Stories from Thursday, March 10, 2011

Iowa's "Sunshine Laws" - the Open Meetings Law, and the Public Records Law (Iowa Code Chapters 21 and 22) - assure public access to open meetings and open records at all levels of government. The following valuable information has been gleaned from past violations of our Sunshine Laws:...

Last night as I was staying up way too late reading, I was startled by my dog barking at some unknown noise outside. When I looked up from my book it was like I had been in a different world. It took me a few minutes to get back to Cherokee, Iowa. That's the great thing about books. They take you places. And here's where I've been the past couple of weeks...

John H. Bindner of Marcus,99, passed away on March 7, 2011 at the Heartland Care Center in Marcus. Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 11 at Holy Name Catholic Church in Marcus. The Reverend Armand Bertrand will officiate. ...

The Cherokee Knights of Columbus will be sponsoring their first Lenten Fish Fry of the year on Friday, March 11, 2011, at the KC Hall, 137 Union Street, in Cherokee. They will be serving deep fat fried fish and baked fish, side dishes, and home made desserts. Serving will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. or while supplies last...

The Cherokee Knights of Columbus will be sponsoring their first Lenten Fish Fry of the year on Friday, March 11, 2011, at the KC Hall, 137 Union Street, in Cherokee. They will be serving deep fat fried fish and baked fish, side dishes, and home made desserts. Serving will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. or while supplies last...

WASHINGTON -- Senator Chuck Grassley will be in Buena Vista, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Humboldt, Ida, Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sac, Sioux, Webster, and Woodbury counties March 21 through 24. He will hold town meetings, tour and meet with employees at an Iowa business, speak with service club members, discuss issues with high school students, and tour a rural health care provider network site...

Tom Schutte of Ocheyedan and Aletha Boer of Primghar are happy to announce the engagement of their daughter, Jenessa Schutte, to Carl Amundson, son of Bruce and Donna Amundson of Larrabee. Jenessa is pursuing her degree in Elementary Education at Buena Vista University, and Carl, a graduate of Iowa State University, is currently working as a Design Engineer at AGCO Corporation in Jackson, Minnesota...

Training on "Understanding Infant Adoption" is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23 in Room CE 301 at Western Iowa Tech Community College, 200 Victory Drive in Cherokee. A FREE meal will be provided as well as FREE CEUs for nurses and social workers. This training will allow professionals to learn more about adoption law and practice, birthfather' rights/responsibilities, special issues in counseling teens and social/cultural influences. Please join us...

Food Check-Out Week was recently held in Cherokee County and involved Farm Bureaus at the county, state and national level and celebrates the abundance and safety of food. Cherokee County Farm Bureau's Food Check-Out Week was aimed at helping American consumers learn how to shop strategically to put nutritious meals on the table with fewer dollars...

Cael Wood wrestled this weekend at the AAU Pee Wee State Wrestling Tournament in Waterloo, Iowa. In his first match he faced Alec Stogdill of Alburnett, Iowa, a two time defending state champion. Cael wrestled hard but he lost that match 10-8. He knew that he would need to win the next 3 matches in order to earn a placing at state. ...

The Cherokee Knights of Columbus will be sponsoring their first Lenten Fish Fry of the year on Friday, March 11, 2011, at the KC Hall, 137 Union Street, in Cherokee. They will be serving deep fat fried fish and baked fish, side dishes, and home made desserts. Serving will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. or while supplies last...

GENEVA, Ohio (AP) - A group of Morningside College athletes earned NAIA All-America honors with a second place finish in the men's 3200 meter Relay at last weekend's NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships here. The Mustangs' quartet of Brian Gesink, Garret Ehlers, John Harris and Monte Larsen combined for a school-record time of 7:40.05 to finish second behind defending National Champion Oklahoma Baptist University. ...

Friday's 9:30 a.m. Chamber Coffee is hosted by the Cherokee Industrial Corporation, and will be held at the old Julius Cleaners building, 116 South 4th Street. Come see how the building has been fixed up for potential business tenants.

The Cherokee Board of Education at Monday night's Management Team Meeting heard a detailed overview of proposed maintenance projects facing the District that are estimated at a $282,000 cost. The projects would be funded by the District's Physical Plant & Equipment Levy (PPEL) and would be undertaken this spring and summer if the Board so approves...

Robert Reeves, a native of Waterloo who now lives in Des Moines, is the Sanford Museum's Artist of the Month for March. Reeves has an Art Degree from the University of Northern Iowa. The Museum's Art Wall features Reeves' works in oils, charcoals and oil pastels. More of Reeves' work can be found at www.RobReevesStudio.com. Photo contributed...

The Cherokee Symphony will present its annual Winter Concert Sunday, March 13, at 4 p.m. in the Cherokee Community Center. The program will feature Bach Brandenburg Concerto Number 2 with four talented soloists, including special guest Robert Gibson from Sioux City on the piccolo trumpet...

DES MOINES - The Iowa Newspaper Association has announced its 2011 All-State Girls Basketball teams for Class 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A, naming Kiah Stokes of Linn-Mar as "Miss Basketball." The University of Connecticut signee averaged 25.0 points and 14.9 rebounds per game as the Lions finished 22-3 and reached the class 4A semifinals...