Stories from Tuesday, November 26, 2013

James Johnson was right when he called our office with a story idea. Halloween candy and costumes aren't even marked for clearance by the time stores start trotting out the wreaths, wrapping paper, toys and ornaments, he reminded us. Times have changed, I realize. I've read that some of our large retail chains would have to consider store closures if they couldn't rely on those Thanksgiving night deals. Big or small, we need our local businesses to remain vibrant...

Okoboji put together an inspired effort, overcoming foul trouble, some tough free throw shooting and early turnover problems to put away Sioux Center 54-48 on the road Tuesday in Siouxland Conference play. The Pioneers were uncharacteristically 9-of-20 from the free throw line and had too many careless miscues after coming out a bit overly excited in the opening 16 minutes, but they more than made up for that with a number of clutch plays in crunch time...