Stories from Tuesday, September 21, 2021

The St. Mary’s Fall Craft Bazaar returns, Saturday, October 2, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the school gym. Everyone is welcome to the fundraiser event. In addition to a variety of craft vendors, there will be a bake sale, pumpkins and gourds, and mums available for purchase. A lunch will be served to eat in or carry out. Limited vendor spaces is still available, contact Amanda at 651-497-9296...

Peterson Community Club will host its Fall Festival, Saturday, October 2, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Everyone is welcome for a day of food, fun and laughter in scenic northwest Iowa. The event will be outdoors (indoor seating will be available if needed). There will be shopping with local vendors, yard games, a Bloody Mary bar with wine from InnSpiration Winery, and a pulled pork sandwich meal including fries, coleslaw and soda or water. Games include corn hole, jumbo Jenga and jumbo Connect 4...

Sissy Brown returns to Shiny Top Brewing in Fort Dodge for a solo show, Thursday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m. Sissy is self-described as “a sweet voiced, foul mouthed, country singer/songwriter influenced by honky tonk, outlaw, and solid country gold legends.”...

Area favorite Mike Hoover will perform at Mudd on Main in Cherokee, Thursday, Sept. 23. Showtime is 6 p.m. and everyone is welcome. Hoover, from Marcus, was the founding member of The Charades, an Iowa Rock ’N’ Roll Hall of Fame honoree, in 1960. He has gone on to perform with many bands and musicians, including the Jefferson Davis Band, The Cult, The Misfits, The MoJos, Justus, Short Change, Beaver Creek Ridge and others. He and his wife Kaye also performed for many years as a duo...

Tickets are on sale now for The Simon & Garfunkel Story at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City, part of the Broadway at the Orpheum series. The musical will be presented Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. The immersive concert-style theater show chronicles the amazing journey shared by the two young boys from Queens, New York, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. ...

The country music world is changing. The current country fan is ready for something more aggressive, soulful and edgy. The Devon Worley Band wants to be the band that delivers it. They will hit the stage at Captain’s Getaway in Okoboji October 22 and 23, 9 p.m. each night...

By Randy M. Cauthron Special to The Pilot Last week, President Joe Biden announced a COVID-19 vaccination requirement directive that will impact employees of hospitals and other specified businesses. Due to the development of this national initiative, Spencer Hospital is pausing implementation of its vaccination requirement...

The number of states with high obesity among residents has nearly doubled since 2018, according to new data Wednesday from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 16 states that had obesity rates among adult residents of at least 35% last year, with Iowa, Ohio, Delaware and Texas on that list for the first time. That’s an increase from 12 states in 2019 and nine states in 2018...

The Field of Dreams-Storm Lake Foundation is raising funds for improvements to its youth sports facility in Storm Lake. The foundation has a goal to raise $50,000 yet this fall. “We were hit hard with limited income in 2020, and our normal expenses continued,” said Dan Richardson, foundation treasurer and board member. “We have some significant expenditures that we need to keep our facility in the best shape possible.”...

Two years ago, a few Laurens community boosters had a seed of an idea to combine the town’s prairie roots with its strong industrial base, in some sort of artistic expression. The result is the Laurens Industrial Wave art installation, to be dedicated Sept. 23 at Sportsman’s Park, 5 p.m...

Kids had the chance to learn about recycling and get a crafty souvenir at the Clay County Fair by taking part in the activity “How to Tame the Trash Monster,” presented by Arts on Grand at the Art Barn. Vanessa Moore, environmental education coordinator for Northern Plains Regional Planning Area, set up the booth at the fairgrounds to teach kids how to reuse and recycle, and to avoid purchasing single-use plastics, stopping the “trash monster” from taking over the planet...

Maria “Lupita” Vargas Chavez, age 23, of Storm Lake, Iowa died September 13, at her home in Storm Lake. Funeral services were held Saturday, September 18, at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Storm Lake, Iowa. Burial was at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. Visitation was Friday, September 17, from at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake, Iowa. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of arrangements...

It’s time to celebrate the fall season and there’s no better way to begin than the Sac County Quilt-A-Fair. The show runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, September 25 and 26 in Sac City. The Sac County Fair Grounds are arrayed with interesting grasses and fall flowers. ...

The Catholic schools in the Diocese of Sioux City will not be instituting mask mandates at this time, due to the current legal proceedings in Iowa. Patty Lansink, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Sioux City, noted the diocesan attorney verified that the temporary restraining order lifting the ban on mask mandates did not apply to the 16 Catholic school systems in the diocese...

For the second consecutive year, Buena Vista University has been rated well ahead all other Iowa colleges and universities in U.S. News & World Report’s prestigious Best Value Schools Among Regional Universities in the Midwest. BVU’s 2021 rating in the “Best Value” category is sixth among 71 Midwest institutions, some 21 spots ahead of any other Iowa institution...

By Randy M. Cauthron Special to the Pilot When Dick Bennett isn’t in one of his Rembrandt Leather shops crafting custom leather products or operating Bennett Construction bringing new life to older structures, he’s most likely on the road sharing his passion for the history he attempts to replicate for audiences across the country...

Both of the Republicans who represent Buena Vista County in the state legislature would be sharply impacted if the initial redistricting maps revealed Thursday are eventually adopted. Republican Reps. Gary Worthan of Storm Lake and Dennis Bush from Cleghorn would both be in the redrawn House District 10, which would now include the western half of Buena Vista County, all of Cherokee County, and portions of Plymouth and Woodbury counties on the west edge of the state. ...

Storm Lake will have four new candidates competing for two seats on the city council, in the November election. Mayor Mike Porsch will run unopposed for another term. Candidates for city council are Dylan WolfTornabane, Shane Schreck, Matthew Ricklefs and Margaret Martinez. Incumbents Jose Ibarra and Dan Smith are not running for reelection. All of the city terms are for four years...

Not everyone is enthused about a Platinum Crush soybean crushing plant proposed for a site near Alta - a project that one area grower described in publicity material as “a farmer’s dream.” Residents of the Lake Creek residential area made their opinion clear when they met Saturday to strategize. As several expressed, they support the plant as a positive development for the county. But, they do not want it near their homes and golf course...