Stories from Thursday, May 29, 2014

As Cherokee area residents have learned, when fierce thunderstorms roll through the county - downing trees, limbs, branches, and power lines - total power outages don't happen very often, but they do occur with enough frequency that families should be safely prepared if they're left "in the dark."...

Standard Ready-Mix Concrete Company recently began construction of a new plant on a 5.5 acre tract of land in southern Cherokee. Standard Ready-Mix company had targeted Cherokee for a new plant for quite some time, and they have worked hand-in-hand with Cherokee Area Economic Development Corporation in locating the business in Cherokee...

Jim Adamson of the Cherokee Historic Preservation Commission recently presented Sara Cook, owner of Cherokee General Store - a contributing property in the Cherokee Commercial Historic District - with a plaque stating that her store is listed in the The National Register of Historic Places. The Cherokee General Store is located at 116 E. Main St. Photo by John Snapp...

This Sunday, June 1, the 20th Annual Friends of Conservation Fun Day will be held at Silver Sioux County Park. This a free event for all who enjoy nature. Come and enjoy nature on a trail hike from Redtail Ridge through to Silver Sioux ,with Cherokee County Naturalist Laura Kohn, starting at 9 a.m...

If you're an off-trail hiker who likes to log a couple miles each time you go out, then the Cherokee County Conservation Board has a hike meant just for you. The Cherokee County Conservation Board (CCCB) is hosting The Big Hike on Sunday, June 1. It will begin at 9 a.m. at Redtail Ridge and end just in time for the Friends of Conservation Fun Day in the Silver Sioux Recreation Area barn near Quimby...

Cherokee County Zoning Administrator David Shanahan has announced that the Zoning Board will conduct a public hearing to discuss new Wind and Communication Tower Ordinances. The meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 5, in the conference room at the Cherokee County Engineer's Office...

Kevin and Julie Prunty of Cleghorn are happy to announce the engagement and upcoming marriage of their daughter, Jennifer, to Mitchell Rock, the son of Desiree Roling of Kingsley and Darman Rock of Pierson. Jennifer graduated from Iowa State University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education, and she is currently employed as a teacher at the Washington State University Children's Center in Pullman, Washington...

Matt and Tonia Schmillen of Marcus are happy to announce the birth of their baby boy. Jacob David Schmillen was born on May 12, 2014, and he weighed 9 lb. 4 oz. and measured 21 1/2 inches long. Jacob was welcomed home by his three big brothers - John, Michael and Cody...

Michael and Angelia Mayer of Marcus are happy to announce the birth of their baby girl, who was born at 7:15 a.m. on May 15, 2014. Alaina Dawn Mayer weighed 7 lb. 13 oz. and measured 20 inches long, and she was welcomed home by her brothers, Trace and Kane, and her sister, Courtney. Grandparents are Tom and Monica Mayer of Marcus and Terry and Dianna Langholdt of Cherokee, and Lois Mayer of Marcus is Alaina's great-grandmother...

Austin Agnitsch and Jessica Rodne are happy to announce the birth of their baby boy, who was born at 3:42 p.m. on May 12, 2014. Karsen John Agnitsch weighed 7 lb. 10 oz. and measured 20 inches long, and he was welcomed home by his big brother, Aiden Lee Agnitsch...

Andrew and Meagan Rupp of Marcus are happy to announce the birth of their baby boy. Wyatt John Rupp was born at 3:26 a.m. on May 19, 2014, weighing 6 lb. 4 oz. and measuring 19 1/2 inches at birth. He was welcomed home by his big brother, Emmett, and big sister, Elise. Grandparents are Gary and Karen Rupp of Marcus, Mary Anderson of Ruthven, and the late Larry Darling...

Bill and Nicole Weathers of Aurelia are happy to announce the birth of their baby girl, who was born at 5 :45 p.m. on May 15, 2014. Lauren Elaine Weathers weighed 8 lb. 4 oz., measured 20 1/4 inches long, and was welcomed home by her big sister, Olivia Marie Weathers. Grandparents are Craig and Lorrie Lockwood of Cherokee and Jim and Paula Weathers of Aurelia...

