Stories from Wednesday, April 24, 2019

On the morning of Saturday, April 20, at approximately 6:22 a.m. the Storm Lake Police Department was dispatched to 318 Lake Avenue in reference to a disturbance in progress. Upon arrival police made contact with Lisa Lohnes, age 35 of Storm Lake outside of the residence. ...

Ellen A. Rasmussen, age 94, of Newell, died Friday, April 19, at the Newell Good Samaritan Society in Newell. Funeral services took place Tuesday, April 23, at 2 p.m. at the Nain Lutheran Church in Newell. Burial will be in the Newell Cemetery. Visitation took place Monday, April 22, from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

Marlys Fay (Miller) Marshall passed away at the age of 87 on April 19, in the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, surrounded by her family. Funeral services took place Wednesday, April 24 at Grace Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, Iowa. Burial will be in the Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery in Storm Lake. Visitation took place Tuesday, April 23, from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Alta. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Alta is in charge of the arrangements...

Buena Vista University Army ROTC Cadet Jacob M. Heath was one of 10 ROTC members in Iowa to receive the Governor’s Cup ROTC Award for outstanding achievement. Iowa Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg made the presentation on April 12 at the Joint Forces Headquarters, Iowa National Guard, in Johnston...

A creative display at the Storm Lake Elementary School library helps to encourage reading, while the walls are covered with book reviews written by students, profiling their favorite stories.

With help from a friendly robot named Dash, 17 Clover Kids from four counties practiced their skills in programming, problem-solving and creativity. They were participating in the Iowa 4-H Wonder League Robotics Exposition, held April 6 in Ames. “Iowa State University Extension and Outreach 4-H Youth Development strives to be a leader in providing young people opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also know as STEM. ...

The Iowa FFA Ag Impact Leadership Event was held at Iowa State University, Ames, on Monday, April 15, 2019. Eleven chapters participated in this year’s Career Development Event (CDE). Ag Impact is a CDE that challenges Middle School FFA members to explore the importance of agriculture in our state, county, and communities. ...

As famous as the amusement park at Arnolds Park itself, the Queen II is an Okoboji favorite. In the late 19th century, the lakes region became a resort area and the small steamboats and sailboats could not keep up with the flow of vacationers. The Queen, a large steamer, was constructed, along with other larger boats, to accommodate this new need. ...

The spring music schedule is taking shape for InnSpiration Winery in Linn Grove. The Friday night concert schedule starts May 3 with J. Jeffrey Messerole, an indie folk-alt county singer-songwriter from Spirit Lake. Messerole masterfully blends the sound of his guitar, with haunting lyrics, and harmonica to tell gritty American tales. ...

Pieces from the current exhibit of Buena Vista University student art at the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake.

Summit Evangelical Free Church hosted a concert by the A cappella Choir of Northwestern College, Orange City on Saturday, April 6. The choir also sang during the church’s worship services as well. The tour program featured songs of faith, including “Mary, Did You Know” and a powerful setting of a prayer by Mother Teresa. ...

A bill that would legalize betting on sporting events and fantasy sports in Iowa has passed the Senate and is expected to be considered as soon as Monday in the House. The bill authorizes the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which regulates the state casinos, to establish rules for betting on professional, collegiate and international sporting events, including motor racing...

Family and friends are raising funds to send the body of a Storm Lake man to his home country of Cuba and to assist his family with burial costs. Lien Tejeda Lores, age 29, of Storm Lake, was killed in a motorcycle accident near Alta on April 15. A fund drive is underway on the GoFundMe website, “Loving Memory of Lien.” As of presstime nearly $4,000 had been raised in the first week toward a goal of $10,000...

Registration forms for the 2019 Star Spangled Spectacular Artists’ Alley are now available online at the event website for vendors to download. Interested participants can go to www.starspangledspectacular.net, go to Artists Alley on the site and download the registration form and send in their completed form along with the $45 entry fee...

The 143rd walleye fishing season officially opens May 4 at Spirit Lake, East and West Okoboji lakes. “Annual broodstock netting is complete and the walleye spawn is coming to a close,” said fisheries biologist Mike Hawkins. “Walleyes will start the recovery process by consuming a lot of calories. This brings good fishing.”...

