Stories from Friday, June 18, 2021

Goodwill of the Great Plains is excited to announce the Fun in the Sun BOGO Sale happening on Saturday, June 19th and Sunday, June 20th. Customers will be given a unique, limited-time opportunity to shop stores for kids and adults regular-priced tops and bottoms at buy one get one free of equal or lesser value...

The U.S. Department of Labor has selected seven states including Iowa to participate in its Advancing State Policy Integration for Recovery and Employment (ASPIRE) initiative that aims to align state policy and funding to increase competitive integrated employment for individuals with mental health conditions. ...

Buena Vista University (BVU) and Ranco Fertiservice, Inc., of Sioux Rapids, entered a Strategic Partnership to benefit both organizations as they strive to best serve the people and the areas in which they operate. Under the agreement, Ranco Fertiservice employees, as well as their spouses and dependents, may receive grant funding to lower the overall cost of education while enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus. ...

Showcasing artifacts that depict life during Spencer’s early history, the Clay County Heritage Center recently opened a new exhibit celebrating the community’s sesquicentennial - its 150-year anniversary. A plat for the town of Spencer was approved in 1871. One hundred fifty years later, Spencerians celebrated the community’s conception during this year’s Flagfest festival...

Paisan & The Family Brass returns to the Preservation Plaza at Arnolds Park for a free outdoor concert, Saturday, June 19, 7:30 p.m. Paisan and the Family Brass is an eight piece tour de force playing decades of musical genres from Led Zeppelin to Aretha Franklin, The Beatles to the Black Keys and ACDC to Johnny Cash. ...

The Fort Museum in Fort Dodge will play host to the unveiling celebration July 5 for Iowa’s newest Historic Auto Trail - Historic Route 20. At 333 miles, the trail stretches between East Dubuque and Sioux City and is the longest in Iowa. Since 2014, the Historic US Route 20 Association has traveled across Iowa, meeting with various visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, cities, economic development offices and more to discuss traveling US Route 20 and the designation of the original 1926 highway alignment as Historic Route 20.. ...

Schaller Popcorn Days will celebrate its 70th anniversary with music, food, carnival rides, one of northwest Iowa’s biggest parades, and of course - free popcorn! This year’s theme is “Schaller Popcorn Days Salutes the Volunteers.” Three concerts are on tap for the July 9 and 10 celebration...

Naturalist Lunch Box is back for summer 2021! Naturalist Lunch Box is held at 12:00 PM on selected Fridays in the summer at South Cove Park. Pack a lunch and join the fun! Naturalist Lunch Box is designed for all ages. The naturalist will present a short program on a selected topic and have hands on activities for younger audience members...

A study session aimed at reducing the number of Storm Lake Public Library Trustees was derailed this week - when not enough board members attended the monthly meeting to form a quorum. Library Director Elizabeth Huff said that maintaining a board with nine members is becoming “impossible,” and that efforts to recruit new members have struggled, with most people saying they are too busy to serve. Over the past year, meetings have failed to produce a quorum to allow any actions to be taken...

Six candidates are seeking the title of Buena Vista County Fair Queen. Judging will take place in advance of the fair, with the winners of the fair royalty contests to be announced at the fair grandstand on Thursday, July 8, 6 p.m. Fair Queen candidates are:...

Fundraising for the 2021 Star Spangled Spectacular, with a theme of “Salute to Hometown Heroes,” is off to a quick start, according to Matt Brostad and Josh Newhouse, fundraising co-chairs. “We are very surprised and thankful to the large number of donors this first week to help us kick off this year’s campaign,” said Newhouse. “We still have a way to go to get to our goal, but being more than a third of the way there after one week says a lot about this generous community.”...

Kevin Duque of Storm Lake was named to the Wartburg College Winter/May Term Dean’s List. The college recognized 494 students for Winter/May Term. The list honors students who earned a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or above in at least five course credits during the terms. Four of the five course credits have to be graded with a traditional letter grade...

This spring, some 5,300 University of Iowa undergraduate, graduate, and professional students received their degrees under extraordinary circumstances. With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to upend traditional educational practices across campus and the country, the 2020-21 academic year has been a challenge...

