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  When you hear the word infrastructure, what comes to mind? Roads, bridges, locks and dams and maybe broadband? Well, according to the Biden Administration, infrastructure is just a buzz word for every progressive wish list item under the sun. Sadly, the president’s recent “infrastructure” roadmap takes a very sharp left turn at the expense of American jobs and taxpayers...

Okoboji’s track teams waited two years to host their first track meet at their updated stadium and — right in cue — weather caused the event to end early as lightning threatened from the southwest. The Pioneers were still able to get several events in, and the Okoboji boys earned a dozen top-three finishes, including four championships...

While matching 2020’s record breaking hunter participation and harvest is not likely to happen, Iowa’s 2021 spring turkey season will have plenty of opportunities for those ready to be back in the timber. “We had good turkey production and poult survival over much of the state, but especially in southeast Iowa, which is good news for hunters in that region,” said Jim Coffey, forest wildlife research biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. ...

This week was the 10th week of the legislative session. The Senate debated several bills to remove barriers to work, reward work and investment and create a tax and regulatory environment conducive to creating new career opportunities in Iowa. Of the 22 bills we debated on the floor this week, I want to highlight two of the most important. ...

A new non-profit organization will bring local talent together to perform at various venues this summer in the Iowa Great Lakes. Okoboji Music Masters intends to offer live music opportunities for musicians with no admission fees for the public. “The Okoboji Music Masters mission is to bring together local singers and instrumentalists and provide them with another opportunity to perform in the Okoboji area,” said Joren Kinnetz, co-founder of Okoboji Music Masters. ...

A jury on Wednesday convicted 71-year-old Gregg Winterfeld of Spirit Lake of murdering 58-year-old Grant "Willie" Wilson of Cleghorn. The 12 jurors found him guilty of second-degree murder after April 7 deliberations. Prosecutors had at one point pushed for a first-degree murder charge against the 71-year-old, saying he acted with enough malice and premeditation to warrant the Class A felony. Sentencing is scheduled for 10 a.m. May 28 in Orange City...

The Spirit Lake School District's former auditorium has sat largely unused for 20 years, but developer Brett Parks of Maverick MX LLC hopes to breath some new life into the property. Parks took possession of the auditorium on Dec. 16 after bidding $51,000 for it in November. Parks said he's still exploring options for the building's future, but several ideas have come to mind...

Cold, wind and sideways rain forced the cancellation of the 2021 Tomahawk Relays in Cherokee slated for Thursday, April 8, but four teams decided to head north and brave the conditions at a last-second meet in Spirit Lake. “In a crazy turn of events today, our boys went from having a meet in Cherokee, to it being cancelled, to having a home meet,” Spirit Lake coach Brad Travis said. “Before I get into the results, I want to thank all of the people who helped make it happen in a matter of minutes, starting with (Spirit Lake Athletic Director) Rachel Fisher, who got us an automatic timer on extremely short notice and helped with making all the little details happen prior to the meet. ...

A former Ayrshire City Clerk has changed her plea after being accused of writing extra paychecks for herself. Investigators with the State Auditor's Office found Alesha Olson of Ayrshire had written 13 unauthorized checks to herself between Sept. 1, 2018 and Feb 29, 2020, totaling more than $9,000 in city funds. ...

The number of people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Dickinson County increased by more then 250 in a week's time. The latest weekly statistics from local health officials showed 2,803 people had completed their vaccination as of Friday, and more than 6,900 doses of vaccine have been administered by the local public health office so far. However, active cases of the respiratory virus haven't moved much locally, according to the report...