Stories from Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Q&A with Coach Bolluyt 1. What are the main differences between this year's team and last year's team? "We will have 20 seniors on this year's team compared to seven last year, so we will have more of a veteran team." 2. Where do your strengths lie this year?...

Q&A with Coach Heinitz 1. What are the main differences between this year's team and last year's team? "For the boys, we lose our state champion, Alec Baldwin, and seniors Gabe McCoy and D. Jay Gjerde. On the girls side, we lose seniors Briana Brunsvold and Hayley Welch. We also lose junior K.J. Veldman, who did not go out."...

Q&A with Coach Berkland 1. What are the main differences between this year's team and last year's team? "With us graduating only two seniors last year, our team doesn't change much. Some of my players are strong athletes and will show great leadership when they are on or off the court. They continue to show how much of a team they are when they are cheering each player on. They don't like seeing their teammates fail."...

Q&A with Coach Stanek 1. Talk about how you look forward to building a program at Okoboji? "I am really excited to go about developing a strong program that will not only teach football but important life skill and values. Our team philosophy: 'Be One!' is made up of three core characteristics that I think football really lends itself to teaching young men: trust, respect and hard work. ...

Q&A with Coach Peter 1. What are the main differences between this year's team and last year's team? "We have all of our boys back and nearly all of our girls back from last year's team. We are much more experienced and have added some upperclassmen so we are older, more mature and more experienced."...

Q&A with Coach Goodlaxson 1. What are the main differences between this year's team and last year's team? "We graduated eight seniors from last year's squad so there will be a lot of new faces for us this year." 2. Where do your strengths lie this year?...

Q&A with Coach Gunderson 1. What are the main differences between this year's team and last year's team? "I think this year's team is going to have to rely a little more on quickness and spreading people out a little more (on offense) because that's where our strengths are. ...

Q&A with Coach Meyer 1. What are the main differences between this year's team and last year's team? "Five of our six starters have one year of playing experience so that will be nice to have back, but we're still inexperienced because four of six starters are just sophomores. It's still a very young squad."...

Q&A with Coach Hector 1. What are the main differences between this year's team and last year's team? "We had a lot of returning starters on last year's team. This year we only have four, so we will be very new at some positions. This leaves a lot of question marks early in the year on who can play where. We are very happy with the kids out this year and know we can find some great players to replace our lost starters."...

Q&A with Coach Johnston 1. What are the main differences between this year's team and last year's team? "The main difference between the 2010 and 2011 Knight volleyball team is experience. We have a strong group of seniors returning on the team, and our juniors and sophomores have stepped up to help build a team that will compete well in the conference."...

Q&A with Coach Seversen 1. Who are the team's top returners? "The three seniors will all play an important role in the lineup this year. Ann Magnuson is one of our top stroke swimmers. Her main events are the 200 IM, 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. Kalei Roskens is our top breast stroker and Sarah Hussong excels in the 200 free and 100 breaststroke. The seniors are not only great swimmers but also great leaders."...

Usually, when many of us think of Labor Day, we just see it as another chance for a three-day weekend and time to grill out and enjoy the summer-like weather one last time. But do we really know what this holiday is all about? Do we know where it originated from?...

A battle between two of the top four ranked teams in Class 2A turned out to be just as thrilling as expected, but in the end it didn't turn out to be No. 2 Spirit Lakes day as they fell by four points to No. 4 Unity Christian for the second year in a row on their home course on Tuesday night at Brook National Golf Club...

The Spirit Lake girls cross country team gave it everything they could despite running with six underclassmen, placing sixth overall in front of their home crowd Tuesday at the Spirit Lake Invitational. Besides being young and inexperienced, the Indians were also without the benefits of Justine Heinitz and Reghan Thee for the second straight meet. The two sophomores should play instrumental roles when they return to the team...

The Dickinson County Temporary Redistricting Commissioners on Tuesday unveiled its border-changing recommendations for the five Dickinson County Board of Supervisor districts. Their work is similar to what state officials accomplished earlier in the year when new Iowa House, Iowa Senate and Congressional boundaries were drawn...

With the immense heat and sand soldiers endure daily overseas in the Middle East, the ability for the young men and women who serve their country to shower on a regular basis can be next to impossible. That is where Salem, S.D., native and COO of Klenz LLC. Vince McCormick comes into play. A "shower in a towel," Klenz towels have changed clean-up for soldiers. They are now able to freshen up on the go...

Is she unleashing a new avenue of worship or answering to a higher collar? Either way, Rev. Dr. Sarah Rohret has added a twist to the Labor Day weekend boat-in worship at Clare Wilson Park. The pastor at Calvary United Methodist Church is encouraging caretakers to bring their pets to the 7:30 a.m. "Blessing of the Animals" Sunday service at Clare Wilson Park, a site between the Highway 71 bridge and the walking bridge between East and West Lake Okoboji...

From vintage car shows, live entertainment, a meet and greet, auctions, to a concert on Sunday night, the 2011 Iowa Rock 'N' Roll Music Association Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will keep the Labor Day crowds at Arnolds Park quite entertained. A number of events are planned for guests to enjoy throughout the weekend...

