Stories from Wednesday, May 20, 2015

True to form, the Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji boys soccer team played up to the level of its competition in Tuesday's home contest with MOC-Floyd Valley. Coming off a disappointing 3-1 loss to Western Christian the night before, after which coach Royce Van Roekel was highly critical of his team, SLP-O played with unmatched intensity while picking up a 2-1 win over the No. 3-ranked (Class 1A) Dutch...

A family of six grew to more than 50 on Friday. Tom Rakotz and Amber Hickman, parents of DayzeeMae Belle, were honored as the 101st family by the Shayla Bee Fund during a benefit May 15 at the VFW in Spirit Lake. The Lake Park family, who have three other children in addition to their youngest daughter, fought back tears and shared smiles and laughs as friends, family and strangers came together in support of baby DazyeeMae...

Four anniversary events will mark 50 years of cultural impact at the Pearson Lakes Art Center. The celebration begins from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, May 21, when PLAC host a reception and gallery talk for two new exhibits. The event also will serve as an open house meet and greet for three new PLAC employees. ...

Every two seconds, someone, somewhere needs blood. The rarest type is the one not on the shelf when a patient needs it. At LifeServe Blood Center, we strive to help these people every day; therefore we need donors every day. Neighbors helping neighbors and people who want to make an impact on a local level, we could not fulfill our mission of providing a safe and adequate blood supply without the generosity of blood donors...

I have been a church member all my life and have enjoyed the comfortable setting in the various churches I have been attending and supporting. The personal message, the member interaction, community outreaches and charitable activities have been reasons for membership. I have never been a member of a mega church, but rather local community churches affiliated with various synods...

On behalf of the American Red Cross, we wish to express our deep appreciation and to say "thank you" to every donor, volunteer and support person who participated in the May 18 blood drive in Spirit Lake. A huge "thank you" also to Fareway Foods for providing the delicious cookies that were served in the canteen...