Stories from Tuesday, November 11, 2014

The Iowa Lakes men's and women's cross country teams competed at the NJCAA Division 1 cross country championships in Lubbock, Texas over the weekend. While the men weren't able to field an entire team, the women placed 33rd overall. The women were led by Rachell Ruddy, who finished 219th in 21 minutes, 38 seconds. Taylor Reimer placed 234th in 22:56; Tanya Farfan placed 250th in 24:04; Mercedes Jochims placed 261st in 25:25; and Frannie Feekes placed 263rd in 25:26...

The No. 19-ranked Iowa Lakes men's basketball team split a pair of games Friday and Saturday at the Northeast Classic in Norfolk, Nebraska. On Friday, the Lakers defeated Central Community College, Columbus in overtime by a score of 89-87. Down three at the half, the Lakers responded in the second to lead by three with 20 seconds left in regulation. ...

The Iowa Community College Athletic Conference named Iowa Lakes men's Soccer head coach Ben MacRae, Coach of the Year. In his first year as head of the program, MacRae led the Lakers to a 11-5-1 overall record and a 7-4-1 record in conference play. The Lakers finished third in the regular season and advanced to the Region XI championship game before going down to top-ranked Iowa Western...

Pioneers fall 3-0 to No. 3 Western Christian in regional volleyball championship

Spirit Lake's road to the dome was interrupted Friday night, as the Indians fell to visiting Sioux Center 14-0 in the quarterfinal round of the Class 2A football playoffs. The Warriors set the tone from their opening drive, converting four third downs and milking more than eight minutes off of the clock before scoring to go up 7-0 with 3:50 remaining in the opening stanza. ...

The Spencer swim team ended its season with a splash Saturday at the IGHSAU State Swimming and Diving Meet, breaking five school records on the way to a 14th place finish as a team out of 35 schools with state representation. "I felt really good about the day," Spencer girls swim coach Anne Roberts said. "Not only did all six events have personal bests, but even in the relays, they all had great splits. Everyone had a great day."...

Dec. 13, 1938 -- Nov. 5, 2014 A funeral service for Gilbert "Gabby" Hanson, age 75, of Fostoria, was held Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014 at the United Methodist Church in Fostoria. Burial was at Summit Township Cemetery in rural Fostoria. Gilbert "Gabby" Hanson was born Dec. 13, 1938, in Iowa City, Iowa the son of Henry and Ruth (Rogers) Hanson...

Aug. 8, 1941 -- Nov. 5, 2014 A funeral service for Mr. Glen Joens, age 73 of Lake Park, was held Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014 at the United Methodist Church in Lake Park. Interment was at Silver Lake Cemetery. Glen Louis Joens, the son of Verna (Puhrman) and Hans Henry Joens, was born Aug. 8, 1941, at his Grandparent Puhrman's home in Paullina. Glen spent his childhood in the Lake Park area...

Feb. 11, 1929 -- Nov. 1, 2014 Herbert Arthur Mills, 85, of Spirit Lake, passed away Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014, at the Abben Cancer Center following illness. A funeral service was held Wednesday, Nov. 5 at the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milford with Father Thomas Flanagan officiating. Burial was at Calvary Cemetery in Milford...

June 9, 1976 -- Nov. 5, 2014 Markis Joel Revland, age 38, of Arnolds Park, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014, at his home in Arnolds Park. He was born on June 9, 1976, in Spirit Lake, to Mark Revland and Rhonda Revland Nelson. Markis attended Arnolds Park Schools, before earning his G.E.D. ...

The Spirit Lake High School Key Club traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Saturday, Nov. 1, to serve a meal of tacos at The Banquet soup kitchen. Thirty-five students showed teamwork and heart to serve 256 meals, including meals to 13 children. ...

Students from Okoboji and Spirit Lake High Schools participate from October through May in the Okoboji Foundation's annual Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) initiative. In the first four years, YIP raised $90,000 to make a vital difference with awards to performance technology at Pearson Lakes Art Center, kennel and cattery doors at the Humane Society of Northwest Iowa, the splash pad at Memorial Park, the walking trail along Miller's Bay at Lakeside Lab, a disc golf course at Kenue Park, structural repairs at Discovery House and the chapel roof at Camp Foster.. ...

