Stories from Friday, June 14, 2019

Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) coupons are now available The WIC and Senior FMNPs provide eligible Iowans with checks that can be redeemed for fresh produce at aut) between June 1 and October 31. “The WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Programs are unique because the vouchers can only be used at Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “This helps support local food production and makes healthy fruits and veg...

Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation CEO Kiley Miller has been a name synonymous with economic development in northwest Iowa since his start with the organization in 2014. Recently he was honored as one of the top 50 economic developers on the continent...

Alliant Energy presented a check for $250 to the Star Spangled Spectacular Committee this week to assist with the finances of the local Independence Day community activities. This donation is from Alliant Energy’s competitive grant program which awarded 145 grants totaling over $400,000. Storm Lake’s Star Spangled Spectacular has enjoyed several years of partnership with Alliant Energy...

If the sweet, animated 2016 film “The Secret Life of Pets” was mostly for kids, its new sequel might be for another segment of the audience altogether — whoever is buying the tickets. Amid the cute critter shenanigans, this one has plenty of lessons for the parents...

Country singer-songwriter Craig Campbell is coming up in the Live at the Lake concert series in Arnolds Park, with a free show June 22, 7:30 p.m. on the Preservation Plaza next to the amusement park. Growing up in the small town of Lyons, Georgia, Craig played keyboards in his mother’s church and then on the road for an up-and-coming singer at the time named Luke Bryan, eventually landing a coveted bandleader gig in the famous Nashville honky-tonk, The Stage...

Kings Pointe Resort in Storm Lake has revived its live music program. Nashville singer-songwriter Paul Christian played a solo show in the Regatta Saturday. Performing about 75 live shows per season, mostly in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Colorado, he has released albums “Never Been Lonely” and “Summertime” on Texas Drift Records label, / Photo submitted...

Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fisheries biologists are starting to receive phone calls about dead bluegill and crappies in lakes. “Several dozen dead panfish were reported at Lake Iowa Park in Iowa County early last week,” said Paul Sleeper, fisheries management biologist...

The recent release of a report by nonprofit research group TRIP focused on the nation’s rural roads and bridges and came to a similar conclusion as the report from 2017: Iowa has one of the highest percentages of rural bridges in poor or structurally deficient condition in the nation. ...

Storm Lake Police report that several additional arrests have been made in connection with a large fight that occurred in Awaysis Park at in the early morning hours of Friday, June 7, resulting in an injury to one victim. An investigation has determined that following the reported incident in Awaysis Park a second confrontation involving some of the same people and additional people summoned by both parties occurred at approximately 1 a.m. ...

The new “Read With a Teacher” program at the Storm Lake Public Library seems to be off to a strong start. A group of volunteer teachers and staff from the middle school have volunteered for the Monday and Friday morning events. The idea is to offset the “summer slide” and help students who need a little extra help to retain reading skills over the summer, and participating families are coming from as far as Schaller to take part in the first couple of sessions...

Storm Lake’s Witter Art Gallery opened a unique show this week, “Art of the Theatre,” featuring pieces used in or created for stage productions at Buena Vista University over the years. Included is a dress and set piece from “Grease,” costumes from murder mysteries set in the 1940s, killer plant Audrey 2 from “Little Shop of Horrors” - which appears in a puppet form that child visitors can try out - plus plenty of artistic props, paintings and characters...

The Iowa Supreme Court wasn’t convinced that speculation about a town riot prevented an Estherville man from receiving a fair trial in Emmet County. In its ruling Friday, the state’s highest court restored the July 1, 2016, second-degree murder conviction for Lee Samuel Christensen. The 18-year-old fatally shot 19-year-old Thomas Bortvit about 13 months earlier, on June 6, 2015...

The 2019 concert season of the Storm Lake Municipal Band is well underway and it has been an exciting season already. With members ranging in age from high school to retirees, the band is in its 84th season of entertaining the citizens of Storm Lake. ...

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

October 3, 1925 - June 9, 2019

October 1, 1946 - March 31, 2019

June 29, 1927 - June 10, 2019

October 1, 1936 - March 6, 2019

The Board of Directors of the Northwest Iowa Regional Housing Trust Fund (NWIRHTF) will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, June 20, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. in the board room of Northwest Iowa Planning & Development Commission located at 217 West 5th Street in Spencer, Iowa...

Although there’s been no announcement or new information released the past few weeks, a certain amount of activity and out-of-town visitors have been witnessed at the former Iowa Food Group plant in Cherokee that was unexpectedly shut down April 16 after just two months of operations...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has lowered its estimate of this year’s corn crop to the lowest in four years, saying wet weather has delayed planting and reduced acres planted and the expected per-acre yield. The expected production was cut in a monthly report released Tuesday by 1.4 billion bushels to 13.7 billion bushels, the lowest since 2015...

