Stories from Monday, July 27, 2015

FORT DODGE - The River Valley softball team's great season came to a premature end Thursday at the Iowa Girls Class 1A State Softball Tournament,as Ackley-Geneva/Wellsburg/Steamboat Rock (AGWSR) pitcher Ashley Sicard threw a no-hitter in a dominating 9-1 performance against the Wolverines, who were participating in the school's first-ever State Tournament...

Charlie and Denise Barry of Cherokee are happy to announce the birth of their baby girl, who was born on July 21, 2015. Karlie Kay Barry was born at 7:13 a.m., weighed 6 lb. 15 oz., and measured 19 inches long.

With the increasing heat of July temperatures, the Avian Influenza epidemic seems to be waning. However, experts are still expressing concern that another bird flu outbreak this fall could resurface when the wild bird migration beings anew. The Senate Agriculture Committee held H5N2 bird flu hearings this month in Washington, D. C. that brought together USDA, poultry industry officials,and producers who were directly affected by the devastating epidemic...

On Tuesday, July 28, a Coffee with the Curators will take place at 10 a.m. at the Sanford Museum. Every month on the last Tuesday, at 10 a.m., the museum curators hold a tabletop discussion about a special item from the museum'Äôs collection. This month, the discussion will be about a small hat collection that was recently donated to the museum. The public is welcome. Coffee and refreshments are provided...

The MidAmerican Energy Operations and Maintenance facility, currently under construction at the Primghar Industrial Park for the O'Brien County Wind Farm, features a "safe room." Once in operation, as many as 25 wind turbine technicians and others could fit inside the 15,000 square foot facility. ...

Back to school registration for the Cherokee School District will be held on Wednesday Aug. 12 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and again on Thursday Aug. 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Registration will be held at the Washington High School this year for grades K thru 12...

Work is progressing on the new Cherokee Shopko Hometown Store on North Second Street (U.S. Highway 59), in preparation for its announced fall 2015 opening. Interior finishing work, doors and windows, HVAC systems, and paved parking lot are among projects yet to be completed...

One of the greatest novels written in the 20th Century,'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, deals with themes of racism and injustice in the Deep South. The novel is set in Lee's home state of Alabama. The hero of the book, Atticus Finch, is an attorney who, in defiance of intense pressure against him and his family, defends a wrongly accused black man. Atticus Finch has served as a model of courage and integrity for generations of Americans and for people throughout the world...

Static judging for the Cherokee County Fair was held in the 4-H Building at the Cherokee County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, July 14, and the following Champion projects were chosen to represent Cherokee County at the Iowa State Fair: Champions Brooklyn Treinen - Care Center Video; Leah Henderson - Prose in a Booklet...