Stories from Wednesday, October 23, 2019

STORM LAKE - Before regional volleyball begins tonight for the Storm Lake Tornadoes, they had one last regular season tournament to handle, their own. The green and white proved to be superior than their three guests: Boone, Estherville-Lincoln Central and Kingsley-Pierson, winning all four games to take home their tournament crown...

Storm Lake heads to Sgt. Bluff-Luton in key game Coming off the heels of a difficult to swallow 33-30 loss to Bishop Heelan, Storm Lake is in a must win situation on Friday night when they hit the road to take on the 3A-District 1 Champions, Sergeant Bluff-Luton. The Tornadoes, sporting a 5-3, 2-2 record, are ranked 21nd in the 3A RPI Rankings this week and the top 16 teams get into the playoffs. The Warriors are 7-1, 4-0 with their lone loss coming in the season opener against Lewis Central...

Fall leaves are beautiful – until they pile up in your yard. But don’t send those precious nutrients up in smoke. Instead, put them to good use. Your leaves, branches and other landscape materials can nourish your lawn, garden or community. It’s as easy as 1 – 2 – 3:...

A standing room only crowd at the Spirit Lake Public Library welcomed presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey Wednesday morning, Oct. 9. Booker was joined by Iowa’s District 4 House candidate J.D. Scholten at the event. Both Democratic candidates were part of a livestream event moderated by Angela Kofoot, executive director of the Voluntary Action Center. ...

The Storm Lake schools cost $80,000 per school day to operate, according to a financial report shared with the school board recently. About $29 million was spent in the last budget year with an unspent balance of near $15 million - which is needed to carry the district through the summer months when it receives no state funding...

Storm Lake’s Annual Holiday Open House - Sip, Sample and Shop - will help get the holidays glowing. The event is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 10th, noon to 4 p.m. Enjoy treats and hot beverages as you shop for unique and memorable holiday gifts, decor and more in the Storm Lake stores Be sure to register at each participating business for your chance to win Storm Lake Bucks...

The Storm Lake middle and high schools marching bands played together on Friday night for Mass Band Night.

Buena Vista University Professor of Theatre, Bethany Larson, will be performing at Witter Gala: An Uncommon Evening in 4 Acts on November 16 at Witter Gallery. Larson will be sharing her love of theatre with Witter Gala attendees as she and several other talented individuals showcase their creative works for the public...

Wes Weller returns to Innspiration Wines and Vines at Linn Grove in the Friday Night Music series. Showtime is 6:30 p..m. Wes is a self taught singer, songwriter and musician. “At an early age, I knew I had a passion for singing and playing guitar. I started playing guitar at the age of 14. ...

Riddled With Class, popular area rock band, will be in concert Halloween weekend at Screwie Louie’s in Newell. Showtime is 9 p.m. WWC comes from the Humboldt, Rockwell City and Manson areas. The band formed in 2013, and plays everything from hard rock to alternative, punk - pop hit covers and even an occasional country tune...

The Humane Society of Northwest Iowa and West O Beer will be co-hosting 2019 Howl-O-Ween on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the West O Beer, 503 Terrace Park Boulevard in Milford. The event is a fundraiser and all proceeds will go to the Humane Society of Northwest Iowa...

The Fonda Arts Center will honor veterans Sunday, November 3 beginning at 2 p.m. Tom Shaw of Laurens brings his reenactment of Civil War days, featuring an enlightening history lesson complimented with music and interactive activity. Free admission and free refreshments. The Fonda Arts Center is located on the northwest corner of 4th and Main Streets in Fonda...

Bango Haunted Crib in Schaller is drawing crowds and scaring visitors all this month. Turnout is ranging from 200-450 per weekend, expected to increase this week as the haunted house seeks to raise funds to build something much more reassuring - a new fire station. ...

November 8, Laurens-Marathon will be hosting the Pocahontas County STEM Festival - a day of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. TK/PREP K-6th grade students from PAC, L-M and Pocahontas Catholic will be engaging in a day of hands-on/minds-on input delivered by 30+ county and state businesses and education organizations. ...

October is meant to be the scariest month of the year, but State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald wants to make sure paying for higher education is not something to be spooked about. “Families already have enough stress and anxiety in their lives and figuring out how they’re going to afford higher education for their kids and grandkids shouldn’t be one of those,” Fitzgerald said. ...

It’s never too late to revive your career, with Iowa Central Community College offering a number of classes toward an Associate of Arts degree in EMT-Paramedic services. Positive career placement since 2016 is averaging almost 85 percent. The Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) - Paramedic program readies the student for a career in an exciting and expanding health care field. ...

