Stories from Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Nov. 8, 1956 -- May 25, 2011 Jack D. Sprague, age 54 of Lakeville, Minn., passed away on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at his home surrounded by his loving family. Jack was born in Fort Dodge, Nov. 8, 1956, to Donna and Donald Sprague. Jack grew up in Arnolds Park, graduating from Arnolds Park High School in 1974. He attended Westmar College in Le Mars where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science in 1978...

James "Jim" Wetzeler April 19, 1952 -- May 29, 2011 James "Jim" Wetzeler, age 59, of Boone and formerly of Spirit Lake, died May 29, 2011, at the Dr. P. Phillips Hospital in Orlando, Florida. A Funeral Mass will be Saturday, June 4, 2011, at 9:30 a.m. at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Boone with Rev. Steve Brodersen officiating. Burial will be in the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Boone...

Nov. 13, 1930 -- May 31, 2011 Leslie D. Walker, age 80, of Spirit Lake, passed away Tuesday, May 31, 2011, at his home in Spirit Lake. He was born on November 13, 1930, in Udell to Wayne and Lea (Dufrance) Walker. Les graduated from Centerville High School and the American Institute of Business in Des Moines. He served his country in the United States Air force and the F.B.I. Les worked as the vice president in charge of finance for the Rassmusen Group in Des Moines, before retiring in 1995...

1931 -- 2011 Born in Emmetsburg in 1931, her family later moved to Spencer where her father owned and managed The Farmers Trust and Savings Bank. Preceded in death by her parents John W. Margaret L. Edge and brother Robert of Spencer and her husband, Capt. Woolson S. Brown, ret. USN...

Jan. 25, 1930- June 2, 2011 Services were held June 6, 2011, at the Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson for Ruby Kathleen Haynes. Interment was at Franklin Township Cemetery in Cooper, Iowa. Ruby Kathleen Jackson was born Jan. 25, 1930 in Sundance, Wyo., to James Thomas Jackson and Lillian Clarissabelle Hindman Jackson. ...

March 11, 1925 - May 27, 2011 Ruth Irene Jafvert, age 86, of Okoboji, passed away Friday, May 27, at her son's home in Dickinson, N.D. She was born on March 11, 1925, in Laurens to E. Leroy and Amy Coffman. Ruth graduated from Laurens High School and the American Institute of Business in Des Moines. She was united in marriage to Lloyd Jafvert on August 6, 1945, in Worthington, Minn. Lloyd passed away on April 30, 2000...

Dale and Helen (Nash) Sturgeon were married June 7, 1946, at Memorial Presbyterian Church in Cherokee. They operated Cherokee Bowl until retirement and have been permanent residents of Arnolds Park since 1980. The couple has four children: Sherry Clark of Tulsa, Okla., Susan Williams of Fort Collins, Colo., Michael Sturgeon of Lakewood, Colo. and Connie Holmer of Sedalia, Colo. They also have seven grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren...

Lawrence Lambert, long-time resident of Dickinson county will be celebrating his 95th birthday on June 14. Lifelong Dickinson County resident, Lawrence Lambert, will be celebrating his 95th birthday on June 14, Flag day. The family would like to honor him with a card shower. Lawrence is also a former WWII veteran and POW. Birthday greetings and a thank-you for his service to your country may be sent to him at:...

Todd and Janelle (Plantz) Hill of Ellsworth, are proud to announce the arrival of their baby girl, Adalynne Charlene. She was born on April 20, 2011 at Mary Greeley Hospital in Ames, weighing 7 pounds 13.5 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. Siblings Brittany Brim, 22; Brooklyn Hill, 20; and Aidan Hill, 4 were excited to welcome her home. ...

Bob and Mary Emgarten of Spirit Lake, are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Robin Emgarten, to Matt Wynia, son of Lyle and Marie Wynia of Canton, SD. Robin is a 2007 graduate of Spirit Lake High School, and 2008 graduate of Stewarts Cosmetology School. Robin is employed at Tiger Tots Daycare and Preschool in Harrisburg,S.D...

