Stories from Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Four boys from the Storm Lake area, ages 9-14, were named local champions of the 2019 Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship and have earned the right to compete at the district level. St. Mary’s Council 2326 in Storm Lake sponsored the local competition at the Panther Pit in Storm Lake. All youngsters ages 9-14 were eligible to participate...

HOLSTEIN - The Ridge View Wrestling team competed in their final three duals of the season against Pocahontas Area, West Sioux, and Cherokee on Thursday night. The Raptors went 1-2 on the night, dropping duals to West Sioux and Pocahontas and gaining a victory against Cherokee in the final dual of the night. ...

SAC CITY - The Alta-Aurelia Warriors and Sioux Central Rebel wrestling teams had to wait an extra couple of days to compete at the Twin Lakes Conference tournament. Originally set for Saturday, the weather forced it to Monday afternoon as the Warriors took eighth place as a team and the Rebels 10th. Emmetsburg won the team title as Manson-NW Webster and South Central Calhoun took second and third place...

NEWELL - It was one of those quick starts that put Newell-Fonda in the driver’s seat on Tuesday night as they played host to St. Mary’s. The Mustangs scored 39 points in the opening quarter and never really slowed down the rest of the night, taking a 93-28 decision over the Panthers. The win marks the 41st in a row for the Mustangs...

HOLSTEIN - For the first 16 minutes on Monday night, it was a neck and neck affair between the Ridge View and OA-BCIG girls. Neither team found much of an advantage until the second half when RV took control of the game and ran away with a 16 point win, 52-36...

HOLSTEIN - A two point first quarter, combined with turnovers, set the Ridge View Raptors back on Monday night when they took on OA-BCIG. The game, originally set for last Friday night, saw Ridge View commit 23 turnovers in a 49-33 loss to the Falcons, giving OA-BCIG the season sweep over RV...

ROCKWELL CITY - The Alta-Aurelia girls were right in the game at halftime on Monday night as they took on South Central Calhoun. However, a key run in the third quarter gave the Titans the momentum and ended up being the difference in the contest. The Warriors fell in a 46-33 decision...

ROCKWELL CITY - A slow start put the Alta-Aurelia boys behind the eight-ball on Monday night in a game that originally set for last Friday before Mother Nature put a halt to that. The Warriors were unable to contain South Central Calhoun’s high scoring offense in a 76-56 setback...

I moved back into Clive Suites last Sunday. I have stayed there all 8 years.  Many other legislators stay there as well. It is across from Living History Farm and is close to the interstate, so it is convenient for me to get to the Capitol and to get home. ...

The second session of the 88th General Assembly was gaveled into order by Speaker of the House Linda Upmeyer at 10 am on January 13. Besides the usual pomp and ceremony of an opening day, there were special duties which needed tending to. Speaker Upmeyer has decided to retire from her leadership position, and Pat Grassley from New Hartford has been elected the new Speaker of the Iowa House. ...

Fern Crowley, 88, of Storm Lake, died Tuesday morning, January 14, in Indiantown, Florida, with family by her side. Memorial services will be held at a later date. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements. She is survived by son Kelly (Constance) Crowley, of Florida, and sister Joyce Robbins, of Iowa; two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and many, many nieces, nephews, neighbors, and friends. ...

Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Fitness & Health Center Fitness Specialists Nancy Marshall and Melissa Iehl, along with Evan Franzmeier, Fitness Center Manager, recently became certified Cancer Exercise Specialists. The Cancer Exercise Specialist Advanced Qualification was developed for health and fitness professionals to teach them hands-on skills needed to guide patients through treatment into recovery and survivorship, with a focus on individualized programming...

Hypothermia is one of the serious conditions farmers and ranchers may encounter when working in cold temperatures. Recognizing its symptoms and how to respond can help save lives. A combination of these four environmental factors can easily lead to weather conditions conducive to hypothermia:...

Students at Storm Lake St. Mary’s Elementary tested their engineered structures against the forces of nature... wind and rain. The workshop was conducted by Iowa State University Extension, Buena Vista County.

The advanced ecology class at Storm Lake High School continues to work toward a school courtyard renovation project. The class is creating special clothing for the project which will be available as part of a website they are building. The shirts will feature a quote one of the students expressed when meeting with the city council recently, “Everyone needs a little green in their lives.”...

A new Iowa State University Extension partnership in Buena Vista County with the Tyson Poultry plant resulted in the first Buy. Eat. Live Healthy outreach class at the plant last week, with Mandi De La Cruz.

Storm Lake’s P.E.O. Chapter NM awarded a Program for Continuing Education (PCE) grant to Laura Negrete-Sanches on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. Negrete-Sanches, a social work major of Storm Lake, was awarded $1,000 for education-related expenses as she completes her final semester at Buena Vista University. She will be completing an internship at a local school during her final semester before graduation in May...

As a Humboldt High School junior, Brayden Collins visited Buena Vista University and heard for the first time about the University’s Undergraduate Rural Medicine Education and Development (URMED) program, a three-week immersion into a myriad of rural medicine efforts with experiences at hospitals in and around Storm Lake...

Spencer Community Theatre will present “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” February 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, and March 1. Tickets go on sale to the public February 11. “A refined girl like I” is the way Lorelei describes herself, and it’s a role in which any young actress can have the time of her life. ...

Timeless rock act The Doobie Brothers have announced 23 additional dates for their 50th anniversary tour, including an August 12 show at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City. The dates were added in response to overwhelming fan excitement following the band’s surprise announcement at Ryman Auditorium that Michael McDonald will join the group on a North American tour.  The original members, four-time Grammy Award winners and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees will be touring together for the first time in nearly 25 years. ...

Nationally-known blues-rock guitarist Paul Nelson will be appearing with his band at Byron’s in Pomeroy, February 9. Showtime is 5 p.m. Being blues/rock icon Johnny Winter‘s hand-picked touring and recording guitarist is just one of the accolades held by Grammy-winning guitarist Paul Nelson who has also shared the world’s stages or recorded alongside Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Slash, Vince Gill, Sonny Landreth, Ben Harper, Joe Bonamassa and the list goes on...

Western Iowa Congressman Steve King accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of holding “hostage” the Articles of Impeachment so that the Senate could begin a trial in timely fashion. King delivered his remarks on the House floor January 14. “I’d like to see the President stand here before us at the State of the Union adress, February 4th, and be able to announce to the world that he’s been exonerated by the United States Senate,” King said...

Iowa gas prices have fallen 4.5 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.36 per gallon to start the week. Gas prices in Iowa are 1.4 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 25.3 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. Storm Lake pumps did not see the same movement, starting the week at $2.30 at most stations, basically unchanged from the week before. Pumps in the city were ranging from $2.25 to $2.39...

The Storm Lake High School Advanced Ecology Class created a website offering apparel for sale as a fundraiser for its project to renovate the high school courtyard. The shirts and sweatshirts in various styles feature the message “#need green,” taken from a student’s statement on the project to the city council recently - “Everyone needs a little green in their lives.” The Bonfire.com-based project was scheduled to be open for only a short time, with a goal of 100 garments sold...

Shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday, the Spencer Police Department responded to 718 Fourth Ave. SE for a domestic disturbance involving a man with a gun. When officers arrived on scene, they determined that the suspect, 21-year-old, Dawson Walker, of Spencer, had threatened the occupants of the home with a gun and was keeping them locked inside. ...

The Iowa Central Community College Board of Directors has approved a freeze of all administrator salaries for 2020-21, and in additional has adopted a freeze of the entire president’s contract for the coming fiscal year. The action was taken at the January 14 board meeting...

Storm Lake city leaders have agreed to buy an industrial property for $170,000. The 10,800 square foot existing building at 1220 East 4th Street will serve as a warehouse for some of the city’s larger pieces of equipment, and is located across the street from a current city facility. The building formerly housed an electrical supply business...

A Storm Lake man accused of arson incidents at the Vista 3 theater and the movie aisle of the Storm Lake Wal-Mart has pled not guilty in District Court to charges of arson, assault on a police officer and criminal mischief. A trial date has been set for March 10, but the county attorney’s office anticipates a delay...

Storm Lake United and the Iowa Lakes Corridor each gave presentations to the Storm Lake City Council this week. SLU leaders noted that 2019 marked the 10th anniversary year for the program, which was formed by combining the local chamber of commerce, industrial corporation and tourism program. SLU saw increased activity in the past year, with 1,844 calls, 43,200 web hits and a record 813 walk-ins, according to CEO Gary Lalone and Events/Tourism Director Lee Dutfield...

- Not everyone was kept indoors by the frigid weather following the weekend snowstorm, as these sisters enjoyed rocketing down a small mountain of snow that developed on the Methodist Manor grounds Sunday. Storm Lake saw 6-7 inches of snow, with more in the forecast...

The Trump Administration proposed new school lunch rules on Friday that would dismantle more Obama era guidelines, but some local school leaders wonder if the effort is serving up nutrition - or politics. “If the idea is to ultimately cut funding for school lunches, it would be an utter disaster,” reacted Peter Steinfeld, chairperson of the Storm Lake Board of Education...