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The 19th annual BVRMC AWARE 5K Walk/Run and Kid’s Fun Run was held on Saturday, Sept. 19. We had 418 registrants and raised over $20,000 for cancer awareness. These funds will help support patients receiving cancer treatment at BVRMC.
A big thank you to the Storm Lake, Newell-Fonda and Storm Lake St. Mary’s High School cheerleaders and dance teams as well as the countless BVRMC employees who volunteered their time. We couldn’t have done it without the financial support of our sponsors: Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, Buena Vista General Surgery, BVRMC Pharmacy, Central Bank, The Citizens 1st National Bank, Northwest Iowa Bone, Joint and Sports Surgeons, Security Trust and Savings Bank, Tyson Foods, UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's June E. Nylen Cancer Center, L&S Concrete, United Bank of Iowa, United Community Health Center and Brown’s Shoe Fit Co.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to help patients fight cancer at BVRMC. Your support helps them with prosthetic supplies, recovery items, wigs, and essential expenses like gas or groceries.
If you have any questions about receiving funds, please contact the BVRMC Oncology and Infusion Center at 712-213-8672.
We are grateful for all the support in making this year’s AWARE 5K a meaningful success. Make plans to join us for next year’s event on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2027.
Elissa Doebel, event organizer; Lisa Alesch; Amber Chrischilles; Lexanne Clapp; Deb Colshan; Evan Franzmeier; Coleen Imming; Danielle Schlenger; Katie Schwint
It is my hope that by sharing this twelfth story, we can all get to know our community a little better. I feel thankful to have met so many amazing people in the Storm Lake area who are working hard to build better lives. They are truly remarkable, and I believe their stories deserve to be shared. So, here is the twelfth:
We often think we know our neighbors. But how well do we really understand the journeys that brought them here? Some stories are full of joy. Others are marked by loss and challenge. All of them can help us see each other with more understanding. It’s easy to believe the struggles we see on TV, or hear about in the news, only happen far away. But many of those same struggles affect people right here in our community.
The details in this story are changed to protect privacy, but the person is real. They might be standing next to you at the store or waiting in line for coffee. My purpose in sharing these stories is to help us connect with, and feel connected to, the people around us. After all, I believe that when we know each other’s stories, it is harder to hate or harm one another.
The twelfth community member’s story began in another country where she was born before her mother took her and her sister to the USA to escape her father’s abuse. She was young enough to have minimal memories of the violence, but old enough to know that her father was scary. Unfortunately, moving to the USA did not resolve the problems because her mother had her own addiction. Her mom’s addiction caused her to be unable to hold down a consistent job, which led to the three of them moving over 12 times within California over the next 12 years.
In California she met someone who she thought would be her happily ever after. She went on to have two children him. She tried hard to make the relationship work because she wanted to provide a two parent, happy household to her children, something she deeply wanted as a child, but eventually came to realize that having him in their lives was not safe for her or her children. So, she took legal action including obtaining an order of protection, but no matter what she did he still found a way to threaten her and the children. She was disappointed to find out that the legal system could only preventatively do so much in her situation. Even with what could be done, she learned she’d have to retell her experiences over and over, as well as continually go back to court to keep active the legal protections she could put in place. Living in fear while continually having to share her traumatic experiences with others to receive minimal legal protection, was not okay with her. So, she reached out to her aunt and asked if she and her children could move in. Her aunt agreed to help them, and they moved. Unfortunately, in Oregon she felt forced to pick between school and work; she picked work so that she would have a place to stay.
In Oregon, the only space her aunt had for them to live on was the garage, and while it was far from ideal, she knew that she was safe. Yet, thanks to legal processes, her children’s father found her and threatened her life and the lives of their children. So, to escape him once and for all, she left with her children in the middle of the night during the pandemic, and landed in Storm Lake. She came here because her mother was here, and going to a place that her ex did not know anything about would most likely keep her safe. She was aware that returning to live with her mother would likely lead to the same instability for her children that she experienced growing up, as her mother still had an addiction, Still, she felt she had no choice. So, she moved to Storm Lake.
Upon arriving, she enrolled her kids in school and found work. Her focus was to provide a stable and safe home for her children — an experience she did not have growing up — and knew that would require her to work. It was at work that she met someone. It took her quite a while to trust him, not just because she needed to make sure he was safe for her and her children, but because it took her time to adjust to someone treating her well. Today they are married and have two children.
Meeting someone and finding employment allowed her to experience stability enough that she considered going to back to school. The first time she attempted to finish up her schooling, her childcare situation was too unstable for her to adhere to the school structure. So, she went back to work and tried again a few years later. She’s currently pursuing her high school equivalency diploma and is determined to go onto a four-year institution and study forensic psychology.
She is our neighbor.
Sarah E. Schoper, Storm Lake
We’ve all heard the saying that “elections have consequences.” This November, that will be especially true for Iowa.
Iowa has an opportunity to make a change by electing lawmakers who will defend private property rights for ALL landowners in Iowa and pass legislation to stop eminent domain abuse.
