Stories from Friday, April 10, 2020

Recently, Hy-Vee, Inc. is announcing additional changes to its operations to help protect its employees and customers in response to the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. All Hy-Vee stores installed additional temporary window panels on the back side of checkouts to help provide an additional layer of protection for both cashiers and customers. The panels are in addition to the panels already positioned on the front side of checkouts...

Tyson Foods, Storm Lake’s largest employer, announced Tuesday that it will pay approximately $60 million in “thank you” bonuses to 116,000 frontline workers and Tyson truckers in the U.S. who support the company’s operations to provide food during the COVID-19 pandemic. ...

Who is eligible for a recovery rebate? All U.S. residents or citizens with adjusted gross income under $75,000 ($112,500 for head of household and $150,000 married), who are not the dependent of another taxpayer and have a work-eligible Social Security Number, are eligible for the full $1,200 ($2,400 married) rebate. They are also eligible for an additional $500 per child. A typical family of four is eligible for a $3,400 recovery rebate...

So far, I’ve seen a lot of people resorting to online games such as having folks guess which music groups that they haven’t seen, or naming the top 10 albums that influenced your life. Believe me, I think if most of us were outside the home, half of this stuff wouldn’t matter. ...

Country/southern rock group The Justin Elliot Band has been booked to return to the Buena Vista County Fair this summer. The Boone-based band was a hit last year. Their show is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, 8:30 p.m. at the fairgrounds grandstand in Alta, following the demolition derby...

The Storm Lake School District has set a budget for 2020-21 with a $17.17 property tax levy rate per thousand dollars of taxable valuation. District officials stressed that they have held the line on tax asking in recent years, knowing that the $1.63 additional levy for the new Early Elementary School construction was coming...

Normally candidates are the subject of interviews, but Democrat J.D. Scholten, running for Iowa’s 4th congressional district seat, is flipping the script to be the interviewer. He announced this week that he would film a series of conversations during the week with the Democratic candidates running for U.S. Senate in Iowa. The conversations were to focus on the needs of Iowa’s 4th district, including agriculture, child care, education, and health care, and feature a live Q&A; from viewers...

Iowa gas prices have fallen 10.4 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $1.65 this week. Gas prices in Iowa are 57.2 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 100.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. Storm Lake pump prices fell sharply last week, then settled in at $1.54-$1.56 at most local stations earlier this week...

Don’t forget to get signed up to run for BV County Fair King/Queen and Little Miss & Mister titles. Now is the perfect time to fill out the paperwork while we are are practicing social distancing and staying home. Need the paperwork? Comment or message on the Buena Vista County Fair Facebook page, or contact the new coordinator for the contests, Dana Christen, at [email protected] for more information or to request a form...

Buena Vista Regional Medical Center is thanking the community for an outpouring of compassion and care from our community. Many people have asked how they can help. BVRMC has set up web site information to guide those wishing to help: bvrmc.org/give/covid-19-relief-and-response...

Iowa 4-H Youth Development is committed to providing youth and their families with research-based, accessible online learning opportunities. A collection of online educational resources for K-12 youth audiences is available on the 4-H at Home Learning Resources webpage (https://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/4h-at-home-learning-resources)...

Storm Lake had reached a 52.7% self-response rate for the 2020 U.S. Census as of this week, about 2 percent ahead of the state average. The Storm Lake Census Committee is asking residents to take a moment to email, text, and message our friends and family to complete their Census information...

Buena Vista County government continues to react to the COVID-19 concerns. Where possible, it is using rotating shifts of employees, in hopes of preventing a situation where an entire office’s staff could get sick and shut down operations. Supervisors meetings will take place with only two members present and the remainder participating from home...

Sioux Central schools have opted to continue to provide learning opportunities for students on a voluntary basis, after a recent governor’s order extending the closure of schools through April 30. In a message to families, the district said it has to prepare for the possibility that schools may not reopen for the rest of the academic year. Schools that continue learning opportunities remotely will have instructional hours requirements waived...

The city of Storm Lake put up signs this week ordering all of the playgrounds closed. / Pilot photo by Dana Larsen

December 6, 1948 - April 2, 2020

Mars Domino, age 95 of Sac City, passed away on Sunday, April 5, at the Good Samaritan Society in Holstein. Milton Mars Domino was born on August 26, 1924, to parents Homer and Elizabeth (Riddler) Domino in Storm Lake, IA. He grew up with his parents and siblings in Early, where he attended school. Mars was baptized and confirmed at the United Methodist Church in Early...

Best practices while grocery shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic is a hot topic in the media, according to food safety and nutrition and wellness specialists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Angela Shaw, Anirudh Naig and Shannon Coleman...

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) this week wrote to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) encouraging the IRS watchdog to engage in a public awareness and education campaign informing Americans of scams and frauds related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the federal government’s response, in particular the benefits and payments provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which Grassley co-authored...

Congressman Steve King shared results from an informal “tele-townhall” meeting this week on the COVID-19 virus. King said that thousands of people from throughout the district participated. The congressman polled participants on several questions: 1. When re-opening the economy, should the order be nationwide, statewide, or county by county?...

Confirmed cases of the COVID-19 continue to climb in Iowa, but negative test results for the novel coronavirus outnumbered the positive cases by more than 10-1 as of Thursday morning. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said the recovery rate remains at about 38 percent — 476 of the total 1,270 positive cases. ...

Tyson Foods has diverted some of its production to Storm Lake and other plants after suspending operations at its Columbus Junction pork facility due to more than two dozen workers testing positive for COVID-19. The Columbus Junction plant was shuttered Monday with pay for workers, with the situation to be revisited at the end of the week, Tyson spokesperson Gary Mickelson said...

Let’s put this out there right now: our area school teachers aren’t on any sort of “vacation,”, contrary to some modes of thought. Consider that not only do they have to care for their own families, while working from home, they also need to keep their classroom students engaged, through on-line methods. ...

Nee Htoo, age 32 of Storm Lake, was sentenced in the Iowa District Court April 8, after being arrested last November by Storm Lake Police on allegations of child sexual abuse of a 6-year-old victim on multiple occasions in 2016 and 2017. Htoo was sentenced to a prison term not to exceed 25 years with the Iowa Department of Corrections. Htoo will have to serve a mandatory minimum term of 17.5 years and will also have to register as a sex offender...

While many people are adapting to working remotely, running the state legislature from afar turns out to be a difficult proposition. “COVID-19 is throwing a monkey wrench into so many things,” veteran Storm Lake state legislator Gary Worthan says. While there are daily updates and a conference call weekly on decisions being made in Des Moines, it seems the legislature doesn’t have the constitutional provisions to cast votes remotely, Worthan says...

The Storm Lake Public Schools will opt for an optional learning program for the coming weeks under quarantine, as opposed to a required learning system. Superintendent of Schools Stacey Cole announced the decision during a school board meeting conducted online Wednesday afternoon...

The first case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was confirmed in a resident of Buena Vista County Monday. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, the individual in the 41-60 age group had recovered from the symptoms. In order to protect the privacy of the resident and their family, no details will be made public...

The LakeTrail remains open in Storm Lake, and on the first springlike day of the season earlier this week, joggers, bikers and skaters took full advantage of the warm sunshine. / Pilot photo by Dana Larsen