Stories from Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Lee Christensen waived extradition and returned to Emmet County to face first-degree murder charges Friday as authorities continue to look into the circumstances behind the death of 19-year-old Thomas Bortvit of Estherville. Bortvit's family contacted the Estherville Police Department about the college student's disappearance on Saturday, June 6. ...

While it was a quiet night offensively for the Class 3A No. 7-ranked Spirit Lake softball team, junior pitcher Bailee Newman didn't need much help to earn a win over visiting Sibley-Ocheyedan. The Indians scored just three runs in a home contest on Tuesday, but Newman and the Spirit Lake defense kept the Generals off the board in a 3-0 victory...

Winners of eight straight heading into Tuesday night's contest with Sibley-Ocheyedan, the Spirit Lake baseball team wasted no time trying to make it nine in a row. The Indians exploded out of the gates for nine runs in the opening stanza before placing the final dagger in the Generals' coffin in the third inning of a 10-0 home rout...

Newly named Arnolds Park Amusement Park CEO Charley Whittenburg has put retirement on hold. The Spencer native and former owner of Whittenburg Distributing in Spencer was four years into a life of leisure and play dates with his grandkids when the Park called with a business proposition...

Well it did not take long for our produce vendors to get into the swing of things. The simple radish is grown by so many and yet there will be few to be found as the market nears closing time at noon. As expected we are seeing early lettuces and many pounds of spinach. The spring salads will be around for the next few weeks but the rhubarb will not. This week would be a good time to load up on some -- or better yet, let one of the fine bakers save you the work...

In regard to the church letters (May 20 by Robert Sneitzer and May 27 by Roger Carr): Churches own lots of properties and buildings, businesses and farmland which they pay no taxes on. (Mormons do have the most.) It gives them an unfair advantage over the people who pay taxes...

One of the many wonderful things Dickinson County has to offer to its residents and visitors alike is our fabulous recreational trail system. Always expanding and being improved upon, the trails offer the opportunity to enjoy some beautiful scenery, exercise your bodies, spend quality time with your canine and human family members and breathe good quality fresh air. It really doesn't get any better than that...

Three students and two coaches were ready for OSL's 20th trip to the National Speech and Debate Association Nationals. The team traveled from Milford to Dallas Saturday, June 13, for the tournament that runs through Friday, June 19 at the Sheraton Dallas...

July 31, 1930 -- June 7, 2015 Verland Fred Sorensen, 84, passed away June 7, 2015. He was born July 31, 1930 in Spirit Lake to Fred Sorensen and Frances (George) Sorensen. He graduated from Spirit Lake High School in 1947 and served as a Corporal in the United States Army from 1948 to 1951...

Feb. 12, 1935 -- June 12, 2015 Robert H. Kettner, age 80, of Spirit Lake, passed away Friday, June 12, 2015, at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. He was born Feb. 12, 1935, in Chicago, to Henry and Elizabeth (Hanzlik) Kettner. Robert proudly served his country in the United States Navy from 1953 until 1955...

Aug. 30, 1951 - June 6, 2015 A funeral service for Maxine DeShazo of Spirit Lake, was held Monday, June 15, 2015, at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Burial was at Superior Cemetery. Maxine Kay DeShazo arrived at heaven's gate at the age of 63. She passed away Avera McKennan Hospital at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, June 6, 2015...

Aug. 8, 1944 -- June 9, 2015 A funeral service for Connie Hartwig, age 70, of Spirit Lake, was held Saturday, June 13, 2015, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Spirit Lake. Interment was at Lakeview Cemetery in Spirit Lake. Connie Carol Hartwig, the daughter of Lorene (Shultz) and Don Sawyer, was born Aug. 8, 1944 in Spirit Lake. She was raised and educated in Spirit Lake. She was united in marriage to Ronny Hartwig and to this union, three sons were born, Rodney, Rick and Robert...

Harris-Lake Park had to withstand a late rally, but the Wolves did enough to earn a 3-1 War Eagle Conference baseball win over visiting Trinity Christian at home on Monday. Up 3-0 heading into the final frame, H-LP surrendered back-to-back singles to the Tigers to lead off the seventh, putting two on and the tying run at the dish...

