LAKOTA — Now in its fifth year, the success of Lakota’s Hunting with Heroes can be seen in its alumni — Marines from the Wounded Warrior Battalion in Camp LeJeune, N.C., who have spent a weekend in north central Iowa hunting pheasant — and then return to help the next group of Marines.

ALGONA – Voters in Kossuth County were eager to get out and cast their ballots on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8. 
At the Knights of Columbus Columbia Hall in Algona, the polling place for Algona Wards 1-4, Cresco 1, Cresco 2, Irvington Township sections 1-6 and Plum Creek Township sections 25-36, voters were lined up and ready more than 30 minutes before the polls opened for the day. 

ALGONA – The 2016 general election is over and in Kossuth County, it could be the largest turnout ever. 
Kossuth County Auditor Amber Garman said preliminary projections show that it could be the largest turnout for an election in Kossuth County because of the presidential election.
“We haven’t had any glitches,” she said. “This big of election for it to go as smoothly as it has, is a blessing.”

 
ALGONA – Last week’s closing of the Iowa National Guard Armory here was not a surprise for some. It did hurt that a little piece of history was lost.
“To us old soldiers, it’s our unit,” said Dean Benschoter, who commanded the Battery B, Field Artillery unit from 1973-1976. “It is nostalgic. It is like knocking your school down.”
Algona Mayor Lynn Kueck saw the writing on the wall about a year ago.
 

ALGONA – It was a night of fun and dancing and an evening to raise money to continue growing the Kossuth Regional Health Center Foundation’s Endowment Fund.
“Swing Under the Wing” was the 14th annual Legacy Ball and it raised more than $74,760. All the funds will go toward the endowment fund. The endowment fund is a fund where KRHC only uses the income that is earned from it each year to assist in new equipment and technology or to help fund remodeling or addition projects.

ALGONA – An eighth-grader reportedly escaped from a man who had grabbed him today.
According to Algona Police Chief Kendall Pals, this is a possible connection to last week’s incident when four Bryant Elementary School students were offered $100 to climb into the car.

WEST BEND —  Simone Biles took the country and the world by storm when she became the most decorated gymnast in the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
 It wasn’t just the hearts of America that she won over in her rise to fame during the games.
Noah Fehr, a junior at West Bend-Mallard High School was especially intrigued by Biles’ athletic ability and personality as golden as her Olympic medals.

WEST BEND – Firefighters are hoping a new fire hall along Highway 15 will allow for better response time when a disaster hits the area.
“Timing is always a factor in an emergency situation,” said West Bend Fire Chief Evan Winkelhorst. “It will be safer for the firefighters.”

ALGONA —   Halloween activities were not in short supply this past week as communities around Kossuth County celebrated with parties, pumpkins and parades.
Saturday activities kicked-off in Algona with a fall sock hop at the Algona Public Library where youngsters heard stories, enjoyed snacks and moved to the music as they danced like falling leaves, did the limbo and moved to the Monster Mash.

Makeup — check.
Strobe lights — check.
Chainsaws?
Check.
The 7th annual Bancroft Haunted House is a half hour away from opening and more than 50 volunteers are making their last checks before welcoming their victims — er — audience.
“My job is to run around and chase people when they walk out the door,” said second year scarer Riley Goche. “I love watching their different reactions when they see me.”
 

SWEA CITY – An emotional Sonja Tobin was overwhelmed at what the community was doing to help her raise funds for ongoing medical expenses in her battle with a life-long heart birth defect.
“I don’t have the words to explain how I feel,” she said. “It is very nice. It is very generous.”
The benefit was held at the North Union Middle School in Swea City. It included a free will donation meal and a silent and live auction.

BURT — Johnny Lee White, 55, of Algona, died enroute to Mercy North Iowa-Mason City, following a motorcycle crash east of Burt on Saturday, Oct. 22.
According to Kossuth County Sheriff Deputy Mark McGregor, White was travelling west on 300th Street on his 1994 Harley Davidson motorcycle when he suffered a medical emergency and lost control of the motorcycle.

ALGONA – Traveling down from Chanhassen, Minn., to set up the Simply Nuts & More booth at Bishop Garrigan High School, Cheryl Rich-Johnson was amazed at the number of people visiting her booth during the annual AutumnFest Craft Fair on Saturday.
“This is crazy,” she said. “It has been great. We only come down once a year and a lot of people come down to stock up.”

ALGONA – Devastation has gripped Ste. Jeanne de Chantal parishes and schools in Haiti. St. Cecelia Catholic Church and neighboring parishes have risen to the challenge to help its twin church 1,000s of miles away.

SIERRA VISTA, Arizona — This week, surrounded by family and friends, Tommie Waller finally got to celebrate a day that was 40 years in the making, when justice was finally handed down to the former North Iowa man who murdered her daughter, Donna Marie Smith.
That fateful day
Waller has shed countless tears since that day in March 1976, when she traveled up to Tucson to take Donna out shopping in celebration of her 20th birthday.