Stories from Monday, December 7, 2015

I cannot believe it, but it has been 38 years since I, along with several million other people, was captivated by a film called 'Star Wars.' I had not previously been a fan of science fiction, nor am I now - but 'Star Wars' was something different. It was really kind of like a re-invention of the Western, set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."...

The lighted Christmas parade on Thursday once again displayed the artistic talents and dedication of people in the Cherokee. Special congratulations go out to the winners among the parade. In the non-profit category, the winners were: 1st - the Cavaliers; 2nd - the Lutheran Church and 3rd Cherokee Regional Medical Center...

Phyllis Mae Boatman of Waterloo, 89, died Thursday, December 3, 2015 at UnityPoint Health--Allen Hospital in Waterloo. Phyllis was born on a farm in Cherokee County, the daughter of Frank T. and Louise (Luetkeman) Mohror, on August 7, 1926. Phyllis graduated from Peterson High School in 1944, and she married Rex Boatman on May 28, 1950 at the Congregational Church in Peterson...

MAPLETON - The Ridge View wrestling team traveled to Mapleton Thursday to take on Maple Valley/Anthon-Oto and Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove in Western Valley Conference action. The Ridge View grapplers continued to battle and compete hard, with good effort, but they came out on the short in both duals, losing to MV-AO, 42-24 and to OA/BC-IG, 44-27...

CORRECTIONVILLE - The River Valley boys dropped a 61-28 Western Valley Conference basketball game to Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove here on Thursday. OA/BC-IG led at all the quarter breaks - 17-5, 32-11, 50-23. No further information on the game was made available...

CORRECTIONVILLLE - The Rive Valley girls grabbed an 8-5 lead at the first quarter break in their Western Valley Conference basketball matchup against Odebolt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove on Thursday, and the Wolverines were down by one point, 14-13 at the half. OABCIG pulled away steadily in the second half, though, outscoring RV 13-7 in the third quarter and 13-8 in the final stanza, to post a 40-28 win over the Wolverines...

On Dec. 9 at 6 p.m., the Sanford Museum will have an archaeology presentation titled "Whalebones Brought to Mountaintops." Chavin de Huantar is an ancient site in Peru that has long attracted the interest of archaeologists and other scholars. In fact, Pablo Picasso once stated, "Of all of the ancient cultures I admire, that of Chavin amazes me the most. Actually, it has been the inspiration behind most of my art"...

In its Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) construction permit approval news release, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted to approve with conditions a siting permit for the DAPL project at an ad hoc commission meeting in Pierre on Nov. 30th...

The Advent season reminds Christians of the coming of Jesus Christ. An Advent Tryst is an appointment to meet at a certain time and place in preparation for Christmas. The church celebration of the Advent Tryst Service is a near 40-year tradition in Cherokee. In recent years, the Methodist and Presbyterian women have joined together to make this the joyful event what it is today...