The City of Alta was fined $18,000 by the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration because employees weren’t apprised of proper operating procedure when a part-time employee sliced open …

Alta-Aurelia School District is considering the possibility of moving the district’s students into “grade-alike” buildings. The district’s school board approved Supt. Denny Olhausen’s …

The City of Storm Lake will be expected to contribute $9.8 million toward a water infrastructure overhaul that’s expected to begin next year.  The Storm Lake City Council is expected to …

The City of Storm Lake has unveiled a new website to kick off the community’s sesquicentennial year. The site — stormlake.org — is colorful, interactive and easy to use. Features include …

Contractor Woodruff Construction of Sioux City expects to begin work Friday on a project to replace the heating, cooling and air handling systems at Storm Lake Public Library. The city said every …

A robust housing market in Buena Vista and Cherokee counties has driven up average home prices by 16% in 2022.   In 2022, all prices for all property classes exceeded historic norms across …

Arrested for alleged threat A Storm Lake man was arrested on Dec. 31, 2022 for threatening to attack one of his neighbors. Court records show James Huseman, 69, was booked into Buena Vista …

A warrant was issued for the arrest of a Laurens man who skipped out on closing arguments of a three-day jury trial in which he represented himself.  Judge Charles Borth issued a warrant for …

The Storm Lake School Board has scheduled a public hearing for Jan. 18 for replacement of the artificial turf at the high school baseball field. The existing turf, which covers the infield, was …

A Storm Lake man was arrested Tuesday afternoon in connection with an armed robbery at Al’s Liquors on New Year’s Day. Jail records show Eh Lwe, 24, was booked into Buena Vista County Jail for …

“They have to have a place to go to dance and have fun,” says Christos Iordanou, legendary proprietor of Malarky’s, who recently sold the restaurant and nightclub and now looks back on his 29 …

Global warming might be altering atmospheric patterns to the point that harsh outbreaks of polar air are reaching lower latitudes, like it did over Christmas week. Drastic changes in the Arctic …

Drivers traveling along the Hwy. 7 corridor east of Alta have seen new grain bins and other structures rising from the ground at the site of Platinum Crush’s $350 million soybean crushing plant. A …

Citing budget concerns, the Buena Vista County Board of Supervisors declined to immediately adopt the compensation board’s salary recommendations that ranged from 6% for County Attorney Paul Allen …

Linn Grove man allegedly stole money from farm A Linn Grove farmer was arrested earlier this month for allegedly stealing an unspecified amount of money from a farm corporation, believed to be in …

Storm Lake was supposed to recover from the coronavirus pandemic in 2022.  The bookend headlines of the previous year featured Buena Vista County reporting short supplies of COVID-19 vaccine …

It only took four minutes for a Buena Vista County jury to declare the guilt of a Laurens man who constantly espoused an extremist conspiracy theory that questioned the authority of all the lawyers …

Trashing grandma’s home looking for drugs A Newell man was arrested on Dec. 18 for ransacking his grandmother’s home allegedly in search of drugs.  Court records show Harrison Betz, …

Trusted Energy of Storm Lake has countersued a pair of its investors who demanded repayment of $150,000 that was advanced to the company in 2018.   A filing Trusted Energy’s attorneys …

The Buena Vista County Sheriff is investigating a fire that consumed a heap of dead ash trees that have been sequestered at Alta Golf & Country Club for nearly two years.   Deputy Brian …