Memorial Day weekend has come and gone and the activity around the Lakes Region has begun to take on its summer vacation look. Even though not officially summer, the summer season has begun nonetheless. There is some increased traffic on the road, more boats on the lake, and all of us notice an increase in visitors at our weekend religious services in our church communities. All of this brings a new energy to the region...

Dear Lakes Region stakeholders, I wish I could sit down with each and every one of you to talk about the importance of Lakes Legacy Weekend to our community. Obviously that's not possible, so I hope this letter will motivate you to find out more. Please join us for the Okoboji Foundation's Lakes Legacy Weekend events on June 24- 25, two exciting evenings to engage the Lakes Community. ...

I wanted to send a big THANK YOU to all of the restaurant vendors, volunteers, the Arnolds Park Amusement Park Staff, KUOO/KUQQ/KUYY, Dickinson County News, Lakes News Shopper, and Damon Dotson and his band members for making the 2011 Great Okoboji Wing Ding an enormous success. ...

I am a member of the duplicate bridge group that meets in a local church every Monday and Friday afternoon. On Monday, May 23, the person who does the record keeping was going to be out of town. She asked me if I would score for her during that week. Please keep in mind that duplicate bridge players pay membership dues to a worldwide organization. The points earned at all local games are sent monthly to the ACBL...

Family members in Iowa are among the legions of caregivers across the country who sacrifice time, careers and money to provide care for loved ones who no longer are able to live independently or care for themselves. The family safety net for generations has helped loved ones stay longer in their own homes and helped to enhance the quality of life for aging parents and grandparents...

Meredith Hickerson is only 13, but she's already a grizzled veteran in the Iowa Great Lakes business community. The Spirit Lake Middle School student was 9-years-old when she decided to pursue her passion for animals. The business plan centered around providing pet care in her neighborhood...

Medicare and farm subsidies were among the topics as part of a "listening tour" put on by former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack on June 3. The wife of former two-term Iowa governor and current U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made multiple stops around the area last Thursday and Friday. ...

"You can tell it has had some heat damage and it's got a bend in it," Chris Yungbluth says as he looks over to the piece of structural steel sitting on a conference room table at the Arnolds Park/Okoboji Fire & Rescue Station. The rough, darkened alloy looks destined for a scrap heap or salvage yard -- until visitors learn where it came from...

Okoboji softball coach Dennis Baschke knows his team will face some of the toughest competition they see all season long at the Ballard Invitational. And that's one of the main reasons he enjoys the tournament so much, but his Pioneers couldn't seem to put together much consistency, finishing 1-2 at the two-day event on June 3 and 4...

Sophomore Paige Krause drilled a two-run home run over the fence and finished 5-for-5 at the plate to lead Spirit Lake to a lopsided 14-1 victory over Cherokee June 6 in Lakes Conference softball action. Krause's bat had cooled off slightly after going 3-for-3 with a home run in a season-opening win over West Bend-Mallard, but she was clicking on all cylinders against the Braves. ...

Okoboji needed every out they could muster in a come-from-behind 4-3 win over Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley June 6 in Siouxland Conference baseball play. Trailing 3-2 entering the top of the seventh, the Pioneers plated two runs with two outs to claim the lead on the road and run their record to 3-1 in conference play. Okoboji is now 5-4 overall...

Sophomore Kade Heikens goal in double overtime propelled No. 6 Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji to a breathtaking 2-1 victory over No. 3 Grinnell in the quarterfinal round of the 2011 State Boys Soccer Tournament at the Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines. You could sense the excitement throughout the arena after Heikens leaped into the air to celebrate his game-winning tally with 1:42 remaining in the second extra session...

Indians humble Rebels in four innings The Spirit Lake softball team humbled Sioux Central with a 12-run scoring barrage in the fourth inning on the way to securing a 13-1 victory Tuesday in non-conference play. With the game deadlocked at 1-1 midway through the game, sophomore Paige Krause highlighted the bottom of the fourth inning with a grand slam. ...

