Stories from Wednesday, July 10, 2019

A group of volunteers is laying the groundwork to bring a program built on the premise of spreading noteworthy ideas to northwest Iowa this fall. The independently organized TEDx Okoboji, an offshoot of the TED Talks program, aims to foster meaningful discussion within communities around the world...

A new law updating the possible penalties facing individuals convicted for third or subsequent OWI offenses is now in effect as of July 1. Senate File 113 was passed unanimously by the Iowa Legislature during their prior session and signed by the governor in March...

Buena Vista County Fair Queen Michelle Anderson, Little Miss Alivia McCarthy, Little Mister Dustin Myers, and King Kendall Snyder were crowned on the opening night of the fair.

The Storm Lake Community School District Board of Education has set September 10, as the date for a special bond vote to address the district’s space needs. If approved, the bond would allow the district to begin building a new Early Elementary School in three phases, giving it the flexibility to adjust its plans if enrollment projections and needs evolve over the next several years...

Liz Garst was a young girl when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev made the famous visit to her grandfather’s farm in Coon Rapids in 1959. Her grandfather, Roswell, was a well-known agricultural innovator and developer of hybrid corn. His seed company was sold in 1985. ...

The Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation has wrapped up Haul Out Hunger, with Iowa Select Farms employees delivering 60,000 pounds of fresh, boneless pork loins to 120 rural food pantries. Newell Food Pantry, Storm Lake Middle School Pantry, Upper Des Moines Opportunity of BV County and the Lord’s Cupboard in Alta received donations of pork loins—enough to provide 2,880, 4-oz. ...

On Sunday, July 28 Digital Media Professor Jerry Johnson from Buena Vista University will present and screen the student-produced documentary, Growing Magic: The Mickey Mouse Cornfield Story at the Fonda Arts Center in Fonda, IA. The screening begins at 3 p.m. ...

The 911/Never Forget Mobile Exhibit will be coming to the Clay County Fair this season. The exhibit is a tribute to all those whose lives were sacrificed on September 11, 2001, and a tool to educate America’s youth about that historic day. The Siller Family started the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation to honor the memory and carry on the legacy of their brother, Stephen, a New York City ­firefighter (FDNY) who lost his life on September 11, 2001 after strapping 60 pounds of gear to his back and rushing on foot through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers, where he gave up his life while saving others.. ...

Early is planning a big bash for Crossroads Day, Saturday, June 20. From the parade at 10 a.m. to the street dance with country/classic rock performers Finding Dixie that night, a full day of activity is planned. The parade registration will start at the Ridge view Middle School at 8:30 a.m. KTIV’s Brad Pautsch will be announcing the parade and Cari Wieck is singing the national anthem. Nera Zimmer is the 2019 Grand Marshall...

Des Moines Area Community College President Rob Denson recently released the names of students eligible for the Spring Semester President’s List.  To be eligible, a student must have completed a minimum of 6 credits and earned a 4.0 grade point average for that semester...

Iowa Central Community College will celebrate the accomplishments of its 2019 Radiologic Technology graduates at their pinning ceremony July 17.

A University of Iowa team has won a $115 million grant to develop satellites for studying a system of radiation created by the sun — “space weather.” The NASA grant will underwrite development of satellites expected to be launched within the next three years with more satellites developed by Southwest Research Institute scientists...

Storm Lake High School scholars Raul Arevalo, Raul Tejeda, Zeus Valazquez, Cathleen Manivong, and Sarah Olson traveled to the University of Maryland, College Park, to compete at the national level at National History Day 2019. This group created a website entitled “Triumph in the Genocidal Tragedy: Surviving in Rwanda,” for this year’s theme Triumph and Tragedy in History...

Vigils are being planned at hundreds of locations around the country Friday night, protesting conditions for immigrant incarceration at the southern border, particularly for children separated from families and asylum-seekers. Storm Lake is one of several communities in Iowa that will participate. ...

