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Over 1,200 residences affected by blizzard

MidAmerican: ‘extremely high sustained winds’ causing outages

City approves $1.4 million lift station repair

Lowest bid 24% higher than engineer’s estimate

Bird flu detected in BV county egg laying operation

A case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in a commercial pullet flock in Buena Vista County, according to a Friday press release from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and …

City imposes emergency water conservation measures

Two wells down Two City of Storm Lake water wells have unexpectedly gone out of service, as of Monday, March 17. Repairs will be made as soon as necessary parts arrive. In the meantime, all …
More local news
Widespread power outages impact SL, Cherokee
MidAmerican Energy has reported over 13,000 customers in Northwest Iowa have lost power this morning likely as a result of the spring snow storm. As of noon on Wednesday, MidAmerican reported …
SL man, three teens charged for rioting outside De Noches Bar
A Storm Lake man and three teenagers were arrested on warrants and charged with rioting after allegedly fleeing from an assault incident outside De Noches Bar earlier this month.  Juan …
Cherokee Holzhauer Ford set for sheriff’s sale April 23
A sheriff’s sale for the defunct Cherokee Holzhauer Ford on North Second Street is scheduled for 10 a.m. April 23 at the Cherokee County Law Enforcement Center.  Sheriff Derek Scott …
BVRMC to host Lunch & Learn on Colorectal Cancer Awareness
Buena Vista Regional Medical Center invites the community to a Colorectal Cancer Lunch & Learn featuring Dr. John Armstrong, BVRMC General Surgeon, on Thursday, March 20, from noon to 1 p.m. in …
Sports
More Local Sports
St. Mary’s track team participates in Dordt Indoor
Karla Limones finished fourth in the 800 meters and Brett Petersen was fourth in the 800 to lead Storm Lake St. Mary’s in the Dordt College Indoor on Monday in Sioux Center. No team points …
For love of the game
Imagine living in a town where the sport you love playing is not that popular. Then imagine being a female playing that not-so-popular sport that is dominated by males. Those are the obstacles …
Dvergsten receives Iowa Bankers Student-Athlete Scholarship
Four Iowa high school seniors received a 2025 Iowa Bankers Association Student-Athlete Achievement Award during the boys state basketball tournament March 14 in Des Moines. One student from each …
SL fifth grade boys team wins Storm Lake tournament
The Storm Lake fifth grade boys basketball team won the Storm Lake tournament by defeating Spencer, Spirit Lake and Southeast Valley. Team members pictured from left to right are, front row: Max …
SL eighth grade boys finish near-perfect season
The Storm Lake eighth grade boys basketball team finished their middle school season with a record of 21-1 against school teams. They went undefeated in middle school play and won three tournaments. …
Opinion

Use your common sense: Who wants to shovel dung?

Big business might be waking up to who butters its bread. A think tank populated by bankers, builders and chambers of commerce called “Common Sense Institute Iowa” says that our …

Editorials: Banning vaccines

Here’s something more to scare and depress you: An Iowa Senate subcommittee voted 2-1 to advance a bill banning mRNA vaccines like those used against Covid-19. The bill was put forward by …
Watching Drake play in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament last weekend reminded me of my freshman college days in Indiana, when this Iowa boy followed Drake in the NCAA tournament. It was …
On Feb. 7, 2025, President 45/47 summarily fired Colleen Shogan, Director of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). She joins the company of thousands of other federal workers who …
The terms “DEI” and “Woke” are often floated these days with little thought given to their complexity, or what they mean to people of various minority classes, and those in …
I may have this backwards but... one of my sons left for Peace Corps after graduating from U of Iowa. After his tours in East African locations, I finally quit asking when he’d come home …
Family & Friends
My Favorite Recipe

Fritcher stays busy after retirement

Sue with her Texas sheet cake.
Retiring after 22 years of working at Walmart in the clothing and jewelry departments, Sue Fritcher of Storm Lake is busy volunteering, traveling and “spoiling” her 13 nieces and nephews …

Congrats, Dana Seivert!

Newell-Fonda High School's longtime secretary was named Fan of the Game March 5 in Des Moines at the girls state basketball tournament.
Anne Christensen, Kathy Fritz, Jennifer Gericke and Jan Brewer.

Celebrating 25 years of advocacy

For 25 years, Kathy Fritz has been a beacon of hope for children navigating the complexities of the child welfare system. As a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) program coordinator serving 13 …
Kate Westphal decoupaged pages of the poetry onto a mannequin.

Keeping the poems alive

Katie Westphal continues to keep her grandmother’s spirit alive in her shop, Botanicals, in Cherokee. Westphal has collected the many poems by her grandmother Caite Bonham of Aurelia, who …
From left: Jan Hallengren and volunteers Carol and Bob Blodgett.

Meals on Meals receives ‘shelf meals’ through grant

The many Meals on Wheels volunteers have more meals to deliver. If the volunteers are unable to get their regular food to people in need, perhaps because of the weather, these boxes have food for …

Zanfes performs at state

Morgan Zanfes, a junior at Storm Lake High School, performed a solo at state on Oct. 24 and also Friday night at Storm Lake’s Dance Squad Night. She was the only one from Storm Lake who earned …

60th anniversary

Dennis and Tania Gutz will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on March 14. They will celebrate with their family.

A helping hand for veterans

The local charity Angels Touch gave two veterans from Buena Vista County money to help pay for repairs needed at their homes. From left: Louie DeRoos of BV County Veterans Services, Sherry …

SL student to represent Iowa at national competition

More than 400 high school students and nearly 60 employers across Iowa participated in the annual Iowa Career Development Conference presented by The Wellmark Foundation. The event was hosted by Iowa …

N-F jazz band invited to state championship

Congratulations to the Newell-Fonda jazz band upon being invited to compete in the Iowa Jazz Championships in Des Moines. The band performs April 8 at 10 a.m. To qualify, the group received a wild …
Obituaries
Marian Clark
Marian L. Clark, 90, of Storm Lake died March 16, 2025, at Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake. Memorial services will take place Saturday, March 22, at 10:30 a.m. at Grace …
Mary Demers
Mary "Babe" Delphine Demers, 90, of Storm Lake died March 17, 2025, at Methodist Manor Retirement Community. Funeral mass will take place Monday, March 24, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary's Catholic …
Genevieve Huston
Genevieve (Gen) Rose Huston (Bellows), 83, of Grimes passed away on Feb. 2, 2025, while visiting her daughter in Bradenton, Fla. Up until the end, Gen continued to share her kindness, love …
Berton Martin
Berton “Bert” Martin, 88, of Sac City passed away on March 10, 2025, at Park View Care Center, Sac City. Berton Leroy Martin was born on May 15, 1936, to Russell and Clara (Clevor) …
Andrew Havens
Andrew Michael Havens (Drew) was called to eternal life on March 1, 2025, in Bellingham, Wash., following a 2½-year journey with colon cancer. Drew was born on Dec. 30, 1999, in Omaha, …