Local News

A Shenandoah man accused of killing a Manning woman in an August shooting in Lake View will remain jailed on a $1 million cash-only bond following a court hearing Monday in Sac County District Court. Twenty-seven-year-old Joshua Lehman is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Dr. Rylie-Shea Muhlbauer. Lehman appeared before Judge Angela Doyle Monday afternoon for

Storm Lake’s municipal airport is moving forward with a more than $615,000 project to replace its aging fuel tanks and relocate the airport’s fueling system. The Storm Lake City Council Monday night unanimously approved Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) grant agreements and a professional services agreement for the project. Storm Lake Finance Director Tyler Gibbons explained what the project will

Four veterans who had been largely forgotten were remembered Monday in Cherokee — and their stories may be just the beginning. A veterans recognition ceremony was held yesterday afternoon at the Cherokee Mental Health Institute (MHI) as part of Cherokee History Week. The ceremony honored four military veterans buried at Beacon Hollow Cemetery on the MHI grounds who had not

Two area communities are putting their downtowns under the microscope. The Cherokee Area Development Corporation is partnering with the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) to conduct downtown assessments in Marcus and Aurelia. The assessments are part of IEDA’s Downtown Walk Around program, which gives communities an outside perspective on the strengths and challenges of their downtown districts. In Marcus, a

The future of the shuttered Quad County Corn Processors ethanol plant near Galva will be decided through a sealed-bid auction, with offers due next week. Maas Companies is conducting the lender-ordered auction after Lincoln Savings Bank obtained a foreclosure judgment of roughly $19 million against Quad County. The auction includes the 35-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant and grain storage facility south of

The sentencing hearing for a Marcus man who pleaded guilty to a felony grooming charge has been continued and is now scheduled for next week in Cherokee County District Court. Forty-three-year-old Travis Lawrence Ehrig is scheduled to be sentenced at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28, in Cherokee. Ehrig pleaded guilty in June to one count of grooming, a Class D

Buena Vista University in Storm Lake has been named to Money magazine’s Best Colleges 2026 list, which evaluates four-year colleges based on educational quality, affordability and student outcomes. The university joins more than 700 four-year colleges evaluated nationwide using 25 metrics across those three categories. The quality-of-education category considers graduation rates, student-to-faculty ratios and outcomes for students receiving Pell Grants.

Two area school districts are among 125 statewide selected to receive Choose Iowa grants aimed at expanding local food purchases for students. OABCIG and Spencer will each receive roughly $1,600 through the Choose Iowa Local Food for Schools Program, announced Wednesday by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.  The funding must be matched at least one‑to‑one by the districts, bringing