Stories from Friday, October 1, 2021

A crucial workforce shortage in Iowa makes it more important for businesses to meet with high-school students through an existing program, a business leader told the Iowa Rural Development Council recently. Joe Murphy, executive director of the Iowa Business Council, which represents 22 of Iowa’s largest employers, said the council is urging businesses to use the Iowa Intermediary Network to work with schools to develop future employees. ...

Paxtons Jewelry has once again teamed up with BVRMC’s P.i.n.k. for the annual balloon bash and cake dig fundraiser! Every $10 donation gets a chance to bash a balloon and win a gemstone. Each balloon is a winner, with chances to win gemstones like pink tourmaline, blue topaz, peridot, and many more. ...

Amazing Graze in Storm Lake is celebrating a one year anniversary with a Fall Open House, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2-4 p.m. at the 1515 East Lakeshore location in Storm Lake. There will be shopping with plenty of new items in the shop, snacks and wine tasting. Amazing Graze specializes in highly detailed, individually custom-crafted food grazing board, boxes and tables...

From the looks of it, I’m going to be a grandpa soon. I don’t mind the title, and I hope that I can live up to it. I’m pretty sure that are grandpas that can be classified in a variety of different areas - hunting grandpas, cooking grandpas, golfing grandpas, and even rock ‘n roll grandpas. ...

Earlier this year, Washington Democrats rammed through a massive, nearly $2 trillion bill full of partisan pet projects and Democratic Party wish list items under the guise of “COVID relief” - all without any Republican support. Fast forward to today, they are looking to continue down their reckless tax-and-spending spree with another $3.5 trillion package, also without any Republican support. They are showing no signs of slowing down their irresponsible spending habits...

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Republican officials, opinion leaders, and former President Trump continue to reframe the January 6 US Capitol riot as an act of patriotism. Sadly, this insidious effort to rewrite history has been successful, at least among Republican voters. A poll taken in January, one week after the riot, found that 80% of Republicans opposed what transpired at the US Capitol on January 6. By summer, that percentage had dropped to 50...

Seeing people’s pain twisted wrongly should be enough to make us angry. Don’t know about you, but I’m sick of social media memes, editorial cartoons and everything else about “missing white woman syndrome” in the death of Gabby Petito and a resulting manhunt...

Spencer Community Theatre’s production of “Dracula,” opens tonight. Shows are October 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m., and October 3 and 10 at 2 p.m. Bram Stoker’s classic novel about a charming Transylvanian count who is really a vampire out to seduce women for their blood is adapted for the stage by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston...

A Halloween Pumpkin Parade will be held in Holstein, Friday, Oct. 29, sponsored by the chamber of commerce. Children are invited to gather at the historic Douglas Schoolhouse at 5 p.m. for a photo, followed by trick or treating at the Main Street businesses until 6 p.m...

Rocking M Farm Store at Linn Grove will host its first Fall Experience, October 8-16. Twenty-three participating artisans from the region will be coming together to share creativity, expression and passions in a unique, genuine way. Rocking M is a small family farm, located at 4254 55th Avenue...

Storm Lake Police Department and Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Ambulance were called to the intersection of 10th and Oneida streets Sunday evening for an accident involving a bicyclist. On arrival police found a 12 year old male from Early with suspected serious injuries. Police determined a 2015 Toyota driven by Angela Sanchez of Storm Lake had been traveling west on East 10th Street and turned south onto Oneida, colliding with the 12 year old male who was riding a bicycle and had darted into the intersection. The boy was transported by ambulance to Buena Vista Regional Medical Center for treatment. No charges were filed in the incident.. ...

A Cherokee resident has been arrested in a theft case involving an ATM machine in Storm Lake. In June, police were notified of fraudulent activity and launched an investigation. The SLPD alleges that during the early morning hours of June 13, suspects had deposited an empty envelope into the ATM for a $4,000 deposit into a personal account. The suspects then conducted a series of ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and in-person withdrawals totaling $4,000 from the same account...

The statistics are alarming. Since 2018, suicide has been the second leading cause of death for adolescents between the ages 10-14 and 15-24. More than one in five students in the schools served by Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency (AEA) who completed the Iowa Youth Survey in 2018 reported that they had seriously considered killing themselves in the 12 months prior...

Storm Lake Proud Fall Clean Up for residential properties in the city will be held October 8 and 9. The city council set the date for the event during a meeting Wednesday.   Beginning on Friday, October 8, disposal containers will be located at the City’s Public Services yard located at 433 Vilas Road. Entry to the location will be clearly designated. The residents of Storm Lake are encouraged to bring unwanted items to that location for proper disposal. Items must be non-hazardous, non-construction material and originate from residential properties.. ...