These protections are urgently needed because allowing a private company to use eminent domain sets a dangerous precedent. Even if Summit Carbon Solutions’ CO2 pipeline doesn’t affect your property today, another project could threaten your property tomorrow.
Landowners should have the right to say, “No, thank you,” to a project they don’t want on their land, didn’t ask for, and didn’t volunteer to be part of. Today, Iowa law does not provide that protection.
Iowa needs change.
Our newly elected governor will be tasked with appointing two new commissioners to the Iowa Utilities Commission. That responsibility matters deeply because the IUC is the agency that granted Summit Carbon Solutions its permit and authorized the use of eminent domain.
November’s elections could shape the future of private property rights in Iowa for years to come. We need elected officials and commissioners who will respect the Constitution, defend landowners’ property rights, and stand with Iowa citizens not billion-dollar corporations.
This November, be a PROPERTY RIGHTS VOTER.
Iowans can no longer settle for leaders who put corporate greed ahead of defending private property rights.
Your property. Your voice. Your rights. Your vote.
Colleen Tucker, Osage
On the November ballot, Iowa voters will be asked to amend the state constitution to require a two-thirds supermajority vote by lawmakers to raise personal and corporate income taxes. Some will try to convince you this is a good thing. However, Amendment 1 makes it harder to raise ONLY the income tax. If it passes, you should expect lawmakers to fix our budget mess by raising fees, hiking college tuition and increasing taxes not covered by Amendment 1, like the sales tax.
After years of tax cuts skewed to the wealthy, Iowa is now running $1 billion deficits. Now they want to change the rules to make it harder to build a fair tax system where corporations and the rich pay their fair share. If income tax can’t be raised, needed revenue will come from one or all of your other taxes, and more public needs will be cut.
Republican lawmakers are already taking money out of Iowa’s public schools to fund private school vouchers that don’t serve all students. This amendment could lead to more cuts to public schools, more cuts to community services like police, fire, service agencies and disaster relief.
Vote NO on Amendment 1!
Jo Ann McNiel, Cedar Rapids
Boy did Tim Marlow hit the head on the nail perfect with his column, “I have questions.” I sure can’t tell you how we’ve made it this far. Seems for any step forward we go back three.
I think people’s morals are gone. Remember when these people were looked down on —liars, bullies, narcissists, corrupt con men and perverts. Now we elect them. People hide behind religion and do immoral things. Tim is so right about us killing each other. All people do is try to get a buck off the other guy legal or otherwise. I’d bet there are inventions and cures out there that rich corporations have bought off and squelched. The rich only care about themselves and not the rest of mankind. Ben Franklin said this long ago: “Money has never made man happy. The more one has, the more one wants.”
And the environment is toast. I’ve driven to my sister’s in Florida from here and every state including Florida has more trees than Iowa. We have chopped all the trees down to grow corn and beans, then b**** because the price is down. Ever hear of supply and demand? If they didn’t plant corn in the ditches maybe the price would go up.
Tim is also right about the earth will be fine after we are gone. Remember this, Mother Nature can live without us, but we can’t live without Mother Nature. I feel sorry for all young people because I doubt they will learn from others mistakes because their heads will be buried in their phones. Ya know how to learn, read a book. There are so many new ones about people, politics and environment. Remember this also, water will be the new oil. We’ve allowed so much pollution you won’t be able to afford clean water to drink, especially if data centers get ahold of it.
Genius George Carlin said “Don’t just teach your children to read. Teach them to question everything they read. The value of education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”
Dave Haynes, Duncombe
“Communism and Socialism are only bad when the leadership is bad” as expressed by John Cullen. Every supporter of Communism and Socialism has made the same argument for 100 years. Regarding Communism and Socialism, the USSR — Union Soviet of Socialist Republic, and National Socialist German Workers' Party, are the Socialist parties frequently cited as those responsible for the killing of tens of millions, including their own people. On a smaller scale, that is true of North Korea, Cambodia and Cuba. I remember in the 1960s many liberals would remark that Cuba was not such a bad country, because it had “free” health care. That “free” health care didn’t deter hundreds of thousands fleeing Cuba.
Socialism differs from Communism in that instead of owning industries and production outright as Communism, Socialism allows private ownership, but exerts significant control, in many cases. In any event, most people, except the rulers have suffered greatly under those regimes.
Those promoting Socialism frequently mention Europe, especially the Scandinavian countries. Those states have “big government characteristics, high taxes, generous transfer payments, heavily subsidized health care, extensive public services, and powerful labor unions.” Norway was a very poor country until offshore oil was discovered in 1966 and production was nationalized in 1972.
Norway rapidly became a rich country. Typically, high income taxes kick in at low incomes, often approaching 50%. More tax burden, through a VAT tax, (Value Added Tax) typically 20%, is imposed on purchases.