A come and go bridal shower honoring Kelsey McGowan, bride-elect of Colton Ballantyne, will be held on Saturday, July 27, from 9 - 11 a.m. at the Alta Golf & Country Club in Alta. Kelsey is the daughter of Bruce and Deanna McGowan of Alta. Colton is the son of Chris and Shelley Ballantyne of Aurelia...

Storm Lake Star Spangled Spectacular fundraising co-chairs Josh Newhouse and Matt Brostad set a goal of $30,000, and raised a record $34,150, thanks to the over 335 donors who gave to this year’s event. “We are very pleased with how many people and businesses supported this awesome community event,” said Newhouse. “This was an exceptional year.”...

Mildred Jane Nelson, age 91, of Linn Grove, died Tuesday, July 2, at her home in Linn Grove. Funeral services took place Tuesday, July 9, at 11 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Linn Grove. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial will be in the Lime Creek Cemetery in Maskell, Nebraska on Wednesday, July 10, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established. The Sliefert Funeral Home in Sioux Rapids is in charge of the arrangements...

Don McVinua, age 86, of Storm Lake, died Thursday, July 4, in Storm Lake. Funeral services were held on Tuesday, July 9, at 10:30 a.m. at the Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake. Burial was in the Storm Lake Cemetery. Visitation took place on Monday, July 8, from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

A man Iowa authorities say was intoxicated when his vehicle crashed into another, killing three men, now faces felony charges in the case. Ryan Daniel Childers, 21 of Odebolt, was charged last week with three counts of vehicular homicide when driving under the influence and one count of serious injury by vehicle...

With a goal to eventually get library cards into the hands of every young person in Storm Lake, the Storm Lake Public Library Board of Trustees is hammering out a new policy for a Student Library Card with the help of middle school library director Joanna Freking-Smith...

Storm Laker a part of groundbreaking baseball league remembered 75 years later through hit movie, Hall of Fame exhibit Storm Lake has had a few athletes make the pros in the long history of the national pastime. But I’ll bet you didn’t know it has one player enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame...

With a crowd of bicycle riders gathered around, a ribbon cutting was held Sunday morning at the Buena Vista County Fairgrounds in Alta, marking the opening of a long-sought BV County Bike Trail network. “What a great day for a bike ride,” said Jon Kruse, head of the BV County Trails Advisory Council, that has worked toward the signed, on-road trails system since forming in 2012. ...

PETERSON - The Sioux Central baseball team was forced to rally not once but twice on Monday night when they welcomed in the Spencer Tigers. The Rebels were able to beat the 3A school, 6-5 in eight innings for their 14th win of the season. Spencer scored twice in the top of the first but the Rebels answered right back with a pair of runs in the home half to keep it even. After a scoreless second, Spencer plated a run in the top of the third and then got another in the fourth to make it 4-0...

ALGONA - The Alta-Aurelia baseball team gave out a strong effort on Monday night against Bishop Garrigan. The Warriors took an 11-1 contest over the Golden Bears in six innings. A-A junior Logan McCoy shut down the BG offense with a six inning no-hitter to go with 11 strikeouts. McCoy’s lone run was from walks and a passed ball...

GALVA - The Raptor softball team closed out the regular season on Monday night by welcoming in the Cherokee Braves. Ridge View dropped a late lead, saw the game go into extra innings, but managed to come away with a 9-8 win. “The coaches were happy we got the victory and were able to play a game,” RV Coach Scott Phelps said. “We haven’t played a game in eight days so it was good to compete again.”...

EARLY - Through the first four innings on Monday night, it looked like Ridge View was going to pull off an upset against Storm Lake on the baseball field. However, Storm Lake woke up in the fifth inning and took over from there to claim an 8-4 decision...

STORM LAKE - Storm Lake got the hits in Monday night’s softball game but just couldn’t quite come up with the big hits to make a bigger impact on the scoreboard. The green and white softball team saw their lead disappear and fell in eight innings to MOC-Floyd Valley, 4-3...

GLIDDEN - For the first time this season the St. Mary’s baseball team got to experience something they had yet to do, win a game. The Panthers recovered from a slow start on Monday night against Glidden-Ralston to take a 14-3 contest for their first win...