The Hours are Saturdays & Sundays from 2-3 p.m. From June through August. Special arrangements for larger groups can be scheduled by calling 712-732-3267. Tours take about one hour and cost is $5.00 per person, children free. Come visit the 146 year old home with mostly all original furnishings. If you have a community calendar could we please be listed. The annual silver polishing will be this coming Saturday at 10 a.m. public welcome to come and help...

More than 1,000 undergraduate students at the University of Iowa named to the president’s list for the 2021 spring semester. In order to be included on the list, a student must have a minimum 4.0 grade-point average (4.0 is an A) in all academic subjects for the fall 2020 semester, and a minimum of nine graded hours with a 4.0 grade-point average (4.0 is an A) in all academic subjects for the spring 2021 semester...

Buena Vista University congratulates more than 500 students who were named to the Spring 2021 Dean’s List. Local students who were named to the Dean’s List include: • Manuel Chavez of Storm Lake • Skylar Cole of Storm Lake • Taylor DeMey of Storm Lake...

January 9, 1943 - June 12, 2021

September 17, 1929 - June 9, 2021

April 14, 1944 - May 11, 2021

February 23, 1920 - June 10, 2021

December 19, 1942 - February 27, 2021

This week, Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA-04) spoke on the House floor to urge his colleagues to support Sarah’s Law. Named in honor of Sarah Root, this proposal would require authorities to keep illegal immigrants in custody if they’ve been charged with a crime that resulted in death or serious bodily injury...

My work as The Tubador began in about 1990. One of my earliest gigs was regular appearances at The Hotel Manning in Keosauqua. I was also the High School Band Director in Washington, Iowa. I worked at the Hotel primarily in the summer time. In late summer of 1991 Ralph Welch and his wife were vacationing in Van Buren County. They attended one of my performances and approached me about performing in Storm Lake. My first appearance in Storm Lake was July 4th of 1992...

State Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, announced Tuesday he will run for governor in 2022, making him the first major Democrat to enter the race. Smith released a video early Tuesday to launch his campaign. The video focuses on unity among Iowans, regardless of profession, background or political affiliation...

Facing a potential water shortage, the City of Storm Lake is continuing to issue suggestions for voluntary forms of conservation this season. This week, the focus was on water harvesting - the act of catching rainwater as it falls and storing it for later use such as watering gardens...

Iowa state education officials laid out plans for spending $774.5 million in federal aid from the American Rescue Plan, including efforts to address a drop in student literacy. The pandemic-related aid is aimed at elementary and secondary schools, part of a $122 billion effort nationwide...

Buena Vista County Supervisors continue to struggle with a new interpretation of the Iowa Constitution prohibiting public money being donated to private organizations. The county provides some annual funding to a number of organizations including local events like the county fair and Albert City Threshermen Show, economic development agencies like Storm Lake United and the Iowa Lakes Corridor, programs for the elderly and abuse prevention, Upper Des Moines Opportunity charity and others...

On June 14th, Dmytro Smith, age 28 of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced in Iowa District Court in Buena Vista County by Judge Nancy Whittenburg for the felony crime of Burglary in the 3rd degree. In October of 2020, Smith was one of three arrested in a home burglary in Storm Lake. ...

A Storm Lake man has won a $50,000 lottery prize. Rolando Silva Hernandez won the 46th top prize in the Iowa Lottery’s “$50,000 Super Crossword” scratch game. He purchased his winning ticket at Midtown, 1100 E. Fifth St. in Storm Lake. He claimed his prize Monday at the lottery’s Storm Lake regional office...

Crops in the region may look to be in better condition than they actually are. Early-season drought and other conditions have caused stress to corn and soybeans that experts are comparing to “the edge of a cliff.” The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers released crop survey results in an unusual online discussion Wednesday pulling together farm managers from the major growing areas for corn, soybeans and wheat...

If you can’t find what you want in the produce aisle, you grow a garden. Storm Lake schools are planting seeds for a similar philosophy - growing its own teachers. The district has struggled to hire and retain staff. “Positions are getting harder and harder to fill,” Superintendent Stacey Cole told the board of education this week. ...

While Storm Lake and the area rivers are showing the effects of drought conditions this season, it’s all part of the natural cycle of things, according to Ben Wallace, fisheries biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “It’s pretty much low at every one of our lake systems - the natural lakes for sure. ...