Stories from Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Phones kept ringing in Des Moines and Arnolds Park. Every now and then, someone would see a dark-colord animal darting in and out of cornfields near Spirit Lake. Or someone heard that a stray dog may have been clipped by an oncoming car. And, every time the phone rang, Scott and Dawn Rong would plan the next 3 1/2-hour drive from Des Moines to the Iowa Great Lakes in their search for Sammy, their 4-year-old German shorthair-Boxer mix...

For years, city staff members worked around poor ventilation, a leaking roof, basement water and mold at Spirit Lake City Hall. Now their only a day away from enjoying new surroundings. Spirit Lake's new city hall will be open to the public on Thursday, Nov. 20...

Once spring arrives, bicyclists will be able to travel around West Lake Okoboji exclusively trails. Construction on the final segment of trail system along Highway 86 will begin once snow is gone. The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors recently awarded a bid of $243,838.50 from Cohrs Construction. The new trail will stretch between 175th Street and 180th Street...

State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says the state is experiencing the fourth-coldest start to November since more-than-century-old records have been kept. But, he adds the area is right on schedule for the typical date for when the first inch of snowfall is measured. ...

Old Saint Nick and Mrs. Claus will call Milford home once again this Christmas season. The Milford Kiwanis Santa House returns for it's second year along complete with festive carpet and baseboard heating. The Santa House will now be permanently located between the Three Little Birds and the Hardware store in downtown Milford on the parking side. ...

On Saturday, Oct. 4, fifty-seven local youth participated in two perfomances of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," in collaboration with Prairie Fire Children's Theatre, a touring group based in Barrett, Minnesota. These performances were the culmination of four days of intense (but very fun) rehearsals held each day after school. ...

I am going to debunk the myth of college basketball. If you aren't watching the NBA on a regular basis and you are a fan of basketball you are essentially drinking non-alcoholic beer when there is a six pack of delicious PBR sitting in the fridge. Let's kick this off with a few clumsy fist bumps...