Stories from Friday, November 22, 2019

Chances are there’s at least one TV binger on your gift list. Why not go all in for the holidays and wrap up something on-point? Some ideas: POPCORN: So many gifty options are out there, including sets of seasonings and artisanal corn. But nobody loves popcorn quite like Questlove. ...

The Hv-Vee Fast & Fresh filling station and convenience store is now open, after hosting a Storm Lake United Ribbon Cutting Wednesday. The site is open daily from 5 a.m.-10 p.m., with the pumps available 24 hours a day. / Pilot photos by Ely Gonzalez...

Tickets are on sale for the hit musical Jersey Boys at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City, Tuesday, January 7 and Wednesday, January 8. Shows start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $28.50. They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note. ...

The Miracle on Lake Avenue is an annual Storm Lake Christmas event that falls on the first Thursday of December, featuring food and drinks, fun activities, and appearances from Santa Claus throughout the night. The Lighted Holiday Parade kicks off the events at 6:15 p.m., immediately followed by the Tree Lighting Ceremony in front of the BV County Courthouse...

Singer-songwriter Mandy Barnett will be the next attraction in the 2019-20 season at the Rosemary Clausen Center in Holstein, Saturday, January 4. For ticket availability, call 712-368-4849. Mandy is at the top of her game. Whether appearing at the Grand Ole Opry, on the world-famous Ryman Auditorium stage, or with the Nashville Symphony, Mandy brings glamour, flair and incredible talent to her audiences...

Director Marielle Heller frames “ A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ” as if it were an episode of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” with miniature sets of cars and bridges to illustrate New York and Pittsburgh. Mr. Rogers, played with clear-eyed purpose by Tom Hanks, introduces the audience to the film’s protagonist, journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), using his “picture window” in that all-too-familiar living room where he’s just changed into his sneakers and sweater. It’s even rated PG...

The Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council has awarded Storm Lake Middle School’s eighth-grade math class with its Scale Up Math Award. With the award, 54 students will have access to the integrative Desmos-Illustrative digital math program starting in the next few weeks...

The Society for Collegiate Journalists (SCJ) named Buena Vista University senior Olivia Wieseler the national 2019 Arthur H. Barlow Student Journalist of the Year this week.  The award, first of its kind for a BVU student, recognizes Wieseler in noting her “example represents the highest standards of journalistic ethics, service, leadership, and technical skills.”...

Tragedy struck Adrianne Babbitt 3 1/2 years ago, as she and her husband experienced a miscarriage. A frequent writer in her youth, Babbitt soon would utilize her talent for writing by starting a blog called “The Child I Never Held,” where she chronicled her thoughts through the grief process after losing her son, Timothy. ...

Children buzzed about inside the Dickinson County Nature Center's newest addition this week. While the public had already caught a few early glimpses of the Pollinator Paradise exhibit space during the process, the new wing's grand opening was held Saturday morning, and visitors both young and old were ready to see the finished space...

The Buena Vista County Historical Museum will host its first Craft Show and Sale, Saturday, December 7, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend at the museum, 214 West 5th Street. Additional vendors are also welcome. Contact the museum at 732-4955 for information on showing wares...

Sally Raye Stark, daughter of Michael and Arnie Stark, and granddaughter of Wayne and Ruth Stark, was married to Bruce Donald Robbins, son of Joyce Robbins and the late Donald Robbins, on Saturday, September 14, at the Storm Lake United Methodist Church. ...

Students at Buena Vista University had an opportunity to learn African, Hispanic and American dance styles recently during the Diversity & Inclusion Week event, Dancing Around the World, held in Anderson Auditorium. / Pilot photo by Dana Larsen

Tuesday evening, the B V County Historical Museum was honored to have several Cub Scouts join Mr. Jon Hutchins for a tour. The adventure of the Cub Scout Pack 105 is looking how Storm Lake has changed. Pack 105 is accepting new members. They meet on Tuesday evenings, 6:30 at the Methodist Church. We enjoyed this group of young Scouts and their mothers and thank them for choosing us as one of their projects. / Photos submitted...

October 6, 1926 - November 18, 2019

November 2, 1923 - November 14, 2019

September 23, 1924 - November 16, 2019

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Conditions report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly from April through November. “Four consecutive days of favorable weather allowed many farmers to finish up soybeans last week,” said Secretary Naig. ...

Heading into Iowa’s busiest outdoor ‘opening day,’ shotgun deer season hunters should expect to see about the same number of deer in the timber as last year – with the possible exception for hunters in southcentral Iowa, where local deer populations were impacted by an outbreak of hemorrhagic disease...

Buena Vista University immediately cut ties Tuesday with a psychologist who has taught for the university, after learning of her alleged misconduct. Shannon Smith Sanders, who has treated some of Iowa’s most dangerous offenders, violated policies by developing an improperly close relationship with a violent predator, according to state documents cited in an Associated Press report this week...

MetaBank community bank division including all of the bank branches in Iowa and South Dakota will be sold to Storm Lake-based Central Bank. The facilities will be rebranded as Central Bank locations after the deal has closed. An agreement between the two companies was announced Wednesday. Assets and deposits of approximately $270 million will change hands, along with approximately $265 million of loans...

Expressing concern for the emotional health of teachers has been on the minds of Prairie Lakes AEA leaders, and at Monday’s board meeting for the local education agency, a call went out to share a TED Talk addressing the issue. Prairie Lakes leaders said that educator well-being is a key development issue for the area: “We must start with us! ‘Get your own oxygen first!’” they said of the issue...

The Tyson Food Project was officially launched this week. A grant from the company installed a new 3,500 square-feet walk-in freezer at The Bridge outreach center in Storm Lake. The first shipment will be 30,000 pounds of chicken product, with additional shipments expected each month of Tyson meat products that for various reasons is undeliverable to its original destination. “It was the perfect fit, the perfect time - it seems like a godsend,” Tyson Chaplain Howard Avery said...

In Storm Lake schools for 2016-2017, the most recent data available, 90.4 percent of high school students were fully immunized, 89.6 percent of elementary school students, and 82.3 percent of middle schoolers.

Three democratic presidential candidates have events scheduled in Storm Lake during the next several days. Julián Castro plans to be in Storm Lake for a meet and greet at the Coffee Tree, Sunday at 11 a.m. The event is free and open to the public, but guests are being asked to RSVP with the campaign...