Stories from Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Curl up on the couch, enjoy some of the area’s best artists and help raise funds for a historic auditorium renovation. The organizers of the “Home is Where the ART Is” virtual fundraiser hope this sounds like a great night in. “We are so excited to get the entire community behind this project,” said FD Fine Arts Association Director Shelly Bottorff. ...

A report by KXLG radio in Watertown, South Dakota, announced current Spencer City Manager Amanda Mack as a finalist for the Watertown city manager position. Recently, the Watertown City Council announced the five individuals who were chosen to participate in an interview process which will take place on April 29-30...

Coty Wolthuis, 31, of Spencer, plead guilty in court recently to second-degree theft, a Class D felony; and false reports, a serious misdemeanor, in relation to the alleged plot to stage a robbery at the Casey’s General Store located at 800 S. Grand Ave. ...

Iowa has been blessed with about the right amount of rain for crops and, in almost any location, a well can be dug to provide enough water for a household. The water table is often close to the surface but because the glacial till soils are compact at depths, the lateral flow rate is slow, providing 10 to 20 gallons per minute pumping rates. ...

Storm Lake (and Little Storm Lake) Water temperatures have cooled back into the low 50’s. Black Crappie – Good: Try a tube jig with a small minnow. Most have had good luck in the marina. Yellow Perch – Fair: Catch 8- to 11-inch perch in the marina with minnows fished on a jig. ...

To say Khamedriah Grimes is busy as a Beaver at Buena Vista University doesn’t do justice to the word busy. It might short-sell Grimes, too. Consider these commitments: • The junior from Kansas City, Mo., has two majors: Spanish and psychology. • She serves as President for BVU’s Black Student Union...

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced appointments to Iowa’s boards and commissions Friday. Named to the Early Childhood Iowa State Board was Mayra Martinez, Storm Lake. Appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.

Bold Iowa advocacy group has submitted a letter to the Iowa Utilities Board asking the board to reconsider its 2020 decision and stop expansion of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline runs through Iowa, passing near Storm Lake, Alta and Newell in the area...

The Storm Lake Hy-Noon Kiwanis club is eager to bring back the annual triathlon/duathlon with proceeds be used to build a new park. The Storm Lake Hy-Noon Kiwanis will be holding a kickoff event on Monday, April 26th, at 12:15 p.m. at the location of the new park located at the corner of 5th Street and Russell. This conference will give a run-down about the summer triathlon/duathlon and highlight the importance of the Kiwanis in the community...

The production of “Last and Final Call” is a series of vignettes written and directed by the Advanced Directing class at Buena Vista University, Storm Lake. Sophia Hackbarth, Charisma Mendez, Diane Nusbaum and Matthew Marroquin, will direct the play, performed Friday, April 23, 7:30 p.m...

The Department of Human Services (DHS) has a new resource for stakeholders to understand how the state’s Medicaid program operates. The 2021 Iowa Medicaid Reference Guide provides an overview of both the state’s Medicaid program as well as the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including program eligibility, covered services, state oversight, budget development, and the governing framework of the programs. Medicaid serves more than 700,000 individuals, or about 1 in 4 Iowans...

The effect of the pandemic on our social lives has been prohibitive. Being responsible and staying home day after day, many people have missed friends, family and the entire concept of going out. Though the pandemic has had a devastating effect on the nation’s health and economy, several economists have recently speculated that a period of extravagant opulence will follow, similar to the what happened after The Forgotten Depression of 1920, known an ‘The Roaring Twenties’...

Care Initiatives Hospice is expanding. The Iowa Department of Inspections approved their request to serve all of Sac and Harrison counties. They will also be adding Buena Vista County. “Care Initiatives Hospice is excited to serve in Harrison, Sac and Buena Vista Counties,” says Barb Clark, Hospice Transition Coordinator. ...

The June E. Nylen Cancer Center (JENCC) is excited to welcome a new Medical Director and practicing Medical Oncologist and Hematologist. Matthew Obinna Nwaneri, MD, MBA joins JENCC from practicing at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center in Iowa City and teaching medical students at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine...

Impact Pro Wrestling will return to this summer’s Buena Vista County Fair. The show will be Thursday, July 8, starting at 7 p.m. Admission will be included with fair tickets. From death defying aerial moves to incredible feats of strength and athleticism, there is something for everyone. For 20+ plus years, Impact Pro Wrestling always presents all ages, family friendly shows...

The “hardest working band in the Midwest” will perform at Doxx Warehouse in Sioux City, Saturday, May 22. Showtime is 9:30 p.m. Admission is free. If you’ve been to a Red Dirt Road show you know that they are a sound and light experience that you won’t want to miss. They combine song musicianship, killer harmonies, and an arena style light show that will keep you coming back...

Tickets for the final show in the 61st Spencer Community TheatreMainstage Season, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” go on sale to the public Tuesday. When a die-hard theatre fan plays his favorite cast album, the characters come to life in this hilarious musical farce. Winner of five Tony Awards, including best book and best original score, the performance is a loving send-up of the Jazz Age musical, featuring one show-stopping song and dance number after another...

Mick Jagger and Dave Grohl have teamed up for a hard-rock pandemic anthem called “Eazy Sleazy.” “It’s a song that I wrote about coming out of lockdown, with some much needed optimism,” Jagger said in a statement Tuesday. “Thanks to Dave Grohl for jumping on drums, bass and guitar. It was a lot of fun working with him.”...

Beautiful music filled downtown Fort Dodge recently as the Triton Concert and Jazz Bands surprised with a pop-up concert.

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig on Thursday labeled as “propaganda” a national environmental group’s listing of the Raccoon River as one of the nation’s most-endangered.  “That so-called report was a bit of propaganda, I think,” Naig said of the American Rivers report this week. ...

A crew worked a prairie burn Friday on Phil Redenbaugh’s land across from the Casino Marina. It was a perfect day for a fire with a slight wind out of the northeast and cool overcast conditions. Such a fire promotes a healthy prairie, removing non-native plants and allowing prairie plants more nutrients and room to grow. ...

Storm Lake Proud Week has been scheduled for May 15-22. The campaign was hatched two years ago, but set back by COVID restrictions in 2020. It will return full force next month, with plenty of opportunities for public involvement in cleanup and improvement projects, according to Mayor Mike Porsch...

“I got over the ‘knockers’ embarrassment pretty quick,” laughs Steve Smith, Storm Lake, an artisan taking part in the Knitted Knockers movement. Volunteers knit or crochet handmade prothesis offered free for women who have undergone mastectomies and other procedures to the breast...

Buena Vista University student Karole Iraheta enjoyed a “right place, right time” moment on a cool, blustery morning in Storm Lake recently. Not that the moment was all that enjoyable, mind you. Iraheta, a junior studying business management, was one of four BVU students assisting at a COVID-19 mass vaccination drive-through clinic at Storm Lake Elementary School. Her skill as a dual-language speaker served her community in a time of crisis when a patient suffered a medical emergency...

The Storm Lake Mayor’s Committee on Parks, Trails and Urban Forestry met Thursday for the first time in a year, re-setting goals and reviewing an abundance of park and recreation projects coming up this season. An urgent desire to establish bike trail around the lake quickly emerged as the marquee issue. ...