Stories from Friday, March 12, 2021

Jan M. Spielman, MBA, ChFC®, CRPC®, BFA™, a Private Wealth Advisor with Ameriprise Financial in Storm Lake and Spencer, Iowa was named to the list of “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” published by Forbes magazine. The list recognizes financial advisors who have demonstrated high levels of ethical standards, professionalism, and success in the business...

The Iowa Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers has presented its 2021 Early Career Award to Grant Aschinger, AFM. Aschinger was presented the award virtually at the February annual meeting of the Iowa Chapter of ASFMRA. This award recognizes an outstanding early career member of the Iowa Chapter for his/her contributions to the Chapter, ASFMRA, and the profession...

Molly Reitsma has recently joined Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica) in Storm Lake as a closing specialist.  “We are glad to have an individual with the experience and knowledge Molly brings to our association”, said Angie Vaughan, FCSAmerica’s regional vice president of retail operations for northwest Iowa. “Molly is looking forward to meeting and working with our customers.”...

Climate change is impacting Iowa agriculture and negative impacts are expected to increasingly threaten agricultural productivity in the state. There are many ways, however, that farmers and landowners can increase the resiliency of production systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and even capture carbon...

Once upon a time, dear children, before you were born, they made a fairytale movie about a kingdom called Zamunda. “Coming to America,” starring Eddie Murphy at the height of his popularity and charisma, became a huge hit and a cult classic. In this film, dear children, Murphy played Prince Akeem — he didn’t need to be called Prince Charming, because he was already so darned charming. ...

The Roof Garden Ballroom in Arnolds Park presents a Spring Prom, featuring Denny and the DC Drifters, Thursday, May 6. The event will bring back the music of the mid-1960s. Guests are welcome to dress up if they like. There will be dance contests and lots of surprises. The fun starts at 5 p.m. Ticket information will be announced soon...

Country star Miranda Lambert will be the anchor performer at the 2021 River Ruckus in west central Iowa’s Guthrie Center this summer. The River Ruckus is billed as the most fun and affordable festival in the state of Iowa. After being canceled last summer, the festival returns with two days of country favorites on the last weekend in July...

After a year in hibernation, the Shellabration team is excited to announce Cheap Trick with special guest 38 Special will headline Shellabration 2021. Slated for Friday, July 2nd, the event will take place at Rogers Sports Complex at Fort Dodge. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 16th at midnight. They’re $38 each on or before June 20th, then will increase to $45...

The following four faculty members have been named finalists for the 2021 George Wythe Award for Excellence in Teaching at Buena Vista University: • Dr. Wes Beckwith, Assistant Professor of Psychology; • Dr. Lisa Mellmann, Associate Professor of Chemistry;...

Nice weather has afforded the opportunity to begin spring street sweeping operations a bit ahead of the arrival of spring March 20. Often, sweeping began in May after the last of the snow had melted. “While we know that a bit more snow is likely, sweeping will continue as weather allows. The initial sweeping of the year always take a bit more time as there is more debris to remove. A few more passes on each street are usually necessary,” City Manager Keri Navratil said this week...

St. Mary’s School supporters helped make St. Mary’s shine on Saturday night during the annual St. Mary’s virtual Ball and Charity Auction – A Starry Night. The virtual auction raised a record net amount of $235,500 for the operation of the preK-12 faith-based school...

When your plant list is longer than the available gardening space it is time to expand your planting options. Create new gardening space by adding raised bed gardens, elevated planters, and containers wherever space allows. Convert the end of the drive or edge of the patio into raised bed gardens. ...

The Storm Lake Whitecaps Baseball Organization will not be fielding a team for the 2021 season; due to continued health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Storm Lake Whitecaps felt it would not be appropriate to ask the Storm Lake community to host players in their homes for the 2021 season during a pandemic. The Storm Lake Whitecaps Baseball Organization plans to return to Storm Lake in the summer of 2022...

The Buena Vista County Historical Society board has decided to bring back its Garage Sale/Book Sale event which has been on hold for a year due to COVID-19 concerns. The sale will begin Thursday, April 1st, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Hours will be the same on Friday, April 2, and the final day will be Saturday, April 3 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m...

Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced a partnership with 211 Iowa to provide vaccine navigation services for Iowans ages 65+. The partnership between 211 Iowa and the Iowa Dept. of Health will launch March 9, 2021. Any Iowan, age 65+, simply calls 211 for assistance in making an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination...

Senior Ellie Lago of Newell-Fonda was chosen for the Iowa Bankers Association State Tournament Student Athlete Achievement Award recognizing her academic prowess. The award, presented by Damon Miller of Central Bank of Storm Lake, carries a $1,000 scholarship to the college of Ellie’s choice. / Photo submitted...

October 29, 1928 - March 9, 2021

May 7, 1931 - March 5, 2021

February 6, 1976 - March 4, 2021

December 9, 1928 - March 5, 2021

“Overcomer of Okoboji” will return for its seventh year on a virtual platform with their newest mini-conference entitled, “HOPE IN CHRIST: Coffee and Conversation,” an inspirational and uplifting non-denominational Christian women’s event for women of all ages and all faiths...

