Stories from Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Spirit Lake-Okoboji girls' tennis team inched closer to a state team berth with its third consecutive shutout victory in postseason play -- blanking Lakes Conference rival Le Mars 5-0 in a Class 1A regional semifinal in Storm Lake. SL-O is one of only eight teams left remaining in 1A and will play the winner of Waterloo Columbus versus Dike-New Hartford in the regional finals today at 4 p.m. in Fort Dodge. With the win over the Bulldogs, Spirit Lake-Okoboji improves to 13-0 on the season...

Spirit Lake-Okoboji sophomores Alli Gerking and Aubry Kolegraff repeated as doubles champions and secured a trip to state for the second consecutive year with an impressive run of four victories Thursday, May 21 during the Class 1A regional tournament at River View Tennis Courts in Spencer...

Brandon Griffin and Keith Byers etched their names in the school record books while the 4x800 relay squad followed up a state championship performance on the blue oval with a runner-up showing for the Spirit Lake Park boys' track and field team at the 2009 Iowa State Co-Ed Track and Field Championships in Des Moines...

The Okoboji boys' track and field team showcased its mid-distance talents on Day 1 and Day 3 of the 2009 Iowa State Co-Ed Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, racing to a pair of top-4 finishes in the 4x800 relay and 800-meter run...

The Okoboji girls' track and field team showed the rest of the state the relay power that most of northwest Iowa has been unable to keep pace with this spring -- tearing up the blue oval in three sprint relays at the 2009 Iowa State Co-Ed Track & Field Championships in Des Moines...

The Spirit Lake Park girls' track and field team was the pacesetter for the first five laps of the 4x800 relay, jetting out to the early lead before falling back to a sixth place finish in a season-best time of 9:58.32 at the 2009 Iowa State Co-Ed Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines...

With last year's floods in eastern Iowa and this spring's high water in North Dakota, many Iowa Great Lakes residents are counting their blessings this year. But what if the waters rise? Are you covered?

Visitors and residents of West Okoboji Lake may wonder why four lighted regulatory buoys are located east of Emerson Bay and north of Brown's Bay. They are protecting an instrument called the Lake Diagnostic System (LDS), which is a meteorological station combined with a thermistor chain, a device that measures water temperature at different depths.

Gordon and Shirley Finnern will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with family. They were married June 7, 1959, in Spirit Lake. They were blessed with four children and nine grandchildren. Greetings may be sent to them at 71720 385th Ave., Lakefield, MN 56150.

Thank you to the doctors, nurses and my co-workers at Avera Lakes Family Practice for their quick response to my medical emergency.

The Ten Commandments are a bill of rights for all people regardless of religion or gender. You have the right to worship the God of your choice. In the matter of gender, you have a right to be you.

I've been meaning to write this letter for months, and finally, I've found the time and the words. Topic? Shopping local. Why? It makes sense to support your local businesses before you take your money out of town. If you are still interested please read on... If the malls of Sioux Falls and Sioux City are near and dear to your heart, stop reading.

Thank you students, parents, faculty, administrators, and friends for giving me such a warm send off at my retirement reception May 17. The gifts and cards, with kind and meaningful comments, mean so much to me. Words are the best gift for an English teacher.

Nearly everyone is familiar with the infamous "You might be a Redneck" series. Every once in a while, we run our list of how to know if you're a tourist in the Iowa Great Lakes. This year, we've added our take on how you know you're officially a local.

The Dickinson County Character Counts Pay it Forward project continues to make an impact both locally and worldwide. On Sunday, May 31, the reach will be global as Character Counts partners with World Bicycle Relief for a benefit bike ride.

(May 17, 1925 - May 14, 2009) Funeral services were held May 16 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sheldon for Robert E. "Bob" Wolf, 83, of Sheldon, who passed away on Thursday, May 14, 2009, at the Sanford Sheldon Medical Center in Sheldon.

(Nov. 2, 1925 - May 14, 2009) Funeral services were held May 19 at the Turner Funeral Home in Milford for Russell John Schroder, 83, who passed away May 14, 2009 at the Longhouse Care Center in Spencer.

(Dec. 11, 1921 - May 14, 2009) Memorial services were held May 18 at the Celebration Center, Friendship Haven in Fort Dodge for Irene A. Paige, 87, of Fort Dodge, who passed away May 14, 2009 at the Tompkins Memorial Health Center.

(Aug. 29, 1921 - May 13, 2009) Funeral services were held May 16 at Concordia Lutheran Church in Lake Park for Evelyn Rose Gerdes, 87, who passed away May 13 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

At her request, no services were held for Patricia Furman, 86, of Okoboji, who passed away Friday, May 15, 2009, at her home in Okoboji.