Stories from Monday, May 5, 2014

If the founding members of the Okoboji Protective Association would have been approached about electric fish barrier funding back in 1905, they probably would have replied with "there's no such thing as 'electric fish' here." A lot has changed since the OPA organized 109 years ago. Back then, cottage security was a priority, boats weren't quite so fast and zebra mussels were unheard of...

Judge David Lester told attorneys and defendant Ryan Wedebrand he needs more time to review case law before deciding the prison term for a defendant convicted in the 1997 death of Gregory Sky Erickson. The follow-up sentencing hearing on first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping convictions is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 16, at the Clay County Courthouse...

The state's trumpeter swan population is on the rise and wetland education is trending upward as well. Dickinson County Conservation and the Iowa DNR have come together to showcase the 20th annual Wings and Wetlands set for Saturday, May 10. It's a day spent to educate and inform the public of restoration efforts for the area's wetlands and waterfowl population...

CJ Miller and Yuhong Cui of Cedar Falls, announce their upcoming wedding May 25, 2014, at Gull Point State Park in Okoboji. CJ is the son of Karen and Randy Moritz of North Mankato, Minn. and Doug Miller of Mallard. Yuhong is the daughter of Jian En Cui and Xin Xian Zhang, and Jian Jun Wu of Shi Jiazhuang, He Bei Province, China...

Chris and Connie Jones of Milford, announce the engagement and upcoming wedding of their son, Michael, to Cassondra Williams, daughter of Steve and Colleen Willliams of Lisbon. Michael is employed at Wells Fargo as a closing specialist and Cassondra is employed at Link Associates as a case manager. They both graduated from Coe College in Cedar Rapids...

Brian and Sandy Holck, of Spencer, are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Emily Holck, to Brent Sexton, son of Michael and Julie Sexton, of Newell and Okoboji. Emily graduated from Spencer High School in 2008 and Augustana College in 2012, where she double majored in elementary education and special education receiving her bachelor of liberal arts degree. ...

Fred and Kathy Grienke, formerly of Alta, are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary on May 4, 2014. They are the parents of Ann (Joe) Christiansen of Grimes and Tim (Melissa) Grienke of Superior. They also have three granddaughters and three granddogs. Please send anniversary wishes to 3726 Ithaca Ave, Spirit Lake, IA 51360...

A Spencer High School athlete has signed to play two sports at Iowa Lakes Community College. Kirstin Martindale, a Spencer High School senior, officially signed a letter of intent Friday morning to play both volleyball and basketball at Iowa Lakes. Both coaches are enthusiastic about Martindale's future as a Laker...

It has been a decade and a half of dominance for the Spirit Lake-Okoboji girls tennis team, as the squad earned its 15th consecutive Girls Lakes Conference Tennis Tournament championship in Le Mars on Saturday, winning 17 matches along the way. "The girls really played well," SL-O coach Bob O'Hara said. ...

Competition for second place could not have been tighter at the 2014 Lakes Conference Boys Tennis Tournament on Saturday, as the Spirit Lake-Okoboji squad edged Le Mars and Storm Lake for runner-up honors behind conference champion Spencer. Just two points separated the Indians from the fourth place Tornadoes...

With a pair of fourth place team finishes, the Okoboji girls and boys track teams ran well at the Nighthawk Relays hosted by Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley on Friday. The boys totaled nine top-3 finishes and had three champions, while the girls had a total of nine top-3 finishes and one champion...

With two track meets cancelled due to last week's wet weather, the Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys were able to snag a spot at the Ross Samuelson Relays on Saturday, hosted by South Central Calhoun. Despite being a last-minute arrangement, the Titans totaled eight top-six finishes and broke several school records on the day...

Besting their team low score by 11 strokes at Okoboji View on Friday, the Spirit Lake girls golf squad continued to show improvement against Spencer and Sheldon. "We improved our best team score. We're very happy with the improvement," Spirit Lake coach Rick Reinking said. "Hopefully, that will continue and we will be rewarded with some match wins."...

Spirit Lake senior Zach Skopec continued to play lights out on Friday, leading the Indians boys golf squad to a first place finish in a triangular with Spencer and Sheldon by scoring a two-under-par 34, earning meet medalist honors in the process. Skopec began his round with back-to-back pars before recording a bogey on the par-4 third. ...

Led by stellar contributions from up and down the lineup, the Okoboji boys golf squad won its home invitational Saturday with an 18-hole round of 325. Tyler Ohl led the Pioneers, finishing one stroke out of the lead with a 79 and earning runner-up medalist honors...