Stories from Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Hi, my name is really Buck. But you can call me Cisco. I don't mind. It was my character's name in "Dances with Wolves." You might have noticed me or one of my stand-in buddies (the movie was three hours long after all) on film. So, yeah, I know Kevin Costner. I could tell you how much he weighs. He could have thanked me at the Oscars...

Matt Jones isn't supposed to be giving high-fives to a crowd of health professionals on a Friday morning in Okoboji. The mere act of drawing another breath caught doctors off guard back in 2004. At the age of 23, Matt Jones' life took a turn for the worse. ...

A five-run fourth was the difference Tuesday night, as the Spirit Lake baseball team dropped a home contest with MOC-Floyd Valley, 7-4. The Dutchmen got on top early, scoring a run in the top half of the first to take a 1-0 lead. Spirit Lake threatened in the bottom half of the first and second innings, but the Indians stranded a pair in both, as MOC-FV still held the upper hand...

Competing at the state co-ed doubles tennis tournament, Spirit Lake-Okoboji's Ryley Smith and Hailey Johnson reeled off back-to-back wins, but fell in a quarterfinal match to end their tournament run. Smith and Johnson earned a 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Clarinda's Kayla Rogers and Trey Stickler in the first round and returned to defeat Red Oak's Paige Vannausdle and Weston Rolenc 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (9) to qualify for the quarterfinals...

Tied 2-2 entering the bottom half of the fifth inning Tuesday night, the Spirit Lake softball team got a pair of timely runs from Caitlyn Roberts and Mackenzie Thate to salt away a 4-2 victory over visiting Sioux Central. Spirit Lake got on the board first, as Thate led the inning off with a double to centerfield before Whitlee Reitz reached on an error by the Rebels' third baseman, scoring courtesy runner Carly Hassel. ...

2014 marks the 15th year owners of antique tractors have devoted two days traveling from town to town on the Annual KICD Radio Antique Tractor Ride. This year's destinations are Silver Lake at Lake Park and Silver Lake near Ayrshire. The trek on tractors begins Friday, June 13, at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer. Many of the riders from several states will begin arriving Thursday to unload their lovingly-restored tractors in preparation for the ride...

Saturday night's Preservation Plaza concert might have its audience thinking of a "Rocky" movie by the end of the night. As a part of the Boatstock 2014 celebration on Saturday, June 14, the legendary band Survivor will perform on Preservation Plaza at Arnolds Park Amusement Park. The theme for the this year's celebration is an aquarian exposition -- celebrating two things the area is most known for -- boating and live music...

A special meeting was held Tuesday night to narrow down the list of candidates for an open seat on the Harris-Lake Park School Board. Tim Hoerichs has stepped down after two and a half years on the board, leaving an open position to fill. He is headed to new opportunities in Virginia...

Residents may soon be without a place to pick up some extra cash from their empty cans and bottles. A meeting was held last month to determine the fate of the county's only can redemption center which is set to close at the end of June. No solution has been found...

On Thursday, May 22, nine members of the bocce teams went down to the Iowa State University campus to compete in the Special Olympics Summer Games. The trip started at 5 a.m., leaving the Echo Plus parking lot for a three-hour trip. All the athletes were tired, but excited to get to the ISU campus...

RAGBRAI isn't the only long-distance bike ride coming through the area.
Four full-time bikers pedaling for Imagine No Malaria (INM) will make a Spirit Lake stop on Tuesday, June 17. Their arrival will cap day one of a 12-day trek from Brandon, South Dakota, to Port Clinton, Ohio...

"She's the salt of the earth." We've all said it, choosing a common idiom to describe a friend or acquaintance. Over the years the phrase has come to represent a solid, no-nonsense person who lives humbly and quietly as a persistently positive influence. But there's more...

Feb. 16, 1925 -- May 30, 2014 Virginia Louise Griffiths, age 89, of Spirit Lake, passed away Friday, May 30, 2014, at Hilltop Care Center in Spirit Lake. She was born on Feb. 16, 1925, in Chariton, to Harley and Cora (Offenhauser) Peterson. Virginia graduated from Chariton High School in 1943. ...