“Scholars characterize the Scandinavian countries as welfare capitalism, combining markets with extensive redistribution. Their high tax burdens are offset by their strong judicial and property rights framework.” Interestingly, a former Denmark Prime Minister characterized Denmark as a market-based economy, not a planned economy.
In Europe, home ownership ranges from 43% in Germany and 68% in Italy. Scandinavian countries have home ownership about the same as the United States, 65%. Those houses in Europe, however, are about half the size as those in the United States. Renting is even more expensive than the United States.
If you want to know what Europeans think of the United States, ask those hoards that came over for the World Cup. They couldn’t believe the wealth, prosperity, food portions and air conditioning we have here!
The U.S. has a market-based economy, coupled with large sectors of government control, such as defense and intelligence. Social Security, an entitlement program, on the verge of not being able to fulfill its obligations, is government controlled. Medicare, an entitlement program, also going broke. Both set up with flawed projections of income flows and cost of benefits. Medicaid, a welfare program, growing at unsustainable rates; rife with fraud, that many states such as Minnesota, have just ignored for years.
A government controlled public school system, that has most students severely deficient in reading and math scores compared with grade level. Controlled by the powerful teacher unions.
Many make the argument that such programs do not work particularly well encouraging overconsumption and market distortions, and amounting to redistribution to politically favored groups. The resources to fund these programs come from the private sector. Government can redistribute resources but must have a private sector capable of producing them.
Finally, Trump has injected the government into the private sector that is antithetical to Reagan and traditional free market Republicans. I believe that is a big mistake and certainly does not make a case for Socialism or Communism.
Vic Massara, Omaha, Neb.
Political ads are not only obnoxious, they sometimes assume we have no memories.
As a candidate, Ashley Hinson could not contain her enthusiasm and loyalty to Donald Trump, promising to be his “strongest ally.” She lives up to the hype. As a Representative she’s voted 100% with the Republican majority, adhering unquestioningly to Donald Trump’s line. Even when a few independent Republican voices are raised, Hinson is loyal to Donald Trump, who consistently refuses to work with Democrats (and that’s putting it very mildly).
But, because of Trump’s broken promises, his popularity is taking a nose-dive. We now have higher inflation, higher national debt, more tariffs, needless hostility towards Canada, and a forever war that causes ever higher fuel prices. Recently, a few Republicans heeded popular opinion and actually voted against the misguided Iran War, but not Ashley; she stayed loyal, regardless of the harm Iowans experience from the Trump war and Trump tariffs.
Nonetheless, in new political ads Hinson boasts about being bipartisan. Attempting to convince us she’s now an “across the aisle” kind of politician, she’s shown in the aisle seat of a plane mock-up. It’s a lame idea which does nothing to support her claim she’s no longer strictly following Trump’s directives. And, conveniently for Ashley, we will not be able to see before the election whether the allegedly new “bipartisan” Hinson votes differently than the consistent Trump follower she’s been while in office. Why? The Republican-run House of Representatives is again on recess until after the election! I think voting for the other side of the aisle is a safer bet.
Sue Ravenscroft, Ames
We are Linn County subscriber-readers. I’m grateful for the service you provide, mailing a newspaper to our home. In light of attacks on journalism that have gathered speed like a mudslide, a paper copy of a newspaper from outside our county of residence is a true gift. Thank you again for all your reporting and editorials that speak truth to power; speak with authority from a place of experience and knowledge; and speak because our lives depend on all you do.
Hinson has faked it and made it. I have zero respect for her.
“Legalized” PAC money used to prop up fakery, gaslighting, fear-mongering, lying, and propaganda takes advantage of voters’ vulnerability.
American history is bent, as the Brits say. The British and the United States colonized across the globe; they enslaved human beings; they use “national defense” to wage war or supply weapons of war to other countries (Ukraine and Israel, for example); man-made “law,” susceptible to arbitrary decision-making, is used to argue who is and isn't a citizen or a human deserving of full participation and protection in the country in which they live. In 2026, the United States has contorted itself into a rigid breakable entity.
So my ability to speak plainly does not come easily; another reason I appreciate the Storm Lake Times Pilot Opinion page, which does speak plainly.
Health is health: water, soil, air and human health are intertwined. Mental health requires an understanding of where we come from: white entitled colonists who enslaved Africans, massacred Indigenous peoples, and did not write women's rights into the Constitution. All of the above should be acknowledged until we stop being defensive about our cruel legacy. Cruel is cruel, not “lunatic” as JD Vance would frame it.
Critical race theory should be ubiquitous in all educational institutions. “Critical” theory examines how we structure our lives and yes, Marxism is one lens used in critical theory. Rob Sand may emphasize math and reading, but this reader will stand up for critical thinking.
Self-examination hurts less the more we use it. Until we become more honest about what it means to be a human being, (our) lives will be subjected to an angry polluted world. As we become zombies.
How and why did Americans become blind to nature, clean water, agriculture that feeds humans not automobile tanks? Why is there litter along the trails where I walk our dogs? Is litter the 2026 U.S. mascot?
Gretchen Reeh-Robinson, Mount Vernon
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