Funnel Week The eighth week of this year’s session was “funnel week;” the first legislative deadline of the year. All Senate policy bills must have passed through committee in order to be considered for the rest of the year. Because it was funnel week, subcommittees and committees worked to move bills through the process, and no bills were debated before the full Senate...

Calling Iowa’s new election law “a cynical manipulation of the electoral process” and “an exercise in voter suppression,” the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa has filed a lawsuit against the state to block its implementation. The lawsuit, filed in Polk County District Court, names Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller as defendants, and seeks an injunction that would prevent Pate and Miller from implementing and enforcing various provisions of Senate File 413.. ...

WAVERLY - The Buena Vista men’s indoor track & field team was in action on Sunday at the American Rivers Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships and finished the day with 15.5 points for an eight-place finish. Jadon Micke turned in his fastest time of the year in the 400-meter dash (51.05) and tied for fourth. Joe Fisher came in fourth in the pole vault (3.95m) while Lane Jellison took fifth in the shot put...

PELLA - For the second straight match, the Buena Vista volleyball team captured the opening set but couldn’t keep that momentum going the rest of the way, as the Beavers fell on the road Wednesday night at Central College in four sets. BVU had 11 kills and just three errors in the first set while holding the Dutch to nine kills and eight errors en route to a 25-17 victory. ...

The Turn Around Dance & Gymnastics competitive dance team, TTA Lightning, opened their 2021 competitive season this past weekend in Des Moines at the Legacy Dance Championships. The TTA Fire is in its fourth year of competing and the four dancers that represent them are in grades fourth through eleventh. Though the competitions are a little bit different this year, the dancers are so excited to get out on the stage and show what they got. Below are the results of this past competition...

STORM LAKE - Buena Vista University Athletics has announced its attendance policy for spectators at outdoor athletic events in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This policy will pertain to the sports of baseball, softball, outdoor track & field, soccer, football and tennis...

ST. LOUIS - The Buena Vista softball team played a pair of nationally-ranked opponents on Sunday on the final day of the Fontbonne Invitational, but the Beavers came up just short in both outings, falling to No. 9 DePauw, 3-1, before dropping a tough 2-0 contest against No. 12 Transylvania...

GREENVILLE, Ill. - It was a strong end to the three-day road trip for the Buena Vista softball team on Monday afternoon as the Beavers captured a doubleheader sweep at Greenville University by scores of 4-2 and 6-2, respectively. It marked the second doubleheader sweep of a team this season for the Beavers who went 3-3 on the trip and are now 8-4 overall this season...

Buena Vista University Director of Athletics Jack Denholm has announced Head Men’s Golf Coach Joe Powell will become BVU’s Director of Golf Operations, a position in which he will oversee both the Beaver men’s and women’s teams. Powell, currently in his second season leading the men’s golf team, also serves as the Clubhouse Manager at BVU Golf Course at Lake Creek. ...

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Buena Vista women’s basketball team held an early double-digit lead over Coe in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s American Rivers Conference quarterfinal match-up, but the Kohawks used a big 11-0 spurt to reclaim the lead for good, as they defeated the Beavers 73-52, inside of Kohawk Arena...

STORM LAKE - The Buena Vista men’s basketball team opened up an early double-digit lead and never looked back on Tuesday night against seventh-seed Wartburg College, as the second-seeded Beavers rolled to a 96-70 victory over the Knights in the quarterfinal round of the American Rivers Conference Tournament...

Elite list overflows with ability

A 69-year-old Boone man has been charged with prostitution after an incident in January at King’s Pointe resort in Storm Lake. Police say Lewis Thompson picked up four males in the Fort Dodge area, ages 16 to 20, and drove them to Storm Lake. After arriving at the resort, Thompson allegedly tried to coerce the 16-year-old into having sex with him in exchange for Thompson paying for a hotel room and alcohol...

The Storm Lake Public Library is on the mend after an unexpected roof failure on the north side of the building recently. When water began to suddenly pour through the roof, the library staff responded quickly to cover bookshelves with sheets of plastic and limit damage as much as possible. About 14 volunteers from different city departments rushed to the library to help, moving books out of harm’s way and sliding one of the massive shelving units away from the leak...

After canceling Fourth of July events in 2020, leaders took the first step toward planning this year’s celebration July 3-4, 2021 while recognizing the potential for interference from COVID-19. Michael and Tony Pertzborn, Star Spangled Spectacular 2021 commodores, say highly-anticipated elements of the event will resume with modifications in place including the Classic Car Cruise, Ride-Run, The Big Parade, and fireworks. ...

Local educator and writer Charles K. Carter has seen two new books of his poetry published this season, with another on the way. “In one way, poetry is very therapeutic for me,” the Storm Lake High School English teacher said. “In another sense, it helps me ponder the universe’s big questions - like ‘why are we here?’”...

Lindsey Anhalt will always remember her birthday in 2020. The Buena Vista University freshman was in college, away from home for the first time, meeting new classmates, new teammates, learning to live on her own for the first time, a period of long-awaited independence...

Buena Vista County Public Health hosted its first drive-though mass clinic for COVID-19 vaccination Thursday at the Buena Vista County Fairgrounds. All 200 doses of Moderna vaccine available for the event were expected to be used. Currently, those 65 and older, those under 65 with a wide range of medical issues, and certain workers in agriculture or manufacturing are being vaccinated...