Stories from Tuesday, April 8, 2014

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office along with the Ocheyedan Fire & Rescue, Osceola County Emergency Management, Iowa State Patrol and Iowa DNR investigated a report of a missing individual on Tuesday. A search of the town of Ocheyedan and the surrounding area resulted in finding the body of John Michael Dirks, 48, in a ditch along Highway 9. He was pronounced deceased by the Medical Examiner...

Okoboji RABRAI officials will showcase the area's chain of blue water lakes as part of a theme to greet thousands of bicycle riders this summer. "Ride the Chain" will be the theme for the Okoboji RAGBRAI stop Sunday, July 20. The theme and logo were unveiled in front of an anxious crowd Wednesday, April 2 at Rabab's in Okoboji...

The forecast bodes well for the annual Dickinson County Easter Egg Hunt slated for Saturday, April 12. Hundreds of kids from all over will descend upon the Spirit Lake Little League fields at 10 a.m. in search of 4,000 coveted Easter eggs. The yearly event is sponsored by the Spirit Lake Noon Kiwanis. Club member Brooke Tomlinson handles coordination of the popular spring activity...

The heavily decorated, red Sunrise Kiwanis car plunged into the icy depths of Smith's Bay early Sunday evening. It means spring is close at hand and someone will have a little extra cash in his or her pockets. Make that two people. The Car Drop fundraiser came to an end at 6:40 p.m. Sunday, April 6, in West Lake Okoboji, according to a water-sensitive timepiece on the vehicle...

In the season opener for both teams Monday, Spencer seemingly scored at will against Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji, as the Indians fell to the Tigers 7-2 on the road. "We had some problems on defense," SLP-O coach Julio Zeledon said. "With the new players in new positions, we had some little problems here and there. ...

On a blustery spring day in Lake Park, the Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji boys soccer team struggled against Lakes Conference rival Spencer, falling 3-1 in the Indians' home opener on Monday. A pair of quick scores to start the first and second halves proved to be the difference...

Recently, the Iowa High School Athletic Association released its boys district tennis sites and assignments and Spirit Lake was named one of eight host sites for Class 1A. The Spirit Lake-Okoboji boys will face Bishop Heelan, Cherokee, Estherville Lincoln Central, Le Mars, Spencer and Storm Lake in the tournament...

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union recently announced its preseason soccer rankings. In Class 1A, Davenport Assumption earned the top spot coming off a 19-1 overall record and a state championship in 2013. In Class 2A, last year's champion Cedar Rapids Xavier is the early favorite after a 19-1 overall record. In Class 3A, last year's runner up Dowling Catholic returns as the early favorite after a 18-3 record last year and a 1-0 loss to state champion Ankeny in 2013...

The Iowa Lakes women's and men's golf teams were in action for the season opener at the Iowa Central Invite held at Otter Creek Golf Course in Ankeny. The Laker women that competed in the two-day event were Tressa DeBoer and Cassie Galm. DeBoer shot a first day total of 100. She followed up with a 96 on the second round. Galm shot a 99 on day one and fired a 105 on day two...