Stories from Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Scoring runs early and late by host MOC-Floyd Valley was the difference Tuesday in the No. 5-ranked Dutchmen's 66-44 win over the Okoboji boys basketball team. The Dutchmen jumped out to a 26-15 lead after one quarter and led 32-23 at the half. After a 19-13 score in the third, the Pioneers trailed 41-36 entering the final stanza, but MOC-FV sealed the win with a 15-8 score late...

With a 57-53 win over Newell-Fonda Tuesday, the Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys basketball team took control of their own destiny in the Twin Lakes Conference, as they went a game up on the Mustangs with a week remaining in the regular season...

After an overtime loss to Emmetsburg the previous week, the Spirit Lake girls basketball team bounced back with a convincing 45-28 win over the E-Hawks on Tuesday. The Indians jumped out to a 16-2 lead after one before extending their lead to 25-9 at the half. They continued to pour it on in the third with a 12-6 score, before the E-Hawks outscored Spirit Lake 13-8 in the final stanza...

Squaring off with Lakes Conference foe Emmetsburg for the second time in less than a week, the Spirit Lake boys basketball team ran the E-Hawks out of their own gym in an 81-48 rout on Tuesday. The Indians jumped on top 23-17 after one before extending their lead to 20 points with an 18-4 second-quarter score...

In more than 104 years of boys high school basketball in Iowa, there have been more than 300,000 athletes that have taken to the hardwood in the state. Of those 300,000, only 169 have eclipsed 1,500 points in their careers. With a 17-point performance in a 55-48 win over Sheldon on Jan. 20, Okoboji's Tyler Stumbo joined that elite group...

Turnovers were crucial for the Okoboji girls basketball team on Tuesday night, as the Pioneers recorded 20 steals in a 49-44 Siouxland Conference road win over MOC-Floyd Valley. The Pioneers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but went cold the rest of the quarter, falling behind 11-5 after one...

Harris-Lake Park dominated from start to finish Tuesday night, as the Wolves routed Remsen-Union 61-29 in War Eagle Conference boys basketball action. It was a breakout game for the Wolves, who needed a 24-point fourth quarter to edge the Rockets 58-41 after opening to a 15-9 deficit on Jan. 16...

Harris-Lake Park trailed visiting Remsen-Union by just three points midway through the third quarter Tuesday night, but the Rockets erupted in the second half to down the Wolves 54-36 in War Eagle Conference girls basketball action. In the third, a pair of free throws by H-LP's Blake Gunderson capped a 7-2 Wolves run to cut R-U's lead to 31-28, but the Rockets ended the quarter on a 10-4 run to lead 41-32, and they never looked back...

The state budget, fireworks sales and teenagers in tanning beds are possible topics as area lawmakers field questions Saturday in the first installment of the Legislative Forum series in Arnolds Park. Members of the Iowa General Assembly can count on a school start date question or two from one of the state's most popular tourism destinations as well...

Lakes Area Hockey Association volunteers want the Boji Bay Ice Arena to become a hockey destination for northwest Iowa. Work is nearing completion for the third and final phase at the facility. Over the last 12 months, contractors have added locker rooms and a heated viewing area at the ice arena, located just north of the Bedell Family YMCA. ...

When is a $10 bill not worth $10? Just ask Manning Garrett. The banknote auctioneer from Greenville, South Carolina, has a $10 banknote from the Spirit Lake National Bank dated Dec. 12, 1905. And, he thinks the 109-year-old bill will fetch between $15,000 to $20,000 at a noon (Central Time) auction Saturday, Feb. 28...

Kyle Sroufe, 34, Milford, was charged with third degree burglary cash, credit card and a purse at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29 at Wal-Mart. Juan Hernandez, 31, Estherville, was charged with fifth degree theft -- consumables, at 12:52 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29 at Wal-Mart...

I have felt fortunate for many years to be a resident of the Iowa Great Lakes. Last night, I had the opportunity to witness the service provided by our Spirit Lake police and fire departments when called to my home for an incident that was quickly resolved. The personnel of these departments were efficient; knowledgeable; comforting; and respectful. Thank you so much for the service and kindness observed by me and for all that you do for our community...

The Cherish Center would like to thank everyone who made our annual No Apologies events a great success. No Apologies is an event that promotes healthy decision making, especially in the areas of relationships and purity to our area teenagers as well as equips parents with tools and encouragement to be "all in" with the parenting of their children...

On behalf of a record-sized, 160-foot snail, rumored to have appeared long enough to have its existence captured from the sky by photographer Judy Hemphill during the 35th annual Winter Games, we would like to thank the following individuals, businesses and organizations for making the 8th Annual Peoples Environmental Art Project a smashing success...

A local fisherman escaped injury after falling through the ice twice Sunday morning. Iowa DNR conservation officer Steve Reighard said Sheldon Andrews was ice fishing overnight in the area of Stony Point on Big Spirit Lake. Andrews used a pickup truck to get out to his permanent ice shack at the location...

An early April public hearing will decide the next step in an effort to improve water quality at Silver Lake. Richard Hopper, from Jacobson-Westergard & Associates revealed the results of a $26,000 study as part of a Jan. 28 meeting in Harris. The study was funded by the city of Lake Park and Dickinson County and revealed the drainage ditch flowing into Trapper's Bay was responsible for 1,089 tons of sediment eroding into Silver Lake each year...

