Stories from Wednesday, December 14, 2016

This Friday's Chamber Coffee, at 9:30 a.m., will be hosted by PSS Inc., 501 West Elm Street.

Puppy Jake donation - Arika Hammond (center) accepted a $1,000 donation on behalf of the Puppy Jake Foundation, one of the recipients of a donation from the Brightside Lounge's Charity Golf Tournament last summer. The check was presented by Rich and Peg Hikhouse. The Foundation helps locate dogs for military veterans suffering from PTSD...

The Cherokee County Board of Supervisors approved a 480th St. project to pave a section of gravel road that has heavy truck traffic serving the Little Sioux Corn Processors ethanol plant near Marcus. The low bidder of the five bids submitted for the 3000 foot paving project was from Wicks Construction of Decorah for $1,197,813.65. The highest bid was $1,381,624.75. The engineer’s estimate was $1,245,253...

The Northwest Iowa Genealogical Society will have its Christmas meeting this Saturday, December 17 at 1:30 p.m. The event, held at the Le Mars Public Library, 46 First St. S.W., is free and open to the public. Following a brief business meeting, a light lunch consisting of luscious holiday treats provided by members will preface the program. ...

Libby Peterson has been teaching dance for six years, an impressive accomplishment considering the fact that she won’t be 20 until March. The Heart and Sole Dance Studio she operates recently moved to a larger room, with 840 sq. ft. of dance space. An open house for the upcoming season will take place on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 19 and 20, from 4 until 8 p.m...

Depot Renovation, Inc. will host its annual Christmas Bake Sale at the Cherokee Depot on Saturday, Dec. 17, from 9 a.m. until noon. Volunteer bakers are invited to donate their own baked items to the depot group for sale to help raise funds for ongoing rehabilitation of the depot...

Harold and Marilee (Dorr) Peterson will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on December 23, 2016. The couple were married at Bethlehem Church in Cherokee, Iowa. Harold and Marilee retired from farming in 2009 and currently reside in Aurelia, Iowa...

I cannot believe that 2016 is almost over. This year has gone by so fast, especially the latter half of it. It really is true that life goes by in the blink of an eye! I wanted to take the time to thank some people for their help these last few months...

People have always needed to be cautious in accepting information they receive, but the recent proliferation of fake news poses real danger. A report that a specific pizza parlor was the location of a child sex slave ring linked to Hillary Clinton motivated an armed man to enter the establishment and fire a gun in an effort at rescuing the non-existent victims...

AKRON - The South O’Brien boys fought back from a 19-13 first quarter deficit in their War Eagle Conference basketball game against Akron-Westfield here Friday, cutting eight points off the Westerners’ lead in the second period, then outscoring A-W by 10 points in the 3rd quaarter on their way to a convincing 50-35 win...

HOLSTEIN - The Ridge View boys, 1-2 coming into the game, pulled off an upset here Friday as they beat Kingsley-Pierson (3-0), 49-43, in Western Valley Conference basketball action. Ridge View trailed 11-7, at the end of the 1st quarter, but the Raptors went on a 17-2 run in the 2nd quarter to take a 24-13 lead at the half.  Ridge View’s Colton Wunschel was very active in the 2nd quarter scoring 7 of his 14 points, most of them on the inside.  Ridge View Coach Dale Tokheim thought his team showed nice patience against K-P’s zone defense, working the ball inside.. ...

HINTON - The Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn varsity basketball squads lost a pair of War Eagle hoops contest to the hometown Hinton Blackhawks here on Friday. In the opener, MMCRU lost by a 52-40 score, as no Royals player hit double figures. Aspen Woodall, Aliyah Jackson and Megan Loutsch each scored eight to lead MMCRU. Emily Moser had eight rebounds to lead the Royals on the boards...

ALTA - The Alta-Aurelia boys rolled to a 72-43 non conference basketball win here Monday over Kingsley-Pierson. Juniors Carson Kruger and Jordan Gano each rattled the nets for 17 points to pace the Warriors’ effort, while sophomore Tyler Hanks scored nine. Kruger and Ales Sangwin each corraled seven rebounds to lead the team in that category, while Ryan Radke and Alex Snyder dished out five and four assists, respectively, to lead the Warriors (4-1)...

MAPLETON - Cherokee crowned three champions and a runner-up finisher at the Kingsbury Wrestling Invitational here Friday, finishing second in the 11-team race in the process. Host Maple Valley/Anthon-Oto won the hotly contested team title by one point with 173.5 points, followed by Cherokee 172.5, West Monona 172, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 150, South Central Calhoun 137, Southeast Valley 126, Manson NW Webster 109, Denison-Schleswig 86, Tri-Center 83.5, East Sac County 69, and Arch Bishop Bergen Catholic 19.. ...

The Cherokee-Ridge View varsity boys and girls basketball games in Cherokee, which were postponed Saturday due to inclement weather, have been rescheduled for Thursday, December 22, in Cherokee.

The acclaimed Cherokee Washington High girls basketball team was back to business as usual as they hosted Estherville-Lincoln Central Friday in their first home game of the year, defeating the Midgets convincingly, 77-47. Fourth-ranked Cherokee got off to a great start in the game, leading 29-7 after the first quarter. Payton Slaughter led the Braves with eight points in the quarter. Paityn Hagberg and Olivia Dagel each poured in seven points of their own in the first quarter...

The Cherokee Braves suffered a tough loss at Spirit Lake earlier in the week, but that didn't stop them from playing their best game this season as they defeated Estherville-Lincoln Central 67-32 at home this past Friday. The Braves came out with confidence and accumulated a 23-7 after one quarter of play against ELC, who came into the game with a record of 3-2...

The Cherokee County Relay for Life will take place on Sunday, June 11 at 5 p.m. in Gillette Park behind the Bacon Aquatic Center in Cherokee. Teams and individual participants are able to register online at www.relayforlife.org/cherokeecountyia. Fun and inspiring ideas are available to browse at www.relaynation.org...

Norman E. Friedrickson was born on July 18, 1926 in Meriden, Iowa, and he passed into glory on December 10, 2016 in Okoboji. According to Norman’s wishes, friends are encouraged to join the family for a celebration of Norman’s life at the Meriden Evangelical Free Church on Saturday, December 17th, at 1:00 P.M., followed by a time of fellowship and a light lunch. Pastor Norn Erickson from Spirit Lake will officiate...

Louise Marion Bong Elliott, 86, passed away on January 24, 2016. Louise was born on Nov. 1, 1930 in Cherokee, Iowa. and was a graduate of Wilson High School in Cherokee and Florence State College in Alabama. Preceding Louise in death were her parents; sister Bernice; sister Lucille Larson,;husband Don Elliott,and son Jon Elliott. She is survived by her sons, Douglas Elliott and Christopher Elliott and family...

Clark D. Nixon, of Cherokee, 69, passed away Monday afternoon December 12, 2016 in Unity Point St. Luke’s Hospital in Sioux City. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 15th, at 2 p.m. at the Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa. Pastor Eric Wright will officiate. ...