Stories from Wednesday, March 18, 2015

If you see some increased traffic north on Hill Avenue in Spirit Lake starting Wednesday, they might be heading to the Gingham Inn Restaurant and Lounge. The eatery opens for the season Wednesday night and can boast more than 55 years of service on the south shore of Big Spirit Lake. They serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays and open at 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday...

It's always interesting to see construction projects along the Highway 9 and 71 corridors in the Iowa Great Lakes. On Tuesday we noticed the yellow panels being torn away from The Burrito Hut south of the Casey's store in Arnolds Park. The building has been up for lease and it will be interesting to see if the renovations are the first sign of a new occupant or the "rebranding" of a high-profile building. Let us know if you have the scoop at rmitchell@dickinsoncountynews.com...

Competing against much larger schools in an indoor track meet held in Ames, the Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys team held its own in the Titans' first action of the season on Tuesday. "There [was] no class division and the meet was predominately 3A and 4A schools, so we actually competed at a much higher level," GT/RA coach David Peterson said. "I am very happy with the way we ran [Tuesday] and our times are very close to where we left off last season."...