It's that time of year again ... school is starting and with that, will soon come those little knocks on your door from school children who are helping to raise money for their schools. Here at Spirit Lake Middle and Elementary schools, we have two main fundraisers; the middle school's magazine sales fundraiser that will run Sept. 2-16, and the elementary school's Innisbrook (wrapping paper and gifts) fundraiser that will run Sept. 16-30...

If you're like me, you've been very discouraged by the dysfunction we've seen for months in Washington, D.C. Political gamesmanship brought our country to the brink of default. Partisan fighting has replaced problem solving. And, somehow, compromise became a dirty word...

Senior Keith Byers and junior Will Norris let it be known that they are two of the top runners in the state with a 1-2 finish for Spirit Lake in its season opener Aug. 25 at the Spencer Invitational. Byers and Norris, who finished second and third behind their teammate Alec Baldwin at last fall's state cross country meet, set the pace from the opening gun and never relented on the way to pulling away from the rest of the pack. ...

Even though everything didn't go perfectly as planned as it rarely does in a season opener, the Okoboji volleyball team made a strong debut with a second place finish Aug. 25 at the Spencer Quadrangular. "It felt so good to compete against other teams tonight," said Okoboji coach Abby Goodlaxson. "They brought with them an energy that I haven't seen for awhile out of Okoboji volleyball."...

Spirit Lake found the end zones early and often on Friday, using their speed and wide-open offense to build a 35-7 halftime lead before letting off the accelerator a bit in the second half. The Indians churned out more than 580 yards of total offense en route to a 49-14 dismantling of rival Spencer...

Harris-Lake Park continued its early season dominance on the football field with a resounding 56-6 victory over Spalding Catholic on Friday to open up the home portion of its 2011 schedule. The Wolves offense was unstoppable for the second week in a row, scoring in every quarter and evenly distributing 351 yards of total offense through the air and on the ground. Defensively, H-LP was constantly causing problems, recording eight sacks and limiting the Spartans to -3 yards rushing...

Graettinger-Terril looks to put their season opener quickly behind them after sixth-ranked Remsen-Union avenged last season's playoff loss by rolling past the Knights 61-14 in an eight man contest on Friday night. The Knights downed the Rockets 48-32 last year in the second round of the playoffs. ...

This is a test! You won't be graded, but let's test your memory. Quickly, name 10 cars, by brand. I'll help you get started; Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Dodge, Studebaker ... Have you named 10? (Hey, I gave you 5). Now, name 10 movie stars, living or dead ... Quickly! I'll prime the pump: Bogart, Julia Roberts, John Wayne ... This is easy! Have you named 10?...

Rollie and Joyce Peschon of Spirit Lake, and Rick and Carrie Van Santen of Luverne, Minn. are pleased to announce the engagement of their children Donni Jean Peschon and Brad Van Santen. Donni Jean graduated from Spirit Lake High School in 2005 and received a bachelor of science in nursing degree from South Dakota State University in Brookings. She is employed at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls as a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit...

Feb. 10, 1924-- Aug. 21, 2011 Merlin B. Hays, age 87, of West Okoboji, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011, at Lakes Regional Healthcare in Spirit Lake. He was born on Feb. 10, 1924, in Lanesboro, to Dr. Earl and Sara (Howland) Hays. Merlin spent his early years in Lake City attending school and graduating from Lake City High School in 1942. ...

April 20, 1985 -- Aug. 27, 2011 Mark Andrew Conway, age 26, of Spirit Lake, passed away Saturday Aug. 27, 2011, at his home in Spirit Lake. He was born on April 20, 1985, in Cedar Falls to Mark Francis and Mary Even Conway. Andy graduated from Columbus High School in Waterloo in 2004, and Iowa State University in May of 2008. ...

Feb. 14, 1917 -- Aug. 15, 2011 Funeral services for Goldie McBreen, 94, of Spirit Lake were held Friday, Aug. 19, 2011, at the United Methodist Church in Spirit Lake with Rev. Lon Lewis officiating. Online condolences may be sent at www.turnerfuneralhomes.com...

Aug. 8, 1978 -- Aug. 22, 2011 Christopher Paulette, age 33, of Spirit Lake, passed away Monday, Aug. 22, 2011, at the Osceola Community Hospital in Sibley. He was born on Aug. 8, 1978, in LaPorte, Ind., to Robert and Janis (Wagner) Paulette. Christopher worked for NextEra Energy, which is a subsidiary of Florida Power and Light, as a central maintenance level 2 worker. ...

Jan. 6, 1943 -- Aug. 22, 2011 Betty Hope Hussong was born on Jan. 6, 1943 in Jackson County, Minn., the daughter of Lester and Arlene (Prew) Crowell. She attended school in Wilder, Minn. and later attended Windom High School. She was united in marriage to Dudley Hussong on July 4, 1964, at the First United Methodist Church in Windom...