News - February 2026 RSS Feed

Dennis Kurth was honored for his 40 years of service to the community and his church on Feb. 2. He received an honorary plaque and hearty congratulations from his brother Knights at the monthly meeting of the Knights of Columbus Iowa Great Lakes Council 5043 at St. Mary Parish in Spirit Lake.

St. Mary’s Catholic School announced its Fund-A-Cause project for this year’s Ball and Charity Auction in early January. Since then, generous donors have stepped forward to support the much-needed renovation of the community gym entrance and first floor of the high school. To date, $579,060 has been committed toward the $1.5 million project, with additional donors actively being pursued so construction can be completed this summer.

In an effort to assist Bishop John Keehner in fulfilling his episcopal obligation to be more engaged with his parishes, and to make the best use of resources, many confirmation liturgies will be grouped, starting in 2027. Conversations to move towards consolidating confirmation liturgies began under Bishop Walker Nickless, now bishop emeritus of the diocese.

A background in pastoral ministry and higher education helped lay a path to Briar Cliff University in Sioux City for the school’s director of campus ministry. Dr. Michael Horka, Ph.D., who has been with the university since October, noted that while coordinating structured ministry activities and service opportunities are part of the job, some of the most important aspects of his work centers on being available to students. “It’s the behind the scenes, those interpersonal moments of meeting with students who want spiritual accompaniment,” he said, adding that it can be meeting with a student once or sometimes it’s walking with them “through a difficult moment of their life over a course of weeks.”

The second grade students at Denison St. Rose of Lima School received $1,000 to add a calming corner to Jean Fletcher's classroom.

(Bilingual) Following is a letter from Bishop John Keehner in both English and Spanish, addressing the current national immigration climate and the fears experienced by many of our immigrant brothers and sisters. This message echoes recent communications shared by the Iowa Catholic Conference and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding the dignity of every human person.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After praying the Angelus Feb. 1, Pope Leo XIV said the Olympics sends a powerful message of fraternity and hope for peace. "I hope that all those who care about peace among peoples and are in positions of authority will take this opportunity to make concrete gestures of détente and dialogue," he said.

Bishop John E. Keehner issues an official letter accepting Deacon Robert Lenz's request to retire.

Grace Notes column by Sister Anne Marie Walsh, SOLT. One of the deceptions in the modern search for healing is the subtle tendency to separate the grace for healing from the mystery of redemption won for us in Christ. This happens through an over emphasis and dependence upon programs and formulas that often end up placing the full burden for results outside the hands of the Divine Physician.

Remsen St. Mary School received a $150,000 contribution from Wells Enterprises towards the We Believe ... Our Faith, Our Family, Our Future building project. A check was presented in January by Wells at the high school to Father Tim Pick, pastor; Barry Galles, board president and Kim Phillips, principal.

On Feb. 1, 10 boys and 13 girls from Storm Lake showed off their free throw shooting skills. The youngsters ages 9 to 13, gathered for the annual Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship. Nine were named local champions of the 2026 and have earned the right to compete at the district level. St Mary’s Council 2326 in Storm Lake sponsored the local competition at the Storm Lake St. Mary School gymnasium. All boys and girls ages 9 to 14 were eligible to participate.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Sioux City will host a grand opening, blessing and ribbon cutting for Angeline’s Wing for Children and Families on Feb. 23 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at 1601 Military Road in Sioux City. The program and ribbon cutting will begin at 4 p.m.