Stories from Wednesday, July 3, 2019

On the morning of Sunday, June 30, at approximately 6:11am the Storm Lake Police Department was dispatched to the area of East 10th Street and Russell Street in reference to a motor vehicle accident. Responding officers were advised that a vehicle had struck a tree and the driver of the vehicle was allegedly walking away from the accident scene...

Lois N. Schomaker, age 95, of Linn Grove, died on Tuesday, June 25, at the St. Luke Lutheran Home in Spencer. Memorial services was in held on Tuesday, July 2, at 2 p.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Linn Grove. Burial took the Barnes Township Cemetery in Linn Grove. Visitation were place prior to the service from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. at the church. The Sliefert Funeral Home in Sioux Rapids is in charge of the arrangements...

Governor Kim Reynolds signed the proclamation designating July 2019 “Women’s Suffrage Month” in Iowa, at the Iowa Federation of Republican Women’s Suffrage Centennial Gala, commemorating the state’s 100th anniversary of voter equality. “Our state’s first female governor has proclaimed the month of July Women’s Suffrage Month, 100 years after a special session of the Iowa General Assembly ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. ...

Fundraising is nearing completion for the 2019 Star Spangled Spectacular, with a theme of “Coming Home.” Fundraising co-chairs Josh Newhouse and Matt Brostad set a goal of $30,000, meeting that goal but falling short of donations compared to the previous year. “We had five more donors than last year, so that is great for our organization as we prepare for future years,” said Newhouse. “We are extremely grateful to all donors each year.”...

Wednesday, July 3 Sunset Park: Bandshell:   Thursday, July 4   Sunset Park:   Bandshell:   Chautauqua Park:   Sleepy Hollow:   Memorial Field:...

Friday, July 5 Opening Day: Saturday, July 6 Kids Day: Sunday, July 7 Family Day: Monday, July 8 $5 Admission All Day...

The P.E.O. Chapter GJ of Sioux Rapids is proud to announce four scholarship recipients for 2019. Three young women have received the Dr. Carol Steiler Halverson Scholarship for $500. Amber Chrischilles is the daughter of Russell and Amy Chrischilles from Storm Lake. She is attending Minnesota State University at Mankato. Her major area of study is Mass Media with a minor in Marketing and Communication Studies...

One of the many improvements this summer at Newell-Fonda, additional trophy cases. Thanks to Dan Lullman for making and installing new trophy cases next to the ticket window. They look awesome.

Construction is underway on the Greehey Student Success Center on the Iowa Central Community College campus. You can watch the progress live at https://public.earthcam.net/IowaCentral.

Maggie Reyes’ eyes light up as she considers the impact Buena Vista University’s Education for Service Scholars have on campus, in Storm Lake, across Buena Vista County, and beyond. The 10 Education for Service Scholars, all freshmen, broke new ground for BVU in their recently completed academic year. ...

On the afternoon of Sunday, June 30, at approximately 1:57 p.m. the Storm Lake Police Department was dispatched to the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Emergency Room in reference to an intoxicated person refusing to leave. Upon arrival police were advised that Martin Guillen, age 29 of Storm Lake had entered the emergency room with a patient and was allegedly intoxicated and refused to leave...

The Shayla Bee program traveled to Newell Saturday to meet its latest family. Otto, 2-year-old son of Nathan and Shauna Black, was diagnosed with Helsmoortel-VanDerAa Syndrome a year ago. The is extremely rare neurodevelopmental genetic disorder caused by a mutation in the ADNP (Activity Dependent Neuroprotective Protein) gene, which can cause issues with neurological and other body systems. ...

The City of Storm Lake is approaching an agreement with the school district for a swap of land parcels in the area of the Little League ballfield near 4th and Oates, to make way for a long-planned flood relief project. A public hearing was held Monday, but because of a mistake getting the information published, another will have to be scheduled, for July 15...