A project to convert the South School into apartments has been delayed due to financing hiccups, though work is expected to ramp up this month. Shawn Foutch of Foutch Properties said he expects framing to start going up by the end of June, pending final building permit applications to get started...

Habitat for Humanity’s first duplex in Buena Vista County is being passed on to a new leader, with expectations to break ground this fall. The duplex, co-owned by two families, had its groundbreaking ceremony about a year ago. HFH has been in discussions with Storm Lake High School’s Building and Trades Program for a partnership that could help get the project off the ground. ...

This is the eighth article in a 10-part series, a collaborative effort of the newspapers of Rust Publishing NWIA, examining the myriad issues surrounding the mental health care crisis in Iowa. Reporters and editors from the Spencer Daily Reporter, Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune and Dickinson County News have contributed to the report.

The longest pause among nearly 600 names announced during the Buena Vista University commencement ceremony occurred after that of Laura Lynn Stangl, a secondary education major from Ida Grove. At first, there was quiet, as Stangl made her way from stage right to stage left, shaking hands with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, then BVU President Joshua Merchant...

Members worry about safety, look to ultimate goal of circling the lake

ALTA - It was the Jimmy Squibb Memorial Race this past week at the Buena Vista Raceway. Spencer’s Cody Nielsen won the featured hobby stock race, the featured event of the night. In Plowboy’s Smoked Meats sports compacts: 1. Kaytee Devries of Spencer; 2. Jay Devries of Spencer; 3. Corey Nammany of Alta...

GALVA - One night after a tough loss against Newell-Fonda, the Raptor softball team got back out on their home field for a big Western Valley Conference contest against West Monona. Ridge View hung tough the entire night and ended up coming away with a 3-2 win in nine innings...

HOLSTEIN - It was a high scoring Western Valley Conference affair on Wednesday night between Ridge View and West Monona. It took eight innings to decide the winner, and Ridge View dropped a 16-14 decision. “Not a pretty game. We did some things well, but we made a lot of mental and physical errors,” RV Coach Shannon Tesch said...

PETERSON - It was a close contest for most of the night between Alta-Aurelia and Sioux Central’s softball teams on Wednesday. The Warriors pulled away at the very end to take a 10-4 decision in a Twin Lakes Conference tilt. “Abby (Kraemer) pitched well and kept us in the game at the start after a tough defensive start to the game. Focus was a little weak at first, but the girls got it together and finished well,” A-A Coach Dave Turnquist said...

STORM LAKE - The Newell-Fonda baseball team flexed their might early and often on Wednesday night against the St. Mary’s Panthers. The Mustangs built up an 11-0 lead through the first two and a half innings and took a 16-3 decision. “Bryce Coppock had a good game on the mound. He did exactly what we needed him to do,” N-F Coach Bo Darrow said. “Defensively this was a better effort.”...

STORM LAKE - Wednesday night was a bit of a tale of two games in the Twin Lakes Conference battle between Newell-Fonda and St. Mary’s. The Panthers held the potent Mustang offense to three runs in the first three innings before the floodgates opened. Newell-Fonda took an 18-1 decision in five innings, the 13th time this season the Mustangs have scored 10 or more runs...

COON RAPIDS - The Newell-Fonda Mustang baseball team did more than enough at the plate on Tuesday night to come away with a victory, but the defense did not hold up their end of the deal against Coon Rapids-Bayard. CR-B came away with a 13-9 win over the Mustangs...

FONDA - The Newell-Fonda softball continued their recent hot streak on Tuesday night against the visiting Ridge View Raptors with a 12-0 victory in just three innings. Newell-Fonda scored a run in the bottom of the first and then added six in the second and five in the third to end the contest early...

DAYTON/PETERSON - The Sioux Central Rebels hit the road on Tuesday night for a Twin Lakes Conference contest against Southeast Valley. The contest was a pitcher’s dual with SEV taking a 2-1 decision. Sioux Central scored their lone run in the top of the second as the Jaguars answered in the bottom of the third. SEV then scored the winning run in the bottom of the fourth...

STORM LAKE - It was a rough night for the Storm Lake softball defense on Wednesday night in a Lakes Conference contest against Spirit Lake. The green and white committed eight total errors against the Indians and dropped a 12-3 decision. “Having eight errors will never get the job done to win a game. They (Spirit Lake) scored three runs with the help of four errors before we even had an out in the first inning and not one ball left the infield,” SL Coach Mel Fisher said...

SERGEANT BLUFF/STORM LAKE - It was another close encounter on Tuesday night for the Storm Lake baseball team as they stepped out of Lakes Conference play to take on the Sergeant Bluff-Luton Warriors. It once again came down to the bottom of the seventh inning as the Warriors walked off to take a 6-5 contest from Storm Lake...