October 3-9 is National 4-H Week, during which time millions of youth, parents, volunteers, and alumni across the country will be celebrating everything 4-H. The theme of this year’s National 4-H Week is Find Your Spark, which highlights how 4-H encourages kids to take part in hands-on learning experiences in areas such as health, science, agriculture, and civic engagement...

Happy 50th Anniversary to Steve and Betty Strom! They were married on October 9th, 1971 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Alta, Iowa. With love from their family -- Staci Strom, Joni (Dave) Miller and Greg (Gayle) Strom and grandchildren Griffin and Gabrie Strom and Ava and Sophie Miller...

Join the Buena Vista County Conservation Staff for its annual Fall Fun Day on Saturday, October 9th from 1 – 3 p.m. All the fun will take place in The Timber Ridge Campground at Buena Vista County Conservation Park. They will have many different activities going on for families. Come trick or treating in the campground, take a hike on the nature trail, and play games including: turtle racing, pumpkin bowling, dig for prizes and more...

The Buena Vista County Suicide Prevention Coalition in cooperation with Seasons Center held its first community event Saturday, a walk/run and resource fair based at Chautauqua Park. Lindsay Obbink from Seasons Center noted that September has been Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The COVID pandemic has continued to create challenges in the community, and statistics show that suicides, attempts and suicidal thoughts have risen as a result of the pandemic, she told those gathered...

July 13, 1938 - September 25, 2021

September 28, 1938 - September 17, 2021

June 8, 1956 - September 27, 2021

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and potential 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley has thrown her support behind a 2022 reelection bid for western Iowa congressman Randy Feensta. In a formal endorsement, Haley, formerly governor of South Carolina, called freshman Rep. Feenstra “a champion of conservative values for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.”...

Any time manure is stored, toxic gases can build up and threaten both the wellbeing and/or life of those working around or with it. Adopting and using a “Safety Hierarchy” greatly reduces potential for these types of events. 1. Eliminate the hazard whenever possible...

Iowa’s COVID-19 cases have declined from a mid-September peak, but infections and hospitalizations remain significantly higher than earlier this year. COVID-19 infections reached the highest level of 2021 last week, with an average of 1,811 news cases per day. Iowa had one of the highest per-capita rates in the U.S., with an average of 55 new daily cases per 100,000 residents...

The Biden administration on Monday unveiled a proposed new rule that would strengthen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to protect undocumented people in the program from legal challenges. The proposed rule, announced by the Department of Homeland Security, would “preserve and fortify” the DACA program, an Obama administration-era initiative that protects from deportation about 600,000 undocumented people who came to the U.S. as children...

The state of Iowa has taken emergency action in immediately suspending the license of a mental health counselor who allegedly purchased alcohol for, and smoked marijuana with, an underage client. The Iowa Board of Behavioral Science alleges that mental health counselor Michelle Banks, 48, of Spirit Lake made suggestive, lewd, lascivious or improper remarks or advances to a client, and that she also has a mental or physical inability to practice in a safe and competent manner. ...

The House of Representatives passed legislation last Friday that would guarantee a woman’s right to an abortion, an effort by Democrats to circumvent a new Texas law that has placed that access under threat. No Republicans voted for the bill, and only one Democrat crossed party lines to vote against it...

The Storm Lake City Council has approved a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant application that would fund replacement of Storm Lake Public Library’s heating/cooling system and set up a virtual meeting room for telehealth and education meetings online...

A variety of community and state partnerships is giving Storm Lake High School and its students the opportunity to build a unique conservation project in the school’s courtyard. Demolition on the next phase was scheduled to begin immediately. The project, driven by students in the school’s Advanced Ecology class, has been made possible thanks to a variety of community and statewide partnerships. ...

With harvest underway in northwest Iowa, the crop looks to come in better than expected for a year of drought conditions. “From the people I’ve talked to, they are pleasantly surprised with how the soybeans are doing - at least average, maybe better, and certainly better than what they thought earlier in the season they would be,” says Kris Kohl, ag engineering field specialist at Iowa State University Extension in Buena Vista County...

Buena Vista County supervisors have a tough choice to make. Caught between Lake Creek residents vocally opposed to the 440-acre site for a proposed $350 soybean crushing plant, farmers and others pushing hard to take advantage of the opportunity, and developers who say the clock is ticking away on the plan, they want a little more time...

The Alta-Aurelia Warriors celebrated their homecoming tonight and came up on top with a 43-0 shutout against MMCRU. Final scores from today Storm Lake 0, Denison-Schleswig 40 Newell-Fonda 21, Remsen St. Mary's 53 Sioux Central 6, Emmetsburg 28 Ridge View 0, West Sioux 42...