A Saturday morning shooting incident landed a Dickens man in the Clay County Jail with a serious assault charge. At approximately 10:50 a.m. Saturday, the Clay County Sheriff's Office received notice from Spencer Municipal Hospital of a gunshot victim who arrived at their facility. No other details were immediately available...

Area health professionals gather again at Lake Okoboji this summer to gain new perspectives on balancing their professional and personal lives. The "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" conference covers topics such as morbid obesity, CIPA (Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis), sepsis, advances in cancer therapy, along with a reflection on how "healing" can often be more meaningful to patients and clients than "curing."...

Trailing by three with less than 2 minutes remaining in regulation, the Iowa Lakes women's basketball team scored eight unanswered to earn a 72-67 win over visiting Dakota Wesleyan junior varsity on Monday. Down 67-64, the Lakers ratcheted up the defensive pressure, as a steal and a layup by sophomore guard Niji Johnson pulled her squad within one...

The Iowa Lakes men's basketball team put the pedal to the metal on Monday night, racing to a 102-52 win over Dakota Wesleyan's junior varsity. The Lakers jumped out to a 9-0 lead as a jumper by Trey Burkhall was followed by back-to-back-to-back buckets by Brendan Tucek before Dakota Weselyan finally got off the schneid with a three-pointer to close the gap to six...

The Spirit Lake boys basketball team fought off a furious start by Estherville Lincoln Central's Justin Heinrichs, while stretching a three-point first-quarter lead into a 36-point Lakes Conference rout on Friday. The ELC senior single-handedly kept his team in the game while the Midgets trailed just 19-16 after one quarter, but the Indians were simply too much down the stretch, pulling away to win 90-54...

The Okoboji girls basketball team secured its 15th win of the season with a 56-48 victory over Siouxland Conference foe Boyden-Hull on Friday. The Pioneers jumped out to a 6-1 lead early on, but the Comets battled back to tie the game at 8-8 after one quarter of play...

After three straight Lakes Conference losses, the Spirit Lake girls basketball team desperately needed to right the ship Friday in a conference contest with Estherville Lincoln Central. Thanks in large part to a hot start by junior guard Joie Veldman, the Indians were able overcome a second-quarter slump, stopping their skid with a 55-39 win over the Midgets...

Ball security was an issue for the Okoboji boys basketball team in Friday's home loss to Boyden-Hull, as the Pioneers gave up 19 turnovers in an 82-67 loss to the Comets despite trailing by less than five points in the fourth quarter. "We just had too many live-ball turnovers that Boyden-Hull turned into one-on-zero layups. ...

A pair of Pioneers placed second while leading the Okoboji wrestling team to a seventh place finish at the Siouxland Conference wrestling tournament on Friday. Matt Anderson and Noah Bouse both earned runner-up finishes at 120 and 160 pounds, respectively, as Anderson went 1-1 and Bouse went 2-1 on the day...

After suffering just its second loss of the season -- both to Lakes Conference power Western Christian -- the Spirit Lake boys basketball team looked to get back on track Thursday with a win over Emmetsburg. The Indians did just that, stomping the E-Hawks 77-32 at home...

Coming off of back-to-back losses to Cherokee and Western Christian, the Spirit Lake girls basketball team hoped to stop the bleeding with a home contest against Emmetsburg on Thursday. Unfortunately, the Indians were unable to stop their skid, falling to the E-Hawks 49-47 in overtime...

Iowa Lake's Freddie Rodriguez place third at the Grand View Open wrestling held in Des Moines over the weekend, as the Lakers' returning national champ went 4-1 at 125 pounds on Saturday. Rodriguez began his tournament with back-to-back wins pins over North Dakota State's Tirso Lara in 5 minutes, 39 seconds, and Grand View's Joel Timmons in 2:47...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire girls basketball team lost a home contest with Southeast Valley on Friday, falling 47-35. The Titans took a 13-12 lead after one, but fell behind 22-19 at the half. Southeast Valley stretched its lead to 31-23 after three before closing the game with a 16-12 score in the final stanza...

In a high-scoring affair Friday night, the Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys basketball team topped visiting Southeast Valley 87-79. The Titans trailed 17-15 after one and 40-34 at the half, but outscored their opponents 29-16 in the third to take a 63-50 lead into the final stanza. The Titans then held on for the win with a 24-23 fourth-quarter score...

The Harris-Lake Park girls basketball team lost to Class 2A No. 13-ranked Hinton on Friday 45-35. The Blackhawks took a 13-7 lead after one, but the Wolves cut into Hinton's advantage with a 12-10 score in the second to trail 23-19 at the half. With 13-5 score in the third, Hinton stretched its lead to 12 entering the final stanza, where the Blackhawks held on for the win despite being edged 11-9 by the Wolves over the final 8 minutes...

The Harris-Lake Park girls basketball team fell 53-22 to Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn on Tuesday. The Wolves fell behind 10-2 after one quarter and trailed 23-5 at the half. An 18-7 score in the third put HMS up 41-12 entering the final stanza, where the Hawks outscored the Wolves 12-10 to salt away the victory...

Others receiving votes: Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines 9. Epworth, Western Dubuque 6. Cedar Rapids, Kennedy 5. Valley, West Des Moines 5. Ames 1. Others receiving votes: Carroll 5. Xavier, Cedar Rapids 5. Assumption, Davenport 5. Denison-Schleswig 4. Dallas Center-Grimes 4. Chariton 4. Keokuk 3. Marion 2. Clear Creek-Amana 1...