For mental health and substance abuse therapist Ryan Jensen, offering his expertise to those in need is a personal mission which started as he moved past his only battles with addiction. Jensen is looking to continue to pay forward the help he received...

Members of the Buena Vista County Farm Bureau and Iowa Corn Growers Association will be on hand at the new Casey’s General Store in Storm Lake Thursday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. to promote E15 and UNL 88 ethanol products. The volunteers will man the pumps and help customers learn about the ethanol products, and Casey’s will be offering discounts. Everyone is welcome...

On Thursday, April 25 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Mickle Center, 1620 Pleasant Street in Des Moines, Bold Iowa will host a Climate Bird Dog Workshop. Participants will hear from Iowans on the front lines of the climate crisis and from Climate Bird Dogs about their experience interacting with presidential candidates. ...

The Storm Lake School District is losing an administrator from one position, creating another position, and moving one of its current administrators. In a special meeting Monday, the board accepted the resignation of its curriculum director, Tina Gress, at the end of the school year. In a letter to the school board, Gress cited a long commute over the past five years and a desire to spend more time with family...

A Storm Lake man has been charged with Kidnapping, Sexual Abuse and drug-related charges after allegedly holding a 14-year-old girl against her will and sexually assaulting her. Police were called to the medical center emergency room Sunday afternoon after a patient there had reported being sexually abused. ...

A Storm Lake man appearing for a probation revocation hearing at the courthouse this week was arrested on allegations of sexually abusing a 14-year-old former Storm Lake resident. Police were notified April 5th by Juvenile Court Services of a possible sexual assault case...

There is still time to sign up for the first “Storm Lake Proud” campaign, with beautification projects happening around the community next week. To find out about opportunities for groups to be involved in a project, call 732-8029. Early response has been slower than the city hoped for, and interest needs to be determined in order to have tools and materials such as paint for the bandshell and park benches, or sealer for the city’s tree carvings, prepared for the projects...

HyNoon Kiwanis announces the start of another season of the Community Sailing Academy. Information and class registrations are available at the Storm Lake United office at 119 West 6th Street, by calling CE at 732-3780, or contacting skipper Rick Peterson at 299-4374...

Spotlight surveys find area deer numbers rising, bobcats moving in If you’ve seen suspicious spotlights shining around the ditches and groves of Buena Vista County of late, rest assured, it isn’t space aliens or rogue hunters. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is in the midst of a spring spotlight survey - an important process to learn about the population of deer, opossum, fox, coyotes and other furbearers. ...

STORM LAKE - The St. Mary’s girls golf team played against Emmetsburg in a Twin Lakes Conference contest on Monday night. Emmetsburg shot a 217 while SM’s Jordan Hewett shot a 65. “The weather conditions were miserable: cold, rainy and breezy. Gretchen Hofstad had a nice round, shooting 48,” SM Coach Lynn Hardt said. ...

DENISON - The Storm Lake boys golf team battled some wet and windy conditions on Monday as they took part in the Denison-Schleswig Invitational. The green and white finished with a team score of 356 which was good for eighth out of the nine teams. “Today’s round was a tough one for everyone. ...

ALTA/AURELIA - The Warriors and Mustangs did battle on the golf course on Monday afternoon in a Twin Lakes Conference dual. The A-A girls were able to best the Mustangs, 200-212. The N-F boys took down the Warriors, 183-199. “What a crazy cold night to play golf. Temps at 47 degrees, spitting drizzle the whole night, but the girls played well and held their focus in the cold, wet damp conditions,” A-A Girls Coach LeAnn Patton said...

ORANGE CITY - It came down to penalty kicks on Monday night in the contest between Storm Lake and MOC-Floyd Valley on the pitch. Neither team was able to break a long standing tie as the game proceeded through two overtimes into the penalty kicks. The Dutchmen were able to connect on more PKs than Storm Lake to take a 2-1 contest...

STORM LAKE - The #3 Storm Lake boys kept their undefeated season chugging along on Monday night as they were able to dispatch MOC-Floyd Valley, 2-0. Storm Lake has now surpassed two years since their last regular season loss. Storm Lake senior Jose Martinez netted both goals for the green and white, pushing his season total up to 15, which puts him at sixth overall in the state. ...