Stories from Friday, December 16, 2016

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 300 E. Bow Drive, will present its annual Christmas Cantata during the 9:30 a.m. service this Sunday, Dec. 18. The choir, directed by Dave Hickman, will perform "The Christmas Light" by Benjamin Harlan, which includes several favorite carols, along with some new music by Harlan. The public is welcome...

"Geez, Struck,” said the guy. “How long you been doing this? Aren’t you about ready to hang it up? I mean, you’re old!” Those questions came from a young youth league coach some years back when I still thought I had something to offer and could possibly make a difference in some young athletes’ lives, just as many noble coaches had done before me...

The Cherokee City Council, at their Dec. 13 meeting , voted 3 to 2 to provide a guarantee of a loan of $150,000 from Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative to the Cherokee Aviation Authority (CAA) to help finance replacement of a hangar with a new hangar. The old hangar has been torn down and the new hangar is expected to be constructed next year...

The Cherokee Washington High girls hosted the LeMars Bulldogs Tuesday and walked away with a hard-fought 77-62 victory to improve to 4-0 on the year. Cherokee continued its fast-paced style of play against the Bulldogs and gained a four-point advantage after the first quarter, leading 17-13...

Coming off their best victory of the season in a decisive win over Estherville-LC last Friday, the Cherokee Braves came out flat against a talented LeMars Bulldogs team and suffered a tough 66-36 on their home floor Tuesday. The visiting Bulldogs wasted no time getting to business in the first quarter of action at they built up a 15-point lead, leading the Braves 22-7. ...

Cherokee State Bank CEO and President Curt Johnson is pleased to announce that Les Todd has been promoted to the position of Executive Vice President. Todd has been with Cherokee State Bank since 2010, serving commercial and agriculture lending customers...

ALTA - The Alta-Aurelia wrestling team downed Sioux Central, 42-18, in a double wrestling dual here Tuesday, but in their other dual, the Warriors weren’t as fortunate, as they fell to Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire, 60-21 195: Nick Gaes (A) won by forfeit; 220:Double Forfeit; 285:Double Forfeit; 106: Double Forfeit; 113: Sam Sherkenbach (A) over Nathan Harden by fall, 0:26; 120: Double Forfeit; 126: Grace Meier (A) won by forfeit; 132: Ethan Berven (S) over Adan Henrich by fall, 3:15; 138: Keaton Lindner (S) won by forfeit; 145: Sam Zimmerman (A) over Brendan Baier by fall, 5:24; 152: Nate Weflen (A) won by forfeit; 160: Skylar Solko (A) over Colton Schau by fall, 1:40; 170: Laine Wolff (S) won by forfeit; 182: Collin Johnson (A) won by forfeit. ...

SIBLEY - Ridge View took part in the Sibley-Ocheydan Invitational Wrestlin Tournament here on Saturday December 10th, and the Raptors team placed 6th in the team standings with 102 points. Individual results for Ridge View wrestlers : Andreas Carbajal was 1-1 on the day and placed second in his weight class; Lance Else was 3-2 on the day and finished in 3rd place; Jake Mitchell was 0-5 and did not place; Trent Moller was 2-3 and did not place; Chance Hansen was 0-5 and did not place; Tate Phillips was 1-4 and did not place; Trent Miller was 1-2 and did not place; and heavyweight Evan Else was 4-1 on the day and captured the Raptors’ lone 1st place finish.. ...

MARCUS - Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn/Remsen Union took on Harris-Lake Park in a pair of War Eagle Conference basketball tilts here Tuesday, and the two schools came away with a split decision, with the MMCRU girls winning, 48-35, and the H-LP boys taking the second game by a 50-35 score...

AKRON - The Alta-Aureliia wrestling team finished 6thh in the team standings at Saturday’s Westerner Invitational Tournament here/ The tournament featured teams from several classes from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The Warriors captured two individual championships, by Chris Langer and Nick Gaes...

ALTA - The Alta-Aurelia girls trailed Kingsley Pierson by just two points, 18-16, at the end of the first quarter of their non conference basketball game here Monday, but it was all uphill after that for Coach Adam Rapp’s Warriors, as the team scored fewer than 10 points in each of the next three quarters on the way to a 71-37 loss to the Panthers, who were ranked #13 in Class 1A heading into the game...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that more Americans died from heroin than gun homicides in 2015. The number of opioid-related deaths was at a record level, exceeding 30,000. This includes heroin and other opioids which are manufactured and distributed totally as a black market drug, as well as prescription drugs which are sometimes abused...

The reference to Donald Trump as president-elect is perhaps premature. The Nov. 8 election determined whether the delegation from each state to the electoral college is comprised of Republicans or Democrats, but the actual election of the president by the electoral college does not occur until Dec. 19...

Curtis Johnson, President and CEO, is pleased to announce that David Walter has joined Cherokee State Bank in the position of Senior Loan Officer. Walter’s duties will be primarily lending, specializing in agricultural and commercial lending. Walter has 10 years of banking experience with The Farmers and Mechanics Bank in Galesburg, Illinois, and prior to his banking career, Dave worked 15 years for Pioneer Hi-Bred International as a District Sales Manager...

ALTA - At their monthly joint School Board meeting here Monday, the Alta and Aurelia boards heard from two teachers concerning plans for student activities during the four days following the Christmas break. The plan is for all students to take their first semester exams before the break, so they don’t have to study for the exams over the Christmas holiday. ...

Sister M. Catherine Rupp, 94, formerly of Cherokee, passed away on November 29, 2016. Services were held on December 3, 2016 at Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel in Omaha, Nebraska. Sister was born on February 8, 1922 in Cherokee, and she was raised there. She lived a full life that included: a career as a teacher /college professor, serving as the secretary for the Servants of Mary Generalate in Rome, Italy, and traveling to many countries as she experienced many joys of her volunteer work...

Harriet Urbach Parel, age 102, long time resident of San Antonio, Texas, died Sunday, November 13, 2016. Born in Dubuque, Iowa in 1914 to parents (and Hub Men’s Clothing Emporium owners) Milton and Mabel Urbach, Harriet graduated from Dubuque Senior High School in 1931 and later from the Dubuque Academy of Music and Maryland National Academy. ...

The election contest heard at the courthouse Tuesday resulted in Olin Jones, the contestant, being declared elected clerk of Afton township over A.W. Melton, who had been issued a certificate by the election board. Chairman Smith of the county supervisors, J.L. Ferrin, and D. Phalen sat as judges of the contest, and J.W. Miller appeared as attorney for Melton and Guy M. Gillette for Jones...