The Northwest Iowa Concert Band, directed by Rich Nicklay, will celebrate 30 years of band music making with their annual fall/holiday concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, at Roosevelt Auditorium in Estherville. The weather-related postponement date will be the following evening. ...

Eight eighth grade students from Spirit Lake Middle School were chosen to participate in the 2014 Northwest Iowa Junior High Honor Choir Festival sponsored by the Iowa Choral Director's Association. Students from 60 northwest Iowa school districts attended the festival. The students practiced during the day and were featured in a 6 p.m. concert, Tuesday, Nov. 4 at the Le Mars High School Gymnasium. Anna Ascheman was selected to be one of 10 singing as a small group in the evening concert...

The Iowa Department on Aging is seeking citizens interested in participating in its new Volunteer Ombudsman Program. The program is designed to assist the Iowa Department on Aging's Office of Long-term Care Ombudsman. According to a national study by the Institute of Medicine, every state should have one ombudsman for every 2,000 individuals in long-term care, nursing homes and residential care facilities. Iowa has eight local long-term care ombudsmen who serve 6,756 individuals each...

Below is a list of participants in the annual Upper Des Moines Opportunity Sharing Christmas program which provides holiday gifts to low-income children, seniors and disabled residents of Dickinson County. If you or your group wishes to adopt, call the Dickinson County Upper Des Moines Opportunity office at 336-1112 between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday...

Tanner M. Downing has enrolled in the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program at Iowa State University. Upon graduation and completion of ROTC Military Science courses at the host university, the cadet receives a bachelor's degree and a commission of second lieutenant in the U.S. Army...

The 35th Annual University of Okoboji Winter Games Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, in the Hedberg Theater located in the Maritime Museum in Arnolds Park. Event chairs, volunteers and community members are invited to this fun and informal meeting to plan the northwest Iowa tradition. If you would like to host a new event or donate your time and talent to an existing one, please feel free to attend...

A farm program informational meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 24 in Spirit Lake at the ISU Extension meeting room on the fairgrounds. At 2:30 p.m. that same day, a similar meeting will be held in Estherville at the Iowa Lakes Community College. Those interested in attending the Spirit Lake meeting should call 712-336-3488 to pre-register or call 712-362-3434 for the Estherville meeting...

Geocaching is an exciting activity for people of all ages to do at the Dickinson County Conservation Board parks. What is geocaching? According to www.geocaching.com the widely used "go to" for everything geocache related, geocaching is defined as "a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location."...

Veterans Day ceremonies were held all throughout the county Tuesday morning honoring those who have served their country. Members of the John W. Kidd VFW Post no. 454 and the American Legion Timpe Post No. 23 presented the colors at the Sami Center in Spirit Lake. Post Commander Denny Perry also shared a few words on how Veterans Day should be celebrated...

Northwest Bank customers can expect a safe deposit box vault, four drive-up lanes and an ATM lane as part of a major construction project along Iowa Highway 9 in Spirit Lake. The new bank building will be located at 18th Street between Keokuk Avenue and Jackson Avenue...

The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation has heard from business leaders who are concerned about the cost and availability of homes for the area's workforce. And, Corridor officials hope the launch of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Housing Fund will be a step in addressing their concerns. ...

The city of Milford is looking for a new city attorney for the second time in 2014. Attorney Kristina Gigstad submitted her resignation at Monday's Milford City Council meeting. The Sackett Law Office attorney was appointed to the city attorney's post on March 24 and attended her first council meeting on April 14. ...

Pastor Karl Whiteman's hope for the world is to never forget. To never forget one of the most widespread genocides in the history of mankind. More than 6 million European Jews and other persecuted groups were murdered at concentration camps. The persecution of Jews began in 1933 after World War I and continued until 1945. The history of the Holocaust has always intrigued Whiteman...