April 15, 1926 -- May 31, 2014 Thomas W. Textor passed peacefully on May 31, 2014 at Arbor Springs care center with family by his side. A visitation was held Friday, June 6, at the Iles Chapel on Grand Avenue in Des Moines. Private burial will be in the Iowan Veterans Cemetery. Tom was born in Spirit Lake on April 15, 1926. He was blessed with a strong, confident, and charismatic personality. Anyone who met Tom knew instantly what a genuine and loving person he was...

Sept. 6, 1923 -- March 5, 2014 Sanford Junior Reed was born Rossie, Iowa, on Sept. 6, 1923. His parents were Hattie Sylvester Reed and Sanford Frank Reed. Sanford was four years old when he entered first grade in Rossie. In his teens, he went to live with his cousin, Thelma, and her husband, Lloyd Dunkrieger. In 1939, they moved to Linn Grove and Sanford graduated from Linn Grove High School in 1940...

May 23, 1922 -- June 6, 2014 Rachel Elizabeth Wegman, age 92, of Milford, passed away on Friday, June 6, 2014, at the Milford Nursing Center in Milford. She was born on May 23, 1922, in Sioux City to John and Maude (Brush) Deibner. Rachel graduated from Spirit Lake High School in 1940. She was united in marriage to Orville "Dusty" Wegman on July 24, 1948, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Rachel worked as a dental assistant to Dr. Coon in Estherville, for many years...

Aug. 8, 1930 - June 1, 2014 Eastern Star services were held Thursday, June 5, at the Pauley Jones Funeral Home and funeral services were held Friday, June 6, at United Methodist Church in Harlan for Mary L. Brooks. Burial was at Harlan Cemetery in Harlan...

March 29, 1924 -- May 30, 2014 A funeral service for Evelyn Larsen was held Wednesday, June 4, 2014, at Immanuel Luthean Church in Spirit Lake. Burial was at Memory Gardens in Spirit Lake. Evelyn Mae Shultz Larsen, the daughter of Harley Dewitt Schultz and Minnie Olina Petersen Schultz, was born March 29, 1924 in Jackson, Minnesota. ...

Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative and its wholesale power suppliers -- Corn Belt Power Cooperative in Humboldt and Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative in Le Mars -- do not agree with the Obama Administration's use of the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide. The new regulations will directly impact our member-owners resulting in an increase in the cost of electricity and compromising the reliability of the electric grid when numerous coal plants are shut down...

It was a great surprise to know that some people are grumbling when RAGBRAI will "keep them from driving through Arnolds Park" and "having those bikers everywhere." Perhaps those grumblers should stay indoors during those 48 hours. I agree with Ms. Doris that the "Iowa Great Lakes is one of the best places in the world to live." Having the RAGBRAI riders here is an honor as well as an opportunity to show off our area to people from all over...

A past participant in the Iowa Corridor Development Corporation's entrepreneurial workshop series is planning a business in Fostoria. FastTrac alumni Michelle Newgard is breaking ground on a new indoor shooting range. Newgard owns APEX Inc., a manufacturing company that constructs hand guns, rifles and shot guns. The business was created in 2010 as a one-stop shop for local firearms, and now Newgard feels the time to expand has arrived...

Prince Felix doesn't understand how rude he is to others, but in this humorous production of "The Frog Prince," he angers a witch and is turned into a frog. He must learn to look beyond the outside appearance of everyone he meets or he will remain a frog...

MOBILE MUSEUM TO FEATURE IOWA'S RECENT AND ANCIENT PAST Who would guess a 38-foot RV could be custom converted into a mobile museum housing remnants of giant ice age animals? The University of Iowa Mobile Museum is just that. A collaboration between the Office of the State Archaeologist, the Old Capitol Museum, and the Natural History, the Mobile Museum will travel and stop at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory and will be open to the public from 2-5 p.m. ...

