Stories from Monday, October 27, 2014

Neighborhood sidewalks are soon to be filled with the sounds of eager children and spooky music. Local police departments have a few safety tips for families out on the hunt for candy on Oct. 31. A universal tip is to never trick-or-treat alone. "Wear reflective clothing and always travel in pairs," said Milford Police Chief Vernon Flack. "And be very careful crossing the street."...

It was a bittersweet Thursday for the Spirit Lake cross country team as the boys and girls squads ended their seasons at the state qualifying meet in Carroll -- save two runners. Ryan Maris and Alec Harrington both punched their tickets to the state meet with top 10 finishes...

For the second straight year, the Spencer swim team swept its dual season slate as the girls earned wins over Storm Lake (59-35) and Sioux City Metro (61-33) on Tuesday at the Spencer Family YMCA. The foursome of Taylor Sieperda, Cassidy Fox, Madison Sieperda and Emma Dau kicked off the festivities with a first place finish in the 200-yard medley really, winning the race with a time of 1 minute, 54.59 seconds...

In a road trip to Norfolk, Nebraska on Wednesday, the Iowa Lakes volleyball team fell to Northeast Community College 3-1 (18-25, 22-25, 25-18, 9-25). Kirstin Martinadale had 16 kills, 18 digs and an ace for the Lakers. Jordan Going had 12 kills, seven blocks, and Andrea Orth had eight kills and 13 digs...

The Iowa Lakes men's and women's cross country teams played host to the 2014 Region 11 Cross Country Championship on Friday. For the men, Salvador Salazar was the top runner, placing 40th with a personal best time of 31 minutes, 53 seconds. Martin Christensen battled illness while placing 42nd in 33:12. Austin Lietz placed 44th in 33:27. Kitanga Dnay placed 45th with a personal best time of 34:47...

The Iowa Lakes men's and women's soccer teams wrapped their regular seasons Saturday with a pair of wins over Scott Community College. The Laker men won an 8-4 shootout, while the women earned a narrow 3-2 win. "It was not a vintage Iowa Lakes performance, but the lads got the job done," Iowa Lake's men's coach Ben MacRae said," We are going to have to play much better than that if we are going to create any upsets in the final four. ...