Stories from Wednesday, March 4, 2015

I know that spring is peeking around the corner as I remain eternally optimistic that we will have more pleasant weather very soon. When I mention this to anyone, I am often met with the refrain" Yeah, yeah, yeah...!" I will keep my optimistic self firmly ensconced in the belief that it WILL warm up soon. I look forward to the school children getting off the bus at the library on early dismissal days rather than scurrying home to the warmth of their homes. The library is warm and comfy too!...

The Iowa Attorney General's Office is reporting that a particularly heinous con artist scheme has resurfaced recently. This is called the grandparent scam, with the con artist identifying himself (primarily males so far but that could change) as a grandson or other young relative in need...

Friday's Chamber Coffee will be hosted by the Wa-Tan-Ye service organization at Danny's Sports Spot, 1013 S. 2nd Street, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

SPENCER - The steadily improving South O'Brien boys outscored Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire 22-11 in the pivotal fourth quarter to claim a hard-fought 54-42 Class 1A Substate basketball victory here Saturday night. Senior scoring leader Dallas Jalas tallied 23 points, including sinking 13-14 free throws, to lead the Wolverines (22-3) to the impressive win over the 19-5 Titans...

Cherokee junior guard Tyler Faist and sophomore forward Trey Valentine were named to the All-Lakes Conference boys basketball honorable mention team recently announced. All-Lakes first team selections included Tyler Borchers and Tyler Paulson of Le Mars; Ryan Kreiner, Alec Henrickson, and Billy Brown of Spirit Lake; Josh VanLingen and Taylor Miedema of Hull Western Christian; Jake Kluender of Spencer; and Justin Heinrichs of Estherville-LC...

1. South Central Calhoun (8-0 conf. record, 26-2 overall); 2. Manson-Northwest Webster (7-1, 18-4); 3. Pocahontas Area (6-2, 23-3); 4. Southeast Valley (4-4, 9-17); Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire (4-4, 5-12); 6. Alta-Aurelia (3-5, 13-15); West Bend-Mallard (3-5, 6-17); 8. Sioux Central (1-7, 2-23); 9. East Sac County (0-8, 0-15)...

Roger R. "Tubby" Askvig Sr. of Cleghorn, and formerly of Burnside, Kentucky,passed away Saturday morning, February 28, 2015 in the St. Luke's Unity Point Health Center in Sioux City, at the age of 67. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, March 4th, at 10:30 a.m. ...

Wayne W. Morris of Cherokee, 62, passed away Saturday evening, February 28, 2015 at St. Luke's Unity Point Health Center in Sioux City. Memorial services will be held on Thursday, March 5th, at 11 a.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Cherokee. ...

Vaughn N. Wampler of Hubbard, Nebraska, 57, passed away on Thursday, February 26, 2015 at Regency Square Care Center in South Sioux City,Nebraska. Visitation, with the family present, was held from 2 - 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 1, 2015 at the Mohr Funeral Home in South Sioux City...

Marilou Goeb was born in Cherokee on July 15, 1932, to Carl J. Goeb and Anna K. Peters, and she died on November 9, 2014 in New York City, her home for nearly 60 years, of complications from Parkinson's disease. Marilou graduated in 1950 from Immaculate Conception High School in Cherokee, and earned her B.S. degree in textiles and clothing at Iowa State University. Her activities as an undergraduate included vocal music, for which she won several awards...

March 3 - Paula Burch of Cherokee March 4 - Diane Cargin/Connie Ladwig of Cherokee

Melissa Delaney-Kohn of Cherokee has received the WITCC TRIO-Student Support Services Achiever of the Month Award for March. This award recognizes Western Iowa Tech TRIO students for demonstrating qualities of leadership and citizenship while achieving collegiate academic success. ...

Ruth H. Anderson of Marcus, 88, passed away Saturday evening, February, 28, 2015 at the Heartland Care Center in Marcus. Private family graveside services were held, and memorial services will be held at a later date. The Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee is in charge of the arrangements, and online condolences can be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com...

AURELIA - Aurelia police are warning people to be on the lookout for a phishing scam. They say they've gotten multiple calls from people who have received text messages asking them to click on a link, where scammers try to get money from them. Aurelia Police Chief Paul Samuelson suggests that anyone receiving a similar message call the police department or their financial institution prior to clicking on the link...

The Cherokee Symphony performed at the Cherokee Community Center on Sunday, March 1. Ted Hallberg, cellist and string teacher-music coordinator for the Le Mars Community School District, conducted the orchestra.

The Larrabee Fire Department held a pancake breakfast on Sunday, March 1.

About 20 citizens appeared at the March 3 Cherokee County Board of Supervisors meeting to express their concern about the possibility of Rembrandt Enterprises building an egg production facility in the county that would house 3.5 million to 5 million chickens...

At the March 2nd meeting of the Cherokee School Board, a number of citizens appeared to show their support for Cherokee Middle School Principal Larry Weede, as they did at the Feb. 16 school board meeting, . The citizens challenged Superintendent John Chalstrom and the school board regarding the placement of Weede on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a criminal investigation...

Kendra Sorum is the Sanford Artist of the Month for March. "I have been painting for 40 years non-stop," said Sorum."I started painting when I was 13 years old. I did the whole college thing for 6 years on-and -off. But I always wanted to do things my way. I always wanted to paint portraits. But other avenues took me through landscapes, experimental painting, abstract air brushing, and even crafts."...

CHEROKEE - A Cherokee man faces a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to firearm charges related to standoff with police. Joshua Allender, 36, pleaded guilty Monday in Cherokee County District Court to intimidation with a dangerous weapon and assault on a peace officer...

The Twin Lakes Conference recently released the 2014-2015 selections for its Boys Basketball All Conference teams. Three players were unanimous selections for the first team - Andy Geelan of league champion Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire, Brady Dicks of Newell-Fonda, and Conner Conrad of Southeast Valley...