Stories from Friday, September 9, 2016

School starts today. The grade buildings have been given a good cleaning and put into fine shape. With the exception of a few finishing touches, the new Wilson building is completed, and the school year promises to be the most successful yet experienced in the high school...

Gov. Terry Branstad's proposal to teach Iowa history in schools across the state is a good idea, although the proposal should not be made an unfunded mandate. A unit of Iowa history in some grade of upper elementary could be supplemented by a unit on the history of the towns and counties served by each district...

September 1st is the date that major league baseball rosters can expand, and many MLB teams call up some of their minor league players to the big league club on that date. This year, Cody Ege and Matt Koch, former teammates at Cherokee Washington High School and the University of Louisville, each got the call to the majors on Sept. ...

There will be a Cherokee Braves tailgate preceding Friday's football game against Class 2A District foe Pocahontas Area/Laurens-Marathon, the Braves first home game of the season. Hy-Vee is the sponsor and menu includes pulled pork sandwiahes, chips, and a bar for $6. An extra sandwish is $4 ,and Chesrterman Bottling Co. will be serving soda...

SIOUX CITY - The Storm Lake High school girls' swim team, which is coached by Jodi B. Mongan and includes several swimmers from Cherokee, competed in the Pentathlon Swim Meet at Sioux City West High School recently. Here is a quick list of the top Storm Lake finishers:...

SIBLEY - Running in their first Cross Country meet of the season here Tuesday, the Alta-Aurelia girls' team finished in 4th place in the team standings. Led by medalist Alicia Turnquist, whose time of 21:51 earned her 14h place among the 62 runners, Alta-Aurelia scored 86 team points to trail champion Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, Western Christian and Sioux Center. South O'Brien finished 5th (136 points), followed by Hinton and West Sioux...

Ben and Brianna Butcher of Holstein are happy to announce the birth of their baby girl, who was born on September 1, 2016. Becky Lynn Butcher was born at 10 a.m., weighed 7 lb. 6 oz., and measured 20 3/4 inches long. She was welcomed home by her big brother Beau...

Austin and Kelsey Todd of Cherokee are happy to announce the birth of their baby girl, who was born on September 1, 2016. Maren Annabelle Todd was born at 6:55 a.m., weighed 7 lb. 8 oz., and measured 19 1/2 inches long. She was welcomed home by her big brother, Linkin...

LE MARS - Running on a humid night, with scattered showers, two area teams competed in the Le Mars Invitational Cross Country Meet Tuesday, and Ridge View took 6th place in the Varsity Girls' Team Standings and 9th in the Varsity Boys' team standings, while the Cherokee varsity girls finished 8th and the Cherokee varsity boys 6th...

Darlene "Grandma Dar" Wiersema of Cherokee, 69, went to Heaven on September 6, 2016 while her husband Ivan sang hymns at her side. "Grandma Dar" battled cancer since 1998, but we cannot say that she lost that battle September 6, because she won. She is resting in peace in the arms of Jesus, who was always her comfort and guide in all of life's trials and victories...

This Sunday, September 11th, is not only Patriot Day, so-named following the 9/11/2001 terroristattacks, but this Sunday has also been designated as Grandparent's Day.

We all percolate along living life and if we're really and absolutely fortunate, enjoy good health and compile a bevy of family and friends who sincerely love us while simply asking nothing more than to be loved in return. Such is the deal for Cherokee native Damon Miller who since July 12 has been fighting for his life after being diagnosed with a pancreatic disease that affected other organs and had him knocking on death's door for days at a time...

Cristen Decious, the pastor of St Paul's United Methodist Church in Cherokee, is also a gifted artist, who drew inspiration from scenes of Cherokee for his latest series of paintings. The Witter Gallery in Storm Lake is displaying the art of Decious during the month of September. A reception will be held at the Witter Gallery on Sept. 10, from 11 a.m. to noon. The public is welcome to come and meet the artist and enjoy over 30 pieces of his original art...

I believe libertarian input is crucial to our country's future. Our interventionist foreign policy, what appears to be acceptance of perpetual war, is a disaster. Hillary Clinton has been praised for her foreign policy experience, but it is experience in making bad choices and she promises to do more of the same...