Stories from Monday, September 21, 2015

It's not time to pack up that camping gear and picnic blanket just yet -- the Iowa Great Lakes provides some of the state's best park experiences in the fall. Dickinson County's DNR-owned parks remain open year round. Temperatures drop, those pesky bugs disappear and traffic opens up, making the season ideal for a camping trip or a day out...

Despite earning a narrow 20-18 win over a talented West Bend-Mallard team on Friday, Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire dropped out of the most recent AP football rankings released on Monday. The Titans dropped from No. 5 to No. 9 after losing to now No. 5-ranked Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn in week three, and a victory over the one-win Wolverines in Ruthven to improve to 3-1 overall couldn't stop their slide...

Nov. 18, 1924 - Sept. 13, 2015 A funeral service for Ardelle Block, age 90, of Spirit Lake and formerly of Webb, was held Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015 at the United Methodist Church in Spirit Lake.Burial was at Lakeview Cemetery. Mrs. Block passed away Sunday, Sept. 13, at the Hawkeye Care Center in Spirit Lake. Ardelle is the mother of Jo Gray and Terry Chalstrom...

Nov. 8, 1920 -- Sept. 14, 2015 A funeral service for Eldon Carlson, age 94, of Spirit Lake, was held Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, at First Lutheran Church in West Okoboji. Burial was at Lakeview Gardens Cemetery in Spirit Lake. Eldon Morris Carlson, son of Erick and Esther (Anderson) Carlson was born Nov. 8, 1920, in Lincoln Lee Township, Iowa...

May 9, 1924 -- Sept. 14, 2015 A funeral service for Lois Roghair, age 91, of Spirit Lake was held Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, at First Presbyterian Church in Spirit Lake. Burial was at Lakeview Cemetery. Lois M. Roghair, daughter of James and Mildred (Wetzeler) Riemersma, was born May 9, 1924, in Hospers. ...

Nov. 24, 1946 - Sept. 10, 2015 A burial service will be held at a later date for Marcia Marchand, age 68, of Milford. Marcia Joyce (Ross) Marchand was born to Herbert and Anna (Parr) Ross on Nov. 24, 1946 in Spirit Lake. She was united in marriage on Aug. 1, 1962