Luke and Lindsey Harwath of Holstein are proud to announce the birth of their baby girl, who was born at 3:19 p.m. on May 19, 2014. Wilhelmina Rose Harwath weighed 7 lb. 7 oz., measured 19 1/2 inches long, and was welcomed home by her big brother, Ransom, and her big sister, Naomi. Grandparents are Doyle and Carla Jensen of Albany, Missouri; Renee AuMiller of Holstein; Paul Harwath of South China, Maine; and Wayne Warren of McKinney, Texas...

Elementary teachers Jan Tracy and Lynette Hyndman are both retiring after 35 years of teaching in Cherokee, and a farewell potluck in their honor was held on Friday, May 23. Photo contributed

There are two challengers each for Cherokee County Treasurer and Cherokee County Recorder for the Nov. 14 election, two posts in the longtime grip of incumbents. The respective party's eventual choices will be discerned in the Tuesday, June 3 Primary...

For more than 20 years, Joyce Phipps Pyle of Cherokee has been instrumental in placing flags on the graves of all veterans buried in the cemetery in Afton Township on Memorial Day. This year, she was joined by her husband, Virg Pyle, Steve Elliot, her son Dana and Pandora Phipps, and their 3 year-old grandson, Gavin Niemeier, who is showing his patriotic spirit in this photo. On Monday night, Joyce and her "elves" gathered the flags for safe storage until next year. Photo contributed...

The second grade at Cherokee Roosevelt Elementary School held a Spelling Bee on Tuesday, May 20, and the winners are shown here, left to right: first place, Parissa Fredericksen; second place, Drew Spooner; third place, Nicole DeVos; fourth place, Madison Jorgensen and fifth place, Amelia Brown. Photo contributed...

The Cherokee Regional Medical Center's Wellness Center is pleased to offer an eight day educational camp this summer entitled CRMC Fit Kids! The program is for area children who will be entering grades 2nd - 4th in the fall, and it will be held June 2 through June 5 and June 9 through June 12. Classes will be held each of those days, from noon to 2 p.m., at the CRMC Wellness Center...

"Daylight Again," the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Tribute Band, will be appearing at The Gathering Place in downtown Cherokee on Friday, May 30th. Tickets are avalilable at The Book Vine and The Copper Cup. Bring your own beverage of choice for the show, which begins at 8 p.m...

EAGLE GROVE - The top two teams at last year's Class 2A Iowa High School golf also finished 1-2 at Tuesday's Regional Golf tournament here, and both will adavnce to this year's State Meet, which will be played on the American Legion Golf Course in Marshalltown on Monday June 2nd and Tuesday June 3rd,...

MAPLETON - West Monona won the Class 2A Girls Golf Regional played on the Willow Vale Golf Course here Tuesday with a team score of 371. Audubon took second, with a team total of 381 strokes, while Hinton placed third with a team score of 389 and South O'Brien was fourth, with a team score of 396...

GALVA - The Ridge View softball team started the season off on a good note by defeating a very talented Newell-Fonda team (ranked #4 in Class 1A rankings) by the score of 4-3 in a very good ball game by both teams. Picking up the win on the mound for Ridge View was junior Katie Davidson, who threw all seven innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits while walking one and striking out two. ...

HOLSTEIN - The Ridge View Raptors opened their 2014 baseball season in excellent fashion here Tuesday night, playing errorless ball in the field, getting base hits from eight different players, and shutting out their opponent, Newell-Fonda, on the way to a five- inning 10-0 win over the Mustangs...

ALTA - The Alta-Aurelia softball team, ranked 14th in the state in Class 2A, got their season off to a good start here on Tuesday, rolling to a 10-1 win over Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire. The Warriors' senior pitching standout, Tayler Rohwer, threw the entire seven innings, allowing one earned run on four hits while striking out 14 and walking one...

SIOUX CITY - Austin Grundy, a senior from Sioux City, became the all-time victory leader in the history of the Morningside College men's tennis program during the 2013-14 season. Grundy had a 13-8 record at No. 1 singles and combined with Alex Struck, a junior from Cherokee, for a 7-15 record at No. ...

Thanks to a donation from the Cherokee Athletic Booster Club and the expertise and "sweat equity" of Wayne Morris, Ted Reis, Scott Koch and Jeff Miller, new speakers for the Public Address system at the Cherokee Braves baseball field were recently installed at the Sam Doupe Complex on East Indian Street. The Cherokee Washington High baseball and softball teams opened their seasons Wednesday night in Cherokee. Photo contributed...