Stories from Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Richard “Bud” Pedersen, age 89, of Alta, Iowa died August 15, 2021, at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, Iowa. Funeral Services will be Saturday, August 28, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Alta, Iowa. Burial will be at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Alta with Military Rites by Alta VFW Post #6172. ...

A Celebration of Life will be held from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m, Sunday, September 12, 2021, at the Faith Lutheran Church in Early, IA. A meal will be served with meal prayer at 12:00 p.m., and a service with sharing of memories at 1:00 p.m. Karleen Sanders, age 82 of Early, IA, passed away on Friday, November 13, 2020, of Covid-19, at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, IA...

Eugene "Gene" Kestel, age 93, of Storm Lake, Iowa went to heaven on Friday, August 20, 2021, peacefully in his sleep at Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake, Iowa. Funeral Mass will take place Wednesday, August 25, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Storm Lake. Burial will be in the St. Mary's Cemetery. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at the CHURCH. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements...

Faye F. Peterson, age 83, of Alta, Iowa, died August 18, 2021 at her home surrounded by her loved ones. The family wishes to express a special thank you to St. Croix Hospice team for the care they provided to Faye in her final days. Celebration of Life will be Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. ...

Jacqueline J. Kelly, age 90, of Varina, Iowa died Sunday, August 22, 2021 at the Pleasant View Home in Albert City, Iowa. Funeral Mass will take place Saturday, August 28, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. at St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Varina. Burial will be in the church cemetery. ...

Cathy A. Sydnor, age 63, of Schaller, Iowa died Saturday, August 21, 2021 at her home in Schaller. Memorial service will take place Friday, August 27, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Schaller. To watch the live stream of the service, click the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85344433269?pwd=VlFYV1JlMG1Ja2M5QzF4UE1LL3BEdz09 and enter the password: funeral. ...

Kenneth E. Stone, age 76, of Linn Grove, Iowa and formerly of Rembrandt, Iowa passed away August 20, 2021 at his home. Graveside services will take place Wednesday, August 25, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at Lone Tree Cemetery in Sioux Rapids, Iowa. Visitation will take place Tuesday, August 24, 2021 from 5-7:00 p.m. at the Sliefert Funeral Home in Sioux Rapids. The Sliefert Funeral Home in Sioux Rapids is in charge of the arrangements...

Robert R. “Bob” Hall, age 80, of Storm Lake, Iowa died August 14, 2021, at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, Iowa. Memorial Services will be Thursday, August 19, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, Iowa. Bob’s Final Round Celebration will be held after the service from 5:30-7:30 p.m. ...

The Storm Lake School Foundation has constructed a Donor Wall at the high school to recognize it’s past and future donors. It is located inside the west entrance near the auditorium, and includes backlighting on the Tornado logo. The Foundation is encouraging alumni and friends of Storm Lake Schools to donate and be recognized for their support. ...

Storm Lake (and Little Storm Lake) Channel Catfish - Fair: Use cut bait or dip baits fished on the bottom in areas along shore with rocks or near the dredge cuts if fishing by boat. Largemouth Bass - Fair: Cast lures along shore and docks.  Many areas near shore have only sparse vegetation patches with plenty of casting opportunities. Use weedless lures if fishing in areas with heavier vegetation. ...

A Drake University law professor called Iowa’s voluntary program to ease farm runoff and improve water quality “magical thinking” designed to “deny and defer any potential action” and to prevent farmers “from having to do something.” Drake law professor Neil Hamilton, former director of the Drake Agricultural Law Center, told the Iowa Farmers Union Thursday that the Nutrient Reduction Strategy is not a strategy at all because it is devoid of hard targets and requirements...

Buena Vista University alum Josh Saba was treated like royalty in Grimes in late July, the benefits of being chosen as Dallas Center-Grimes Teacher of the Year. “I had a spot in the Grimes Governors’ Days Parade, a time to talk about teaching at a dinner recognizing the community’s award-winners, a surprise announcement at school, too,” says Saba, who noted the award came from the Grimes Chamber & Economic Development organization...

Relief supplies being loaded at Albert City for shipment to earthquake-torn Haiti, including six Safe-T Homes, tents, clothing and medical supplies. Also GoServ Global has had 80,000 pounds of medical supplies donated that will arrive in Haiti next week and the donor is currently working on locating more. ...

The seasons are changing at the King’s Pointe waterparks. The outdoor park and indoor park are open for the next two weekends, August 28 and 29, and September 4 and 5 and for Labor Day on the 6th 1 a.m.-5 p.m. to end the outdoor season. After that, the indoor park will be open Fridays through Sundays through the end of October, and is scheduled to close for annual maintenance November 1-24. ...

The old saying goes ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away,’ but what about when it comes to alcohol instead of apples? You may have heard that a daily glass of red wine could make you live longer or that a couple drinks per day can reduce your risk of stroke. Although a recent study by the University of Oxford found that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption for brain health, some have convinced themselves of the perceived health benefits of drinking...

As summer vacation winds down for students, a third pandemic-impacted school year approaches. Uncertainty and anxiety linger as people balance a wide range of priorities, including mental and emotional needs to return to once-familiar ways of life, milestone celebrations, and support systems...

Iowa’s COVID-19 hospitalizations continued to rise in the past week, testing some facilities’ capacity. The largest share of hospitalizations, 21%, now involve patients in their 50s, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported. Next highest are people in their 70s (19%), 40s (16%), 80s (11%), 30s (10%), ages 19 to 29 (8%) and children through age 17 (2%)...

Just days before Iowa students return to the classrooms, Gov. Kim Reynolds stood firm against school mask mandates. Reynolds told reporters Thursday that parents have approached her at the Iowa State Fair, “tears in their eyes,” and thanked her for bringing kids back to school without masks. School districts were allowed to require masks until May, when Reynolds enacted a law that prohibits them from requiring face coverings outside of a statewide mandate...

The cement had barely cured on the new Storm Lake Police Department Operation Hoop Dreams basketball court when it was being pressed into service last week. The SLPD raised funds for the project in Seneca Park, after learning that youth in the area had no court to play on. The department also hopes that having the court next to the police station will create opportunities for officers and local young people to interact...

By DAVID PITT Special to the Pilot Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Iowa, would welcome refugees from Afghanistan who want to resettle in Iowa saying their situation is much different from the immigrants coming across the U.S.-Mexico border Reynolds refused to accept in April...

A routine traffic stop in Sac County has led to a murder confession. A Sac County sheriff’s deputy on patrol Thursday night stopped a vehicle at Auburn for an alleged stop sign violation just before midnight. The driver was evasive with questions and could not produce any identification, according to Sheriff Ken McClure, and complained to the officer of a potential medical issue...

One of the seminal moments in the life of Alaina Ellington came on May 9, Mother’s Day. She walked to the stage on Peterson Field at the Buena Vista University Commencement for her fellow graduate students. She nearly cried while stepping to the microphone for the class address...

With House Democrats pushing to pass legislation to protect voting rights across the country, the Buena Vista County Commissioner of Elections thinks an emphasis should instead be on language equity. Democrats put forward a new proposal last week to update the Voting Rights Act, trying to revive civil-rights era legislation that they say will be a barrier against discriminatory voting laws by Republican-ruled state legislatures. ...