The Okoboji softball team was limited to just one hit by Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley ace Joanna Heemstra and couldn't contain a potent Nighthawk offense, suffering their second consecutive Siouxland Conference loss by a 10-0 margin June 6 in Boyden. Kiley Wermersen managed the lone Pioneer hit, while Abby Taylor and Hannah Hawkins also reached safely on walks...

When the dust finally settled, Okoboji and Clay Central-Everly had lit up the scoreboard for 38 runs in the championship game of the Mavericks' home tournament on June 4. The Pioneers battled tough but in the end they couldn't overcome a 12-run opening frame in a 25-13 loss to the Mavs...

Spirit Lake senior Maureen Owens made the last two rounds of her prep career count, firing an 85 on Day 2 to finish with her first top-10 performance May 31-June 1 at the 2011 State Girls Golf Tournament in Adel. Owens tied for 10th in her final state appearance with a two-day tally of 177, improving three spots on the second day of the state tournament after shooting a 92 on Day 1. ...

It was naturally fitting for Spirit Lake-Okoboji's doubles team of Alli Gerking and Aubry Kolegraff to end their prep careers in winning fashion after piling up the most wins by a doubles tandem in school history, qualifying for state all four years and placing in the top eight three times...

Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji rallied from a 3-0 deficit to get to within one, but ultimately fell 3-2 to Dubuque Wahlert in the third-place game at the 2011 State Boys Soccer Tournament June 4 in Des Moines. "It was a hard-fought battle for fourth place that's for sure," said SLPO coach Bill Cochran-Bray. ...

Stephanie Ochoa, a former Iowa Lakes Community College softball standout continued her successful play this past season with the University of Iowa softball team. Ochoa, a senior this past year at Iowa, posted a .612 batting average and was named Player of the Week in mid-March as she led the Hawkeyes to four wins during that week. In addition, she had a 1.317 OPS (on-base plus slugging). The weekly honor was the first for Ochoa...

The Spirit Lake baseball team stayed unblemished in Lakes Conference play, powering past Cherokee 16-1 in five innings June 6 on the road. Senior hurler Mitch Peschon tossed a two-hit gem, allowing one run and striking out seven. He also came through at the plate, finishing the game a perfect 2-for-2...

The 34th annual University of Okoboji Youth Soccer Tournament will be held this Saturday and Sunday, June 11th and 12th at the Okoboji High School fields in Milford. The tournament will be played on the five high school fields and will be hosting 40 youth soccer teams. ...

The Spirit Lake U14 team won the Okoboji softball tournament this past weekend with a 3-0 record. The Indians defeated the host Pioneers 11-5, downed Western Christian 8-1 and won a 12-0 contest over Le Mars. Pictured are team members (front from left): Bailee Newman, Caitlyn Roberts, Kelsey Delperdang, Paige Petersen and Shayna Hartwig, (back row): Carson Gjerde, Joie Veldman, Katelynn Noah, McKenzie Thate, Emma Lux, Jaden Kruse and Coach Kathy Thate...

What newly hired Okoboji head football coach Sam Brummer lacks in experience, the 22-year-old most certainly should be able to make up for with the excitement and energy level he brings to the position. "Sam has got a great passion for the game of football," said Okoboji athletic director Ryan Paulsen. ...

"What a difference a year makes." Those were the words that Iowa State University Athletic Director Jamie Pollard uttered time and time again at the annual Cyclone Tailgate tour stop at the Arnolds Park Pavilion, Monday, June 6. "Sometimes the chips just fall into place," Pollard said. "This year, the conference meetings were boring, and that is a good thing."...

Dear LeBron James, I like you, but please stop celebrating so often. I know it is the NBA finals, but you don't need to go off acting as if you won the championship when there are many games still to be won. It's something you rarely hear the analysts and commentators talk about, but it's getting borderline out of control. ...