The Harris-Lake Park softball team was handed a 3-1 loss by Trinity Christian in a War Eagle Conference clash in Lake Park on Monday. Playing to a scoreless contest through three innings, the Tigers plated a pair of runs in the fourth and never looked back. Trinity scored once more in the sixth to take a 3-0 lead before the Wolves got one back in the seventh...

An unusual afternoon for six purebred cats began with a plane ride, included a runway made of water and ended with a new home. A small aircraft landed on the waters of Big Spirit Lake on Wednesday, June 10, with a mission to transport the exotic short hair cats from the area to a specialized shelter in Wisconsin...

After watching his city grow and change over the last three decades, Ron Walker is ready to hand over his office keys at Arnolds Park City Hall. The city administrator's recommendations helped shape the direction of Arnolds Park for the past 35 years. Walker is now looking forward to days at home without the worry of local construction projects, housing developments or zoning plans -- his retirement begins July 1...

Two hundred twenty-five kindergarten through eighth-grade students from the Mary Treglia House Camp Imagination in Sioux City attended Ag Day at the Schwaller Farm in Milford and Jones Dairy near Spencer on Friday. Camp Imagination Program Director Shannon Schroeder said she was inspired to conduct the Ag Day field trip by her background...

Logan Schmeider, 18, Le Mars, was charged with possession of alcohol under the legal age at 1:20 a.m. Sunday, June 14, at Memphis Avenue and Highway 71 in Spirit Lake. Seth Hanson, 19, Le Mars, was charged with possession of alcohol under the legal age at 1:20 a.m. Sunday, June 14, at Memphis Avenue and Highway 71 in Spirit Lake...

Iowa's high school football playoff qualifying teams will be cut in half starting in 2016. In a unanimous vote, the Iowa High School Athletic Association's Board of Control has voted to adopt a nine-game regular season schedule and 16-team qualifier field for all football classes in the playoffs starting in 2016. The change means a reduction from 32 teams who currently qualify for the postseason in each class...

Arnolds Park Amusement Park has partnered with Jensen Real Estate to bring free movies on Wednesday nights to Preservation Plaza. Come hang out on Preservation Plaza and enjoy free movies all summer long. There will be concessions to enjoy during the movies. Just bring a blanket or a chair and relax with your family while enjoying the beauty of West Lake Okoboji...

The Jim Hall Outstanding Alumni Award was presented to James Donovan of Baxter, Minnesota, during the Iowa Lakes Community College Spring Commencement on Friday, May 15. His parents are Edward and Vergene Donovan of Spirit Lake. Executive Director of Community and Business Relations Jolene Rogers, presented the award memorializing Jim Hall, a 1968 Iowa Lakes graduate and strong supporter of the college. ...

A field of 33 360 winged sprint cars turned out Saturday, June 13, for the second visit of the Midwest Sprint Touring Series to the historic Jackson Speedway. All told, 99 race cars were in the pits to compete in the evening's racing action. Claiming the Feature wins in the Minnesota West/Yellow Book Sport Compact Class was Megan Sandvig of Estherville, Iowa in a history-making feature that saw the top three places earned by female drivers in the class, while Marc Janssen of Worthington, Minnesota took the checkers in the Loosbrock Digging Service IMCA Hobby Stock feature. ...

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will be in northwest Iowa for a series of upcoming appearances. Dickinson County Republicans will honor Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds at the annual Pachyderm Party Thursday, June 18 at The Inn at Okoboji...

Local jewelry artist Kathy Evert recently announced the fifth annual Okoboji Bead & Jewelry Splash is coming to town and set for the weekend of July 25. Vendors will be exhibiting, selling and teaching at the Dickinson County Community Building. The event is open to the public and admission is $2 at the door. Show hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days...

Boji Bay Fun House and Pavilion located on Highway 71 in north Milford announces its next free outdoor concert June 19 at the Boji Bay music festival grounds. The concert features Richie Lee & the Fabulous 50's from Des Moines. Richie Lee hails from Des Moines and is considered one of the finest Buddy Holly tribute artists in music today. He brings with him the Fabulous 50's band who also call Des Moines home. This is a can't miss show...

The Arts at St. Joseph will host The Iowa Lakes Music Festival Concert featuring cellist Thomas Fortner, pianist Amy Zanrosso, and violinist Zachary Spontak at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, June 28, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Milford. The trio will play selections from Beethoven, Debussy and Dvorak. A reception will follow the free concert. Doors will open at 4 p.m. and a free-will offering will be accepted...

