Stories from Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Plans to breach Lower Gar placed on 'indefinite hold' by Army Corps (03/24/10)
The Army Corps of Engineers has placed an "indefinite hold" on potential flood control plans to breach a portion of Lower Gar Road near Milford, according to a statement released by the Corps on Monday.

School enrollment numbers offer some promise (03/24/10)
Ask superintendent Randy Collins what Graettinger-Terril's certified enrollment is and he'll tell you the weighted formula number right down to the tenth of a student.

Spring clean-up of Mau roof collapses progressing (03/24/10)
The crew at Mau Marine has their work cut out for them in regard to their spring clean-up duties. The Okoboji-based marine product retailer and storage facility fell victim to two roof collapses this winter. On January 22, the weight of ice and snow caused the collapse of "Pier 71," a structure housing mostly large Sea Ray Cruisers in the summer boating season. A second collapse took place on or about the evening of Monday, Feb. 9, causing significant structural damage to the marina's warehouse located to the east of Mau Marine's main office structure.

Heidebrink, Baldwin combine for three golds at Lakes Indoors (03/24/10)
The Spirit Lake Park track and field team blew away the competition in a number of events, showing off its strength in the field events, hurdles, sprints, mid-distance and distance races at the Lakes Conference Indoor Meet Thursday, March 18 at Dordt College in Sioux Center...

Hutchins, Lawler score top honors for Indians (03/24/10)
The Spirit Lake Park track and field team matched preseason Lakes Conference favorite Storm Lake in the sprints and scored four medals in the field events to cap off the Lakes Conference Indoor Meet Thursday, March 18 at Dordt College in Sioux Center...

Spirit Lake students enjoy some ice time (03/24/10)
Steve Hanson, a longtime middle school physical education teacher at Spirit Lake, was able to give about 200 seventh- and eighth-grade students a unique opportunity to get out on Big Spirit Lake and do some ice fishing this past week. "It's just a great experience for the kids," Hanson said. ...

Pioneer boys continue to dazzle in field events, sprints (03/24/10)
The Okoboji boys track and field team continued to standout despite having a fairly young and inexperienced cast of members, placing eighth or higher in 10 events at the Iowa High School Elite Meet Friday, March 19 at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake...

Indians storm to three race titles at Elite Meet (03/24/10)
Competing against a number of the top Class 3A and 4A schools in northwest Iowa, the Spirit Lake Park boys track and field team showcased its depth and talents with first-place showings in the 55-meter hurdles, mile run and 4x400 relay Saturday, March 20 at the Iowa High School Elite Meet at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake...

Okoboji girls steal the show in shuttle hurdle, 4x200 (03/24/10)
The Okoboji girls track and field team knew they had some extremely talented sprinters and hurdlers on the squad and they proved that all the preseason hype was correct with a pair of first place finishes in the shuttle hurdle and 4x200 relays at the Iowa High School Elite Meet Friday, March 19 at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake...

Multifaceted Herzog recognized for wide-spanning hospice help (03/24/10)
Carol Herzog has been on the roster of Lakes Regional Healthcare Hospice volunteers for half a decade, but her desire to give back to the program started 17 years ago.

World Wide Web connects G-T students to Middle East (03/24/10)
Far past the era of learning about geography from spinning a globe or viewing a map, eighth graders in Joann Gano's social studies class are getting an in-depth view of life in the Middle East in the Information Age.

Local Iowa Department of Natural Resources biologist receives Ducks Unlimited's Professional of the Year Award (03/24/10)
At it's recent annual State Convention, Ducks Unlimited recognized Iowa Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Biologist Chris LaRue as the recipient of their 2010 Professional of the Year Award.

Louis C. Nuehring (03/24/10)
Louis C. Nuehring, 89, of Marshalltown and formerly of Independence passed away Monday, March 15 , 2010, at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.

Karen R. Mettler (03/24/10)
Karen R. Mettler, 67, of Arnolds Park, passed away Sunday, March 14, 2010, at Avera-McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D. She was born on September 30, 1942, in Shellsburg, Iowa, to Glen and Lucille (Lint) Bascom.

Sandra Somers Petska (03/24/10)
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 26, 2010, at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Spirit Lake for Sandra Somers Petska, age 37, of Okoboji.

Verda Lucille Woodley (03/24/10)
Nov. 3, 1920 -- March 12, 2010 Services were held Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at St Joseph Catholic Church for Verda Lucille Woodley. Interment was at Calvary Cemetery in Milford. The Rev. Brian Danner presided. Verda Woodley, the daughter of Sherman Cutler and Verna Mabel Morris, was born in Estherville, on Nov. 3, 1920. She graduated from Estherville High School in 1939...

Iva L. Peterson (03/24/10)
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 25, in the Luther Manor Chapel in Sioux Falls for Iva L. Peterson. Graveside services will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. at Lakeview Cemetery in Spirit Lake on March 25.

Gerrit "Bob" Peter Porter (03/24/10)
Services were held Friday, March 19, at Grace United Methodist Church in Spencer for Gerrit "Bob" Peter Porter of Spencer. Interment was at East Lawn Cemetery in Sheldon. The Rev. Chuck Kellogg officiated.

Carole Ann Wallace (03/24/10)
Funeral services were held Saturday, March 13, at First Lutheran Church in West Okoboji for Carole Ann Wallace, 79, formerly of rural Spencer and Milford. Interment was at Milford Cemetery

You just never know (03/24/10)
Want to measure the magnitude of Northern Iowa's win over Kansas in the second round of the NCAA mens basketball tournament? Try this: ESPN's SportsCenter devoted the first 11 minutes of its Sunday morning broadcasts to the upset. That's right. The same network that (1) chases Tiger Woods, (2) measures the skid marks after another Danica Patrick crash and (3) sends three reporters to just sniff the pine tar whenever the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry resumes each summer, found Iowa's mid-major public university for one magical weekend. ...

Capitol Comment: Fiscal Insanity (03/24/10)
As I write one of my final columns during my last days as a member of the Iowa Legislature, it's easy to think back six years to the early days and to the things I thought my colleagues and I might accomplish for the people of District Six. I've been part of some worthwhile improvements in the way Iowa government does its job, but these last weeks have been marred with what I can label only as insanity, and I mean the term the way Albert Einstein used it. ...

Reforms will bring accountability and common sense to Iowa tax credits (03/24/10)
In recent months, Iowans have expressed anger about abuses in some of the state's tax credit programs. We've listened and are taking steps to bring more accountability and common sense to Iowa's tax credit spending.

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