the school this year, attendance increased by 40 couples.

The City of Storm Lake’s plans to redo the Michigan Street parking lot this spring will likely be pushed back to fall, after a lone contractor bid for the project came in about 47 percent above the estimated cost for the project. The city’s engineer had estimated cost at about $329,000, and the company from Fort Dodge bid over $484,000. Several other companies that had shown an interest did not submit bids...

The Gospel Fellowship, a network of area churches and ministries, will hold their annual Joint Easter Sunrise Service, April 21 at 6:15 a.m. at Casino Beach (located behind the Storm Lake Marina on the west side of the lake). Worshippers are encouraged to bring their own chair, blanket and lantern...

A Storm Lake resident chided the city council Monday night about the condition of the community, saying that it’s being allowed to “turn into a junkyard.” He said many junk vehicles are being allowed to sit around, as well as garbage on trailers. “It makes the town look like hell,” he said. He brought photos of what he saw as problem areas, and urged the city to do more to enforce ordinances dealing with abandoned vehicles and junk...

On Thursday, April 18th, at 7:30 p.m. the Storm Lake United Methodist Church, 211 East 3rd Street, will be presenting an original Last Supper Drama titled That You May Have Everlasting Life. The drama explores some of the events that happened during Jesus’ last week on earth. ...

CORRECTIONVILLE/ONAWA - The Ridge View girls and boys golf teams were in Western Valley Conference action on Monday night. The Raptor girls did not have enough players to field a team score in their meet, while the boys took fifth out of the nine teams...

AURELIA - The Alta-Aurelia boys and girls golf teams played host to Sioux Central’s in a Twin Lakes Conference dual on Monday night. The Warrior teams got the better of their TLC foe Rebels, the boys taking a 179-205 score, and the girls 206-216. “We are really excited as we improved this meet again. ...

GOWRIE - The Newell-Fonda boys and girls track teams got back to running on Monday afternoon and came back home with a solid effort behind them. The Mustang girls took second out of seven teams, only trailing hosting Southeast Valley. The boys were fourth as South Central Calhoun took the boys side of things...

SPIRIT LAKE - The Tornado girls got back on the tennis court on Monday night as they took on Lakes Conference foe Spirit Lake. The green and white came away licking their wounds after an 8-1 defeat against the Indians. “The girls worked hard but we need some time outside,” SL Coach Staci Maloy said...

STORM LAKE - The Storm Lake boys were unable to get on track Monday afternoon against the Spirit Lake Indians in a Lakes Conference tennis contest. The green and white walked away with an 8-1 defeat against the Indians. “It was nice to see Kevin (Lopez) win in his first match of the season after being sidelined with a foot injury for the first three meets,” SL Coach Sam Lipps said. “Spirit Lake did a nice job of limiting errors and waiting for us to make the mistakes all night.”...

NEWELL - The Mustangs and the Tornadoes duked it out on the golf course on Monday evening, playing nine holes to see who was the better team. Newell-Fonda came out on top by 24 strokes against Storm Lake, 175-199. “We got a good win against a good Storm Lake team,” N-F Coach Nathan Baron said. “We still have a number of things to work on and iron out in order to shoot a lower team score.”...

STORM LAKE - The Storm Lake girls soccer team has shown some flashes of being able to put it together in the early season, but they reverted back to what Coach Alison Myrtue dubbed “boot ball” on Monday night against Spirit Lake. The Indians took a 3-0 contest from the Tornadoes as the green and white continue to search for their first win...

SHELDON - The Storm Lake girls track team got back at it on Monday night in an invitational that saw three different classes compete. The Tornadoes finished sixth out of the eight teams in the Class A rankings with 56 points as Sioux Center won the A meet with LeMars taking second...

STORM LAKE - The Storm Lake boys soccer team, ranked fourth in 2A, kept their regular season unbeaten streak alive and nearing the two year mark since they dropped a regular season contest. Spirit Lake was the latest victim to the streak as Storm Lake took a 2-0 victory against their Lakes Conference foe. It was also the second shutout win of the year for Storm Lake...