Mackenzie Drahota, 19, Jackson, Minnesota, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia at 2:20 a.m. Thursday, June 5, at the Kum and Go in Spirit Lake. Brandon Calhoun, 30, Estherville, was charged with operating while intoxicated, failure to have a valid driver's license, and failure to have insurance at 9:46 p.m Friday, June 6, along 245th Avenue in Spirit Lake...

Last year, the Seasons Center for Behavioral Health hosted a speaker who dabbled in bizarre foods. This year, the agency has a program that's a bit easier on the palate for its annual fundraiser. Duff Goldman -- star of the Food Network show "Ace of Cakes" will be at the Boji Bay Fun House and Pavilion on Saturday, June 14. Doors will open and a silent auction will begin at 5 p.m. Dinner will be served at 5:45 p.m. Tickets are $75 per seat or $600 per table...

On Sunday, July 20 the Iowa Great Lakes Area will be host to more than 10,000 registered RAGBRAI riders, plus many thousands of additional riders and support crew. Preservation Plaza at Arnolds Park Amusement Park will be the hub of Okoboji RAGBRAI activity, which presents our local businesses and non-profits with an opportunity to meet thousands of potential customers...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire baseball team split a pair of games with North Union on Monday. The Titans picked up a 12-10 win, but also fell to their hosts 10-4. In game one, North Union reeled off eight straight runs to hold an 8-0 lead before the Titans answered with four in the top of the sixth to cut the lead in half...

Despite a solid effort by starting pitcher Houston Hawkins, the Okoboji baseball team lost its sixth consecutive contest on Monday night, falling to Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, 6-2. The Nighthawks got on the board first, scoring one in the second and two in the third before plating three in the top half of the sixth to hold a 6-0 advantage...

Facing undefeated Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, the Okoboji softball team played well, but ultimately fell 2-0 at home on Monday night. The two teams played to a 0-0 tie after three, but B-H/RV pushed one across in the top of the fourth to hold a 1-0 advantage...

It wasn't the fairytale ending the Spirit Lake-Okoboji girls tennis team had dreamed of, but it was anything other than disappointing, as the squad capped its stellar season with a pair of strong showings in Class 1A doubles of the 2014 IGHSAU Girls State Tennis Championships in Iowa City last week...

In a Cornbelt Conference doubleheader Monday night, the Harris-Lake Park softball squad split with Clay Central-Everly at home. In game one, the Wolves fell to CC-E by a score of 4-3. Kiersten Carpenter and Nichole Rowe were each 2-3 with an RBI. In game two, the Wolves earned a 6-1 win over the Mavericks...

Facing off with Class 2A No. 8-ranked North Union on Monday, the Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire softball team struggled in their road doubleheader, falling in both contests. The first game saw the Titans fight valiantly against the Warriors, but G-T/R-A failed to score with runners on base, as North Union slowly built a 5-0 lead before the Titans got on the board in the top half of the seventh to make it a 5-1 final...

It took 2 hours and 45 minutes to determine a winner in Thursday night's baseball battle between Emmetsburg and Okoboji, but in the end, it was the E'Hawks who did the most damage, earning a 14-11 victory over the host Pioneers. Okoboji kicked off the contest by tallying seven runs in the first three innings to lead 7-3, but the E'Hawks slowly closed the gap, scoring two in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth to take an 8-7 advantage heading into the bottom of the seventh...

After holding a 3-1 lead entering the third inning Friday night, the Okoboji baseball team watched as Central Lyon reeled off five unanswered to steal a 6-3 victory in Milford. The Lions were on top early after scoring a run in the top of the first, but the Pioneers answered with a run in the bottom half of the first and two more in the bottom half of the second to take a 3-1 lead...

Holding a 2-1 lead over Sheldon on Wednesday, the Okoboji baseball team looked to be in good position entering the fourth inning. But, in the bottom half of the frame, the Orabs plated seven runs to pull ahead 8-2 and never looked back in a 15-4 win over the Pioneers...