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Thunderstorm leaves 1,800 without power

National Weather Service estimates max 70 mph winds Cherokee still assessing the damage

Contreras-Deciga attorney claims illegal interrogation 

Luis Contreras-Deciga

An Omaha, Neb., attorney representing Luis Contreras-Deciga of Cherokee has requested a judge suppress evidence related to his client’s statements to police, claiming they were …

On the lookout for ICE

Immigration and Customs Enforcement hasn’t come to Storm Lake, but the town is anxious. Following a confirmed ICE raid at an Omaha, Neb. meat production plant Tuesday mornings, rumors of …

Hwy. 3 bypass bridge construction continues

Crews with the Iowa Department of Transportation's contractor working on Wednesday morning replacing the 320-by-30 foot bridge between Highway 59 and C38. The bridge is expected to rise five feet from its original height over the Little Sioux River, a design that flowed from historic flooding along the Little Sioux last summer. The $12.8 million project is expected to be complete by November.
The Highway 3 bypass bridge project remains on track for its November completion date. Sarah Tracy, former Cherokee County engineer who now works as the District 3 Transportation Planner for the …

Two sue AgState over employee discrimination

Two Northwest Iowa women have sued their former employer, AgState, in the last year and a half on grounds of civil rights violations they claimed forced their …

LSCP, industrial contractor settle $1.6M lawsuit

Little Sioux Corn Processors and a Cedar Rapids industrial contractor settled a lawsuit over work the contractor performed to the ethanol plant’s boiler room in March 2021, allegedly causing over …

Police & Courts: Jury to hear contractor’s lawsuit in December

A jury will be empaneled in December to hear a Kingsley contractor’s claims that the City of Quimby bilked it out of $204,000 from a sewer improvement project in 2021.  Cherokee County …
ON STAGE AT CCT

SATIRE IN THE CITY

Ready for the German National Anthem are, from left: Jacquelyn Courtright, Dave Zelle and Deb Hankens, all of Cherokee.

Get ready to cringe, and laugh, at Cherokee Community Theater’s upcoming musical “The Producers,” coming up the last two weekends in June. Directed by Benjamin Mauritz of …

Aurelia Fire Department crossing the finish line

Ground was broken Tuesday, June 9, for the new Aurelia fire station. From left: Chris Ernst, David Bottjen, Cole Mier, Jake Erpelding, Tyler Erpelding, Kouper Schulenberg, Luke Erpelding, Blake Suhr, Mark Lindgren, Cindy Nelson, Fire Department and City Council; Brent Fassler, City Council; Ryan Cougill, Jim Bezoni, Spencer Bezon, Josh White, Tom Mier, Dustin Weiland, Brock Mier, Leigh Peterson, Les Todd, Diane Weathers, ADC; and Zach Erpelding.

The Aurelia Fire Department’s seven-year dream of a new home will be realized next year.  Firefighters, community leaders in Aurelia and the site’s general contractor, Haselhoff Construction of Cherokee, on Monday broke ground on …

May stays with the “status-quo”

Below-average precipitation in the latter half of May resulted in slight degradation of drought conditions that had been largely stable earlier in the month thanks to the ample precipitation recorded …

Nor-Am celebrates facility expansion

Nor-Am Founder and CEO Greg Brandt reflected on the businesses 60-year history as they celebrated the expansion of their Cherokee facility.

Nor-Am Cold Storage hosted an open house Tuesday to celebrate the latest addition to their Cherokee warehouse location. The Le Mars based storage and meat processing company purchased the former …

Cherokee Area Farmers Market, June 19, 2025

The Cherokee Area Farmers Market (CAFM) is located under the canopy at the Cherokee Depot, from 4-6 p.m. Vendors with items for sale at CAFM, Thursday, June 19: Certified vendors, name …

RESEARCHED BY ADAM DUBLINSKE For more historical archives from the area, check out this website: https://cherokee.advantage-preservation.com 1950 (75 years ago) Mahnke heads up county …
Thursday, June 5 Meeting Ok here we go again with vim and vigor headed out with great speed compared to a herd of turtles. Yikes. Beautiful morning with beautiful people. Think I would join …

Two Alta Main Street buildings damaged in one-car vehicle accident

Photo by Tom Lane Sr.

Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Office reported to a one-vehicle accident on Main St. in Alta Friday, June 6. According to the report, Danny Peterson, 75, of Alta was traveling south on Main St. …

A judge ruled that Robin and Tony Jenness of Marcus must have access to Dan Winchell’s emails.  Iowa Specialty Business Court Judge Michael Schilling ruled last Monday that the emails …
Meat processing giant JBS USA hopes to build a multi-million dollar “state-of-the-art” sausage production facility in Perry. The Greely, Colo., based company announced in a May 29 …
Opinion
On the road trying to find Iowa
We’re on the road again with cinematographer Jerry Risius, not quite gypsies, trying to find out what grinds Iowa’s gears. Jerry and I toured the state from Alleman to Algona making …
Editorials: A state of martial law
Martial law was imposed last weekend on Los Angeles when President Trump ordered in the California National Guard to disband lawful protests over the deportation of Latino immigrants. The military …
A modern day version of ‘Pride and Prejudice’
Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” focused on manners and goodness, two virtues sometimes forgotten today. Shortly before the novel was published, our Founding Fathers settled …
Rick Morain
The zombie of Iowa think tanks
Iowa’s DOGE task force, a Governor Reynolds’ creation channeling the 2025 federal DOGE Department headed until recently by Elon Musk, last week discussed the possible consolidation of …
Little League memories are still being made at Jim Reese Field and fans are still watching from their vehicles along Fourth Street.
Summer Little League memories
In 1957 I was 12 years old. It was a beautiful summer night at the Little League ballpark, now named Jim Reese Field, next to East School. The lights were on. Fans lined the fence and filled the …
Sports

Cherokee Golf Course hosts 91st Sioux Valley Tournament

The 91st Annual Sioux Valley Men’s Match Play Tournament was held at the Cherokee Golf Course over the weekend. Axton Miller of Arthur won the championship bracket. Miller, a sophomore at …

Royal softball fights back for one-run win over Hawks

CLEGHORN - The MMCRU softball team hosted Remsen St. Mary’s on Friday and took a comeback 13-12 victory. The Hawks started off strong, with a leadoff home run, and a second run plated in …

Raptor softball falls in road game to ranked Mustangs

FONDA - The Ridge View softball team traveled to take on Class 1A #3-ranked Newell-Fonda on Tuesday, but fell 13-2. The Mustangs started off with four runs in the first inning before the …

Wolverine softball falls 13-2 at MVAOCOU

MAPLETON - The River Valley softball team traveled to face MVAOCOU on Tuesday, but suffered a 13-2 loss. The Rams started hot with two runs in the first, one in the second and six in the third …

Warrior softball scores 10 in first to take down Titans

The Alta-Aurelia softball team traveled to face South Central Calhoun on Monday and took a huge 20-1 victory. The Warriors fired off to score 10 runs in the first inning before the Titans …

Royal softball falls one short at West Sioux

IRETON - The MMCRU softball team traveled to face West Sioux on Monday, but fell one run short in a 11-10 loss. MMCRU led off with three runs in the first inning before the Falcons scored a run …

Braves baseball shut out against Spirit Lake

The Cherokee baseball team hosted Spirit Lake on Monday, but the Indians shut out the Braves 9-0. The Indians scored six runs in the fourth and three in the fifth. Cherokee’s sophomore …

Braves softball falls 9-5 to Spirit Lake

The Cherokee softball team took on Spirit Lake at home on Monday, but suffered a 9-5 loss. The Indians led off with two runs in the top of the first before the Braves scored one in the bottom …

Royal baseball takes road win over Falcons

HAWARDEN - The MMCRU baseball team traveled to face West Sioux on Monday and came home after a 6-0 victory. The Royals scored one run in each the first, fifth and sixth before they added three …

Obituaries
Marlin VerSteeg
Marlin C. VerSteeg, 90, of Cleghorn passed away peacefully on June 5, 2025, at Heartland Care Center in Marcus. Memorial services were held Monday, June 9, at First Presbyterian Church in …
James Preuss
James D. “Jim” Preuss, 84, of Quimby passed away on Tuesday evening, June 10, 2025, at his home surrounded by his family. Public visitation with the family present will be held on …
Kathleen Letts
Kathleen Mary Ann Letts, 92, of Cherokee peacefully passed away and gained her angel wings on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at Accura Healthcare in Aurelia. A Mass of Christian Burial was held …
Carol Eaton
Carol Eaton passed away Friday evening, June 6, 2025, with loved ones by her side. It was Carol's wish to be cremated. There will be no services at this time. Boothby Funeral Home of Cherokee is …
Margaret Carlson
Margaret “Maggie” Carlson, 92, of Cherokee passed away Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at Accura Healthcare in Cherokee. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, …
Births
Krista and Peter Cosgrove are happy to announce the birth of their daughter, Sylvie Marie Cosgrove. She was born on Tuesday, May 20, at 6:44 p.m. Sylvie weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches …

Coldin River-John Maymon

Alyssa and Cameron Maymon are happy to announce the birth of their son, Coldin River-John Maymon. He was born on Sunday, May 18, at 5:04 pm. Coldin weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. …

Walker David Johnson

Madison Llamas and Emmett Johnson are happy to announce the birth of their son, Walker David Johnson. He was born on Wednesday, May 14, at 3:40 am. Walker weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 21 inches …