On Monday, July 29, Buena Vista University will host the DCI Shoreline Classic, a Drum Corps International Tour event in which Open Class drum corps perform and compete as they vie for top honors just a week later at the 2019 Drum Corps International World Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. ...

Counrty star Neal McCoy will headline the Sac County Fair grandstand Saturday, July 27. The Jay Clyde Band, specializing in southern rock and county crossover, will get things started at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25, available though midwest.com, or the concert is included with a week-long wristband...

Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is a soulful if brooding young man, with a very pleasant singing voice. But when we meet him, the fledgling songwriter and supermarket clerk from coastal England feels stuck in the middle of a hard day’s night. If he doesn’t get any help soon, he’ll end up a real nowhere man...

Senator Charles Grassley will be speaking with employees at Merrill Manufacturing in Storm Lake in a non-public event, as has been the case with other Grassley appearances in recent years. Grassley plans a question and answer session at the company at 1 p.m. Wednesday...

Iowa gas prices have risen 3.9 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.57 per gallon to start the week. Gas prices in Iowa are 12.0 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, yet stand 16.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. Storm Lake prices, normally well below state average, were slightly above it to start the week, at $2.59 for super unleaded at many stations, with Murphy Oil coming in lowest at $2.54...

Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg will be attending the Star Spangled Spectacular celebration in Storm Lake July 4, and plans to participate in the parade at 10 a.m. The trip was announced on the candidate’s campaign site on Saturday. Buttigieg has served as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, since 2012. ...

Buena Vista Community Theatre’s Next Generation Theatre program is excited to announce the cast for their production of Disney’s Frozen Jr. The cast of more than 60 young people represents eight area communities, and over half are newcomers to BVCT...

Storms rumbled through northwest Iowa Thursday morning and until the early afternoon hours, leaving a wake of damage including damaged roofs, downed tree limbs and streets littered with leaves in Spencer. (Above) A portion of roofing from the Spencer Livestock Sale Barn and fencing from Morton Buildings in north Spencer along U.S. ...

Three additional cases of a dog disease that can be passes to humans have been linked to an Iowa breeder. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says three additional cases of canine brucellosis have been confirmed in dogs linked to a commercial breeding facility for small dogs in Marion County...

Two brothers from Holstein , Robert and Richard Hintz, passed away a few years ago or so. They had no children and no extended family so they left all their property to Holstein charities. They owned a farm of 220 acres which they sold at auction for $2.2 million, which was designated for a new pool for the city of Holstein...

Buena Vista County unemployment remains low this season, with about 200 people considered to be out of work and looking for jobs. The estimate for jobless BV County residents is down 50 percent from last summer. The latest statistics from Iowa Workforce Development, for May, shows a jobless rate of 1.8 percent in the county, up from 1.7 percent a month earlier, with over 11.280 employed residents. ...

Buena Vista University is seeing enrollment projections take a swing upward this season. On the heels of new student orientations sessions, BVU is expecting a 17 percent increase in incoming first-year students this fall, compared to last year. Retention of current students also appears to be showing significant improvement, according to BVU President Josh Merchant, who spoke to the Storm Lake City Council Monday evening for an annual update...

The Witter Gallery and Synergy Gallery are proud to present Across Two Worlds. This exhibit features work by a variety of artist from the Jacmel Art Center located in Jacmel, Haiti as well as, their Executive Director Lee Rainboth from Marcus, Iowa...

Working for more than a decade in the fireworks business might just make you an expert. If this is true, Storm Lake High School teacher Sara Carlson is Storm Lake’s fireworks authority. Since 2006, Carlson has worked for Omaha-based Bellino Fireworks for two weeks every summer selling everything from classic sparklers to multi-effect items that rival any professional display. ...

No injuries were reported when a large building under construction at Rent-All in Storm Lake suddenly collapsed Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters checked the wreckage, where the skeleton of the building had fallen onto the building equipment, leaving only a front facade standing. Ambulance crews stood by at the scene, and a portion of Expansion Avenue remained closed off for safety afterward...