Stories from Tuesday, December 31, 2013

A rare jury trial, a still-developing murder case and the release of a high-profile defendant brought the 2013 court year to a busy conclusion. Cases involving Tailer Handsaker, Walter Norem and Heidi Watkins all drew wide attention in the last three months of 2013...

Part of a series looking back at 2013 Roads were blocked, trees were toppled and branches crackled from the weight of thick ice and heavy snow from an April 9-11 winter storm in the Lake Park area. The thick layer of winter precipitation left road signs unreadable and school parking lots empty on Thursday. Curbs were littered with cottonwood, oak, birch and maple branches...

Progress required a touch of patience in the summer of 2013. Construction crews closed down well-traveled Iowa Highway 86 -- between Highway 9 and the Minnesota state line -- in early April. They needed the majority of the 2013 construction season to compete the $7.4 million project...

The Spirit Lake Fire Department responded to reports of a structural fire around 9:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 30, at 702 15th Street. Firefighters were heard confirming the blaze had been doused shortly after entering the residence, approximately 20 minutes after arrival. The ladder truck was later used in an effort to contain the billowing smoke coming from the top of the small home...

NO. 6 -- Polaris expansions Polaris Industries finished production on 25 "Indian Chief Vintage Final Edition" motorcycles late in 2012 and the company used the limited-edition bike to usher in a new generation of Indian motorcycles in 2013. In February, the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board approved an incentive package to encourage the addition of 40 jobs at the former Stylecraft-Klaussner Home Furnishings building along U.S. ...

It's been a whirlwind of a year, to say the least. I've witnessed extreme highs and extreme lows. I've made mistakes and I've seen relationships come and go. I've experienced pure happiness, confusion, and devastation. This past year, for me, was one for growth and learning...

Part of a series looking back at 2013 Technology helped keep one non-native species from populating the Iowa Great Lakes for the time being. The year ended with a possible setback for Lakes conservationists, however. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources in November confirmed that boat hoists in East Lake Okoboji, West Lake Okoboji and Lower Gar Lake are showing signs of an entrenched zebra mussel population...

Part of a series looking back at 2013 A spring election included a successful bid to construct a new city hall in Spirit Lake. And, voters and candidates alike had interesting choices to make in the last calendar year -- and the list includes a choice by the area's only statewide officeholder...

2013 was another exciting year of blood-curdling finishes and emotional rides for sports-lovers in Dickinson County and throughout the Iowa Great Lakes region with countless memories made along the way. From the Spirit Lake girls basketball and baseball teams impressive runs to the state tournament to Okoboji sophomore Alex Mankle barely missing out on a state girls golf championship to Spirit Lake senior Doug Miner winning his third consecutive state wrestling crown, there were tons of team and individual feats that the prep athletes accomplished this past season.. ...

I'm going to miss the friendly faces -- and so much more. No one told me when I moved to the Iowa Great Lakes region about eight years ago that I would fall in love with the place. No one told me that once you get a chance to swim in that pristine glacier-fed West Okoboji Lake that you'd never get enough of it. It gets under your skin and deep in your heart...