Stories from Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Okoboji senior Milan Johnson finally broke through to win the coveted cross country championship that has been eluding him the past two seasons, pulling away from a pack of six runners in the final mile of the boys' 5K race to capture the individual title by a 12-second margin Tuesday, Oct. 13 at the Siouxland Conference Meet ran at Otter Valley Golf Course in George...

The Okoboji girls' cross country team gutted out a fourth place finish behind the strength of a top-10 performance by senior Kristin Ellrich Tuesday, Oct. 13 at the Siouxland Conference Meet in George. Ellrich turned in a smart and aggressive race, jetting out to a quick start and slowly moving up in the pack. She entered the top 10 in the final half mile of the girls' 4K race and wouldn't relinquish it, finishing 10th overall with a personal-best time of 16:56...

The 30th Annual University of Okoboji Winter Games are set for Jan. 29, 30 and 31, 2010. The first planning meeting will be held Monday, Oct. 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the Hedberg Theatre, located in the Okoboji Spirit Center, Arnolds Park.

Rock Fest 2 has been announced to play Spencer for the second annual rock festival on Friday, Oct. 23. The Clay County Regional Events Center is excited to partner with local rock station Q102 and Rock Fest founder and promoter Dana Evaro for this great night of rock music.

The recent allocation of $525,000 in state grant money will help fund a Dickinson County Trails project aiming to use abandoned railway to connect Dickinson and Osceola counties.

Another 167 wind turbines may be capturing the region's renewable energy source if a project proposed by NextEra Energy Resources reaches fruition. Representatives of NextEra introduced their proposal to the Dickinson County Supervisors Tuesday morning. Before development can begin, NextEra will need to hold a public hearing and acquire conditional use permits from the supervisors. The public hearing is tentatively scheduled for November or December.

Concerned citizens across Northwest Iowa will recognize October 2009 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). The goal of DVAM is to increase public awareness about the realities of domestic violence and encourage all individuals to take action by being an important part of preventing violence before it occurs.

It has been brought to my attention that there have been many misunderstandings regarding the Centers Against Abuse and Sexual Assault (CAASA) and, in particular, the Dickinson County center.

We have an Iowa State Representative, Mike May, who works tirelessly on our behalf. He does make a difference. If you'd like to know his positions on issues, read the weekly newspapers for his regular reports or go to one of his forums, he has had 40 in five years, a record. He will answer questions.

America's wealth may be stealing its happiness. According to a new book by Guy Finley, America may be the wealthiest country on Earth, but its citizens don't even make the top 10 when it comes to happiness.

(Nov. 29, 1934 - Oct. 7, 2009) Funeral services were held Oct. 12 at the Turner Funeral Home in Spirit Lake for Verne E. Sheldon, 74, who passed away Oct. 7 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.

(Aug. 18, 1910 - Oct. 4, 2009) Funeral services were held Oct. 7 at the First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake for Duane Osborne, 99, who passed away Oct. 4 at Hilltop Care Center in Spirit Lake.

(Oct. 29, 1920 - Oct. 1, 2009) Funeral services were held recently for Hazel Edith Dean, 88, who passed away Oct. 1, 2009. Hazel Edith Fischer was born on Oct. 29, 1920, to Ida and Wilheim (Willy) Fischer at Hartley. Her parents traveled from Germany to America in the late 1800s, entering through Ellis Island, N.Y.

An open house is planed for friends and acquaintances to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of John and Meredith Maytum of Spirit Lake.

Barrett and Jo Gray of Spirit Lake will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary on Oct. 20, 2009.

Gore will be the focus of a nine-year tradition for Spirit Lake as the Mainsail Organization prepares to kick off its annual haunted house fundraiser. Participants will be able to meander nearly a half-mile of a cattle barn on the Dickinson County Fairgrounds converted into a no-holds-barred fear factory thanks to the work of the Mainsail organization and more than 100 community volunteers.

The six pillars of Character Counts will take the spotlight at four area schools as they celebrate National Character Counts week Oct. 18-24. Character Counts is the nation's most widely used character education framework honoring the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

The Spirit Lake football team was in prime position to put Sioux Center away after building a 6-3 halftime edge, but the Indians turned the ball over two times and managed just 17 yards after the break on the way to a disappointing 23-6 road loss Friday, Oct. 9 in Class 2A District 1 action...

The Graettinger/Terril football team put together one of its most balanced efforts of the season, racking up 212 yards on the ground and 140 through the air en route to an impressive 48-8 throttling of West Bend-Mallard Friday, Oct. 9 in 8-Man District 2 play in Graettinger...

The Spirit Lake volleyball team came out focused and ready to play in game one, but Spencer answered back with a strong effort at the net and from the service court in the final three games en route to a 3-1 (18-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-13) match win over the Indians Thursday, Oct. 8 in Lakes Conference action...

The Graettinger/Terril volleyball team capitalized on some strong serving and passing to lift themselves to a 3-1 (26-24, 25-22, 14-25, 25-20) non-conference win over Laurens-Marathon in their final tune-up prior to regional play Monday, Oct. 12 in Graettinger...

The Harris-Lake Park volleyball team easily disposed of Round Lake-Brewster and Ellsworth to finish with a perfect 2-0 record in their home tournament Saturday, Oct. 10 in Lake Park. The Wolves cruised past the Raiders in three straight sets, winning by a margin of 10 or more points in each game. Game scores were 25-15, 25-10 and 25-14. H-LP served at 96 percent and averaged five service aces, three blocks and nine kills per game...