Stories from Wednesday, January 29, 2020

SCHALLER - The Ridge View boys and girls basketball teams were in non-conference action on Monday night when they welcomed in the Ar-We-Va Rockets. Neither Raptor team had much trouble against the opposition as the Ridge View girls and boys got the nightly sweep over the Rockets...

KINGSLEY - Monday saw the Ridge View wrestlers take part in the Western Valley Conference wrestling meet against seven other teams. The Raptors were able to take fourth overall as a team. Woodbury Central won the tournament as Westwood was second and West Monona third...

GOWRIE - What was a comfortable lead turned into a near disaster on Monday night for the Sioux Central girls. A poor third quarter nearly let their Twin Lakes Conference foe, Southeast Valley, back into the game, but the Rebels were able to hang on and come away with a 55-47 victory, their third in a row...

GOWRIE - It was an off shooting night for the Sioux Central boys as they only made 34% of their shots. However, they were able to lean on senior Caleb Rock for 22 points and used a stellar fourth quarter to feed Southeast Valley their second straight loss, 50-44...

STORM LAKE - The Storm Lake girls scored first and that was their only lead of the night on Tuesday against Spirit Lake. The green and white dropped a 54-34 decision to their Lakes Conference foe, continuing their search for that first conference win...

STORM LAKE - It appeared as if the Storm Lake boys were going to run away with it early in the fourth quarter against Spirit Lake, but missed free throws down the stretch to make it a closer game for the green and white on Tuesday night. Regardless, they were able to fend off a late challenge from the Indians to take a 63-59 decision to snap a three game skid...

In celebration of catholic schools week St. Mary’s dropped off a box of goodies for the Pilot Tribune staff.

Manichanh Naonady is a mother, journalist, non-traditional student and so much more. She’ll soon have another identity: college graduate. Naonady graduates from Iowa State University this weekend with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication. The 30-year-old’s life wasn’t always heading in this direction, however...

Taking an original approach to educating middle school students to the dangers associated with vaping, facts were delivered to the sixth through eighth grade classes in a game show. Rather than a gym full of quiet, reluctant youth — game show host Orlo Azul had students screaming, jumping up and down and cheering for one another as he introduced the information through interactive trivia questions — offering up cash and prizes to the winners...

With the opening week speeches and organizational meetings behind us, the House is fully engaged in the 2020 Legislative session. Caucuses and committee meetings are the order of each day, as we begin to assemble the agenda for this session. The primary focus of the House this year will revolve around Iowa’s workforce...

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is mustering governmental muscle as it tries to turn out Republican voters next month in early voting Iowa. With most of the attention focused on the battle for the Democratic nomination, Trump’s campaign is announcing what it is calling an “unprecedented” surrogate operation, with more than 80 supporters fanning out across the state the day of its kickoff caucuses on Feb. 3...

The Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) and Food & Water Watch (FWW) groups have filed an 86-page brief with the Iowa Supreme Court, defending a District Court ruling that their lawsuit against the State of Iowa to restore the Raccoon River can proceed to trial...

The Sioux City Symphony presents “The Music of Queen,” February 15 at the Orpheum Theatre. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. A one-of-a-kind tribute to one of the most iconic bands in history - the symphony will rock you with all the classic Queen hits including “Somebody to Love,” “Under Pressure,” “We Are the Champions,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and many more. Experience the unforgettable magic of Queen, with a full rock band and the Sioux City Symphony, in this epic concert event...

Guy Ritchie’s honor-among-thieves meta-caper “The Gentlemen,” with Matthew McConaughey, has all the tailored tweed suits and smoky atmosphere of a handsome scotch commercial. “The Gentlemen” might not be an ad, but Ritchie’s film is most assuredly selling something...

Brothers Walker will perform Feb. 21 in a Sac County Fairgrounds fundraiser event. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Fill a table of eight for $200 or purchase single seating tickets for $25. Snacks and appetizers will be available all evening along with a cash bar. All proceeds go towards the Sac County Fair Raise the Roof Campaign. Contact 712-660-9756 for tickets or email [email protected]...