Spirit Lake just keeps on winning. With a 6-3 victory over visiting Western Christian in Lakes Conference baseball action Monday, the Indians improved to 11-1 overall on the season, stretching their season-best win streak to eight games. Playing in front of their home crowd in Spirit Lake, the Indians jumped out to a 2-0 lead after plating a pair in the bottom half of the opening frame...

Class 3A No. 7-ranked Spirit Lake needed just three innings to down Western Christian in Lakes Conference softball action in Spirit Lake on Monday, as the Indians routed the Wolfpack 13-1. Western Christian got on top first, plating a run in the top half of the opening frame, but the Indians put together an eight-run inning -- highlighted by a Bailee Neman grand slam -- in the bottom half of the first and never looked back...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire baseball team let a late lead slip Monday, as the Titans took a 10-9 road loss at the hands of Storm Lake St. Mary's. The Panthers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening frame, but the Titans plated four in the third to gain a two-run advantage...

After falling behind 4-1 in a road contest with Storm Lake St. Mary's on Monday, the Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire softball team erupted for 20 runs in a 21-6 victory over the Panthers. The Titans scored first, plating one in the opening frame, before St. Mary's answered with four in the bottom half of the second. From there, though, it was all GT/RA, as the Titans scored two in the third, nine in the fourth, three in the fifth, and six in the sixth to walk away with the victory...

Spirit Lake hosted the area's best softball teams over the weekend, as the Class 3A No. 7-ranked Indians' went 2-1 at their home tournament on Saturday. The Indians opened the tournament with a 6-0 victory over Sibley-Ocheyedan. Scoreless through two, the Indians finally plated a run in the bottom half of the third as Bailee Newman scored on a sacrifice fly by Mackenzie Thate to give Spirit Lake a 1-0 lead...

We talk a lot about invasive species and exotics that are causing issues in the United States. Humans are the main culprits, and most often these exotics have come either knowingly or unknowingly from other countries. We hear about the Eurasian Milfoil, the Zebra Mussels, etc., but one exotic that could cause extensive damage to both our agriculture and wildlife is the feral swine (often called wild pigs)...

It's starting to feel a lot like summer. Fish behave differently in the different seasons, and if we want to catch fish in the different seasons, we need to vary our lure presentations and how we go about catching fish. Following are some ideas for catching fish during the summer months...

My husband called me when I was just pulling out items for dinner preparation, and he said he found a family of baby skunks that were milling around their mother, who had gotten hit by a car. I drove out to meet him, and we watched the baby skunks --- their bushy tails hovering over their black and white bodies and their little booties swaying from side to side as they walked...

Over the years, I've found the Iowa Sportsman's Atlas to be a valuable tool when it comes to finding where I want to go, where public lands are located and what you can do on these public lands. This has been especially valuable when I am traveling to unfamiliar areas. ...

Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Ducks Unlimited Canada, Ducks Unlimited de Mexico and Wetlands America Trust are committed to making DU's vision of abundant wetlands a reality through the new "Rescue Our Wetlands: Banding Together for Waterfowl" campaign. The $2 billion continental campaign was launched at Ducks Unlimited's 78th annual convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 27-30. To date, the campaign has raised $1.1 billion...

The 58th season of live theatrical experiences at Okoboji Summer Theatre began Tuesday, June 16, with a comedy called "On Thin Ice." It is set in the Iowa Great Lakes Region during the annual University of Okoboji Winter Games on the eve of the January caucuses...

In a formal ceremony on June 9, the Ladies of the Lake Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) established the Okoboji Chapter of the National Society of the Children of the American Revolution (CAR). Presiding with Regent Colleen Lemkuil of Spirit Lake were 17-year-old David Graham of Sioux City, State President of the CAR, and Diane Lavender, Estherville, Senior Organizing President. ...

Schuchert-Lentz Funeral Home of Spirit Lake received the Award of Excellence in Funeral Service at the 135th Annual Iowa Funeral Directors Association (IFDA) Convention held May 12-14 at the Iowa State Center and Gateway Hotel in Ames. The Iowa Award of Funeral Service Excellence recognizes a funeral home's exemplary service to the community it serves. ...