Storm Lake Elementary School now has its own “Free Little Library,” built by staff member Mrs/ James’ father. Children will be able to borrow and trade books.

Robots, drones, electronics, insects, physics, art and other hands-on activities were part of STEAMfest on Saturday at Iowa Central Community College.

Buena Vista University’s Ella Wiebusch took academic trips to Ireland and New York City as a junior last year. As a senior, she’ll soon be off to the Republic of Madagascar, part of a three-week visit to the island off the coast of East Africa. Between those treks, Wiebusch, a digital media major who serves as co-editor in chief of The Tack, will direct award-winning efforts by the University’s online newspaper staff...

Voter Registration: Registration forms are available in the Commissioner’s office, or may be downloaded at: “http://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation/voterregistration.html” http://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation/voterregistration.html...

The Voter Pre-Registration deadline for the City/School Election is October 25th. The Buena Vista County Commissioner of Elections encourages new residents of the county to mail a completed registration to PO Box 220, Storm Lake, IA 50588. The form can be downloaded at: “http://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation/voterregistration.html” http://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation/voterregistration.html or is available in the Commissioner’s office in the courthouse. ...

The Storm Lake Fire Department conducted “Grain Bin Rescue” training at the Storm Lake Fire Station for several hours on Saturday, October 19. Instruction and the training prop was provided by Professional Rescue Innovation. In addition to occasional weekend training sessions the Storm Lake Fire Department conducts training drills and classes for its fire fighters most Tuesday evenings year round...

Duane Mahnke, age 87, of Storm Lake, formerly of Albert City, Iowa, died Sunday, October 20, at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake. Memorial services will be held Thursday, October 24, at 7 p.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Albert City. The Sliefert Funeral Home in Albert City is in charge of the arrangements...

Donald A. Siepker, age 75, of Albert City, died October 15, at the Newell Good Samaritan Society in Newell. Funeral Mass were held on Saturday, October 19, at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Fonda. Burial will be in the St. Columbkille Catholic Cemetery in Varina. Visitation took place on Friday, October 18, with a vigil service all at the church. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

The Storm Lake City Council has approved a plan to create a new wetland area near the city’s wastewater treatment facility. The wetland would help to filter out pollutants from the treated water being released, before it could enter a creek and run on toward the Raccoon River, according to building codes officer Scott Olesen...

Plans are already being formed to continue the Day of the Child celebration in Storm Lake, which debuted as a new event in September. Organizers reviewed the first-time, volunteer-run celebration in a meeting at Our Place Friday. “We’re happy that the people who attended thought it was a great beginning. I would like to see it grow as an annual event and be twice as big next year as it was this time,” said Trevina Jefferson, founder of the event...

The Storm Lake High School student handbook has seen some code changes to react to past issues with attendance. “Attendance is a national epidemic,” Superintendent Stacey Cole said, “We’re trying to get ahead of it.” In polling high school staff prior to the school year about the biggest issues the school faces, their top concern was attendance...

In a special meeting held by the City Council of Alta Monday night the council called to the table City of Alta Code Enforcement Officer, Matt Hess. The board asked Hess several questions concerning the Community Building owned by the city and maintained by Hess. Hess gave a brief report of how many hours he spent over the last week cleaning the building and what the schedule looked like for it over the next two months. The meeting then took a tumultuous turn...

Tyson Foods believes no one should ever have to decide if food is a necessity. In 2015, Tyson made a commitment to donate $50 million in cash or in-kind donations toward hunger relief. The company surpassed that goal earlier this year - nearly two years ahead of schedule. As of the end of May, $60,707,948 in cash and in-kind donations has been given across the U.S. toward that commitment...

The Storm Lake City Council ventured out of its comfortable chambers Monday night to visit the lighthouse at Awaysis Beach, despite rain, darkness and a chilly, whipping wind. Council members have been talking about a field trip to the site for some months, and wanted to determine if the former “snack shack” area at the base of the lighthouse could be turned into a rentable shelter space for community use...

A man has pleaded not guilty to allegations that he beat a pastor to death outside a central Iowa church. Webster County court records say 36-year-old Joshua Pendleton entered pleas Monday to charges of robbery and first-degree murder. His trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 10...

The Witter Gallery has been a part of Storm Lake since 1972, founded by artist Ella Witter (b. 1882). After Witter passed away, artist Dorothy Skewis committed to providing her own artwork to the collection of the gallery as well. Both women studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and both women were born and raised in Iowa. Since then, the gallery has come a long way, eventually morphing into a venue that teaches the layman art skills through hands-on class experience...