Stories from Wednesday, July 30, 2014

DES MOINES -- Iowa Workforce Development has launched the Rapid Response program to serve the individuals affected by the recent Tyson Foods announcement of closing the Cherokee Tyson Deli plant. The Rapid Response team will prove dedicated services to ensure the employees receive all of the available benefits and have access to important resources for securing future employment...

Four high school softball players from the Chronicle Times coverage area were recently named to the All-State teams chosen by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association. In Class 1A, River Valley sophomore Payton Goettsch received honorable mention, while in Class 2A, three players were selected for the 3rd Team - Alta-Aurelia senior Tayler Rohwer and sophomore DJ Flores, and Ridge View senior Kyra Hoffman...

SPENCER - The 2014 Northwest Iowa Amateur Golf Tournament will begin here Thursday, July 31. The Northwest Amateur Golf Tournament has been held at the Spencer Golf and Country Club since 1921. It was the second golf tournament ever played in Iowa, with the Iowa Amateur being first, and golfers come from all over the state of Iowa and surrounding states, and the age of the golfers ranges from 13 years old to 80 years old...

The Cherokee 3-Couple Golf Scramble will be held at the Cherokee Golf Course on Sunday, August 17, beginning at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start. Cost is $30 a couple and a meal is $5 per person. To reserve a spot, please call Missy Jenness at 712-229-8944...

Former Sioux Valley Amateur Men's Match-Play Golf Tournament Champion Bill Mathers of Cushing nicked this year's Sioux Valley Champion James DeVos of Cherokee by one stroke to claim the 2014 Cherokee Men's Golf Open Tournament held Saturday at Cherokee Golf Course...

This group of Cherokee freshmen and sophomores played with the Iowa Extreme Basketball team from Sioux City this summer and recently wrapped up the season by playing in a tourney in Omaha, where they went 6 and 1 and finished runner-up to the Omaha Elite Team. Team members included, left to right, Tyler Faist, Mason Pitts, Michael Demers of Storm Lake, Trey Valentine, and Joel VandeLune. Photo contributed...

Four Cherokee County residents have been appointed to the Extension Council Nominating Committee, Guy Fishman, 2014 Council Chairman, announced. The committee is charged with nominating candidates for the five vacancies on the council before August 6, 2014...

The City of Cherokee reminds citizens that City Code prohibits the blowing of yard wastes into City streets. The City just completed street sweeping of all residential streets a few weeks ago and, unfortunately, some streets already have accumulated yard wastes in the curb line or storm sewer inlet as a result of blowing grass into the street...

Cherokee City officials and representatives of the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce, Cherokee Area Economic Development Corporation, and Cherokee Industrial Corporation, convened hurriedly Friday evening for a press conference upon learning of the decision by Tyson Foods to close the Cherokee Tyson Deli Sept. 27...

The new Standard Ready Mix Concrete plant located off South U.S. Highway 59 in Cherokee has been bustling with activity since opening this past spring. A large fleet of ready mix trucks daily heads in all directions supplying concrete for a wide variety of projects, including Highway 59 resurfacing, area wind turbine footings, and regular commercial and residential development. Photo by Paul Struck...

AURELIA - The Aurelia Community School will be having student registration on Thursday August 7th from 7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Middle School here. Parents may also stop in to register their students anytime between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on August 4th, 5th or 6th...

The Cherokee Chamber of Commerce encourages you to take advantage of the Iowa Tax Free Holiday by shopping with businesses in Cherokee August 1-2. The annual Iowa Tax Free Holiday is held the first Friday and Saturday of August and is intended to coincide with annual back to school shopping for families...

Brian and Darcy Fritz of Hartley are happy to announce the birth of their little girl, who was born on July 23, 2014. Adalynn Grace Fritz was born at 2:08 a.m. and weighed 7 lb. 3 oz. and measured 19 3/4 inches long. Grandparents are Darwin and Jan Gaudian of Primghar and Dee Fritz of Pauliina...

Kennedy Klein and Andrew Gordon of Cleghorn are happy to announce the birth of their first child, a girl. Kinzie Mae Lynn Klein was born at 6:55 p.m. on July 21, 2014, weighed 7 lb. 3 oz. and measured 19 1/4 inches long. Her grandparents are Misty Smith of Cherokee and Randall Klein of LeMars...

Here is the updated list of vendors and the items they will have available for sale at the Cherokee Area Farmers Market, under the canopy at the depot, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. this Thursday. This will be the ninth market of the 2014 season. Wayne Nafe - tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green beans, kale, eggplant, turnips, green peppers, jalapeņo peppers, cabbage, cucumbers and beets...

Irene Elizabeth Bortscheller of Marcus, 98, passed away peacefully Friday, July 25, 2014, at the Heartland Care Center in Marcus. Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 29, 2014, at Holy Name Catholic Church in Marcus. Father Dan Guenther officiated. ...

Eunice Anna Neuhaus was born to Henry and Martha (Bloedorn) Tietz on June 23rd, 1926 at her parents' home in rural Bancroft, Nebraska.She was Baptized on July 18th, 1926 at Zion Lutheran Church, rural Bancroft, and attended school at Zion Lutheran through the 8th grade. Eunice also publicly confessed her Christian faith at Zion on her Confirmation Day, March 17, 1940...

QUIMBY - Members of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department Friday afternoon apprehended the suspect allegedly involved in an armed bank robbery of the Holstein United Bank of Iowa Thursday afternoon. Michael Aaron Dutcher, 21, of Sioux City, was apprehended at a residence in Quimby in connection with the bank robbery...

Kenneth and Donna Steward of Cherokee are proud to announce the engagement and upcoming marraige of their daughter, Amanda, to Mitchell Marovets of West Des Moines, the son of Keith and Pat Marovets of Postville. Amanda, who earned an associate degree as a Medical Assistant from Iowa Lakes Community College, is currently employed at the Iowa ENT Center in West Des Moines, and Mitchell, who earned a degree from Iowa State in mechanical engineering, is currently empoyed at Marel Townsend in Des Moines.. ...

The members of the Citizen's Advisory Board met at the Human Resource Center at the Cherokee Mental Health Institute on Friday for their Quarterly Meeting, where the members received updates on what's been happening at both the MHI and the Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders (CCUSO)...

There will be no Cherokee Chamber of Commerce Coffee on Friday due to lack of a host.

We applaud area county and city law enforcement, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the prompt apprehension of the alleged suspect who terrorized the Holstein United Bank of Iowa employees and all neighboring communities in an armed robbery last week...