Western Iowa Congressman Steve King wants to hear from the U.S. Corps of Engineers on how it propose to prevent flooding such as the region experienced in 2019. “We cannot accept a new normal in which heavy flooding regularly threatens the lives, limbs, and property of those who live along the Missouri River,” King said following a public meeting in Sioux City Saturday “In October, I convened a stakeholder’s meeting in Missouri Valley so that residents of these communities could express their concerns directly to representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers.”. ...

What good do radar trailers do? The Storm Lake City Council questioned whether the flashing speed reminders are effective, as the police department proposed replacing its aging equipment in a recent budget discussion. Police Chief Chris Cole felt that the trailers are a good reminder to slow down, and said officers have noticed traffic passing a radar site applying their brakes. ...

The “Sweet Sixteen” edition of the Women in Denim conference drew a large crowd at Buena Vista University Friday and Saturday - a few attending had been part of all 15 past events. The conference was filled with speakers and demonstrations for business and personal success...

Dorothy Ohrlund, a long-time resident of Storm Lake, passed away peacefully on January 23 at the age of 96 from complications of dementia. Funeral services were held on Monday, January 27, at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Storm Lake. Visitation took place one hour prior to the service at the church. ...

Janice L. Holmstrom, age 80, of Storm Lake, Iowa died Saturday, January 25, at Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake. Funeral services will take place Saturday, February 1, at 10:30 a.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. Burial will be in the Newell Cemetery. Visitation will take place Friday, January 31, from 4 - 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...

Storm Lake (including Little Storm Lake) Ice thickness is variable from about 6-15 inches, with thinner ice on the east part of the lake and other areas that were open two weeks ago. Use caution and avoid open areas, seams, and discolored ice. Snow cover is variable; bare ice in some areas and 2-3 feet deep drifts in others. Anglers are catching perch, walleye, white bass and channel catfish...

The Spencer Police Department is investigating a burglary that took place on Wednesday at approximately 2 a.m. at J.C. Penney, located in the Southpark Mall. Spencer Police responded to a report of a burglary, and upon arrival at the business discovered that there were signs of forced entry. The suspects were able to remove miscellaneous merchandise from within the business...

Iowa Federation of Republican Women President Barbara Hames-Bryant led the first IowaFRW board meeting and leadership conference of the 2020-2021 biennium in Urbandale last weekend, with former U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz as guest speaker. Hames-Bryant, from Cedar Rapids, will be at the helm of the state’s most influential women’s grassroots political organization for a two-year term, along with the new IowaFRW Executive Committee:...

Rep. Dan Huseman, an Aurelia Republican, announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection in 2020 and will retire from the Iowa House at the conclusion of his term. He represents House District 3, which is comprised of Cherokee and O’Brien counties as well as portions of Plymouth and Sioux counties. He was first elected in 1994 and is the longest-serving member of the House Republican caucus...

A longtime educator and school administrator plans to run for the Iowa District 3 House of Representatives seat. Lynn Evans announced his candidacy Tuesday. “We need candidates to serve in our local, state and federal governments that possess the ability and experience to work with people of differing opinions for the greater good without compromising their basic principles. We need candidates that are focused on ensuring that future generations of Iowans are set up for success,” he said...

The process to gear up for RAGBRAI is a big job, and was getting underway within hours of the weekend ceremony naming Storm Lake as a host town. The first step will be for Storm Lake United and city officials to meet to begin planning on how to handle the influx of visitors. RAGBRAI typically has 8,500 week-long riders, but the unofficial day riders can swell numbers to over 10,000...

“The opposite of Donald Trump is an Asian man who likes math,” quipped Andrew Yang, speaking to a overflow crowd in a Buena Vista University classroom Sunday night in Storm Lake. Polling in the single digits for party support in Iowa, Yang showed no lack of confidence, saying he expects to be the nominee and to defeat Trump in November. ...

Bernie Sanders spent much of a lengthy, energetic speech seeking to convince the crowd that his policy proposals - Medicare for all, debt-free college, global action on climate, legalization of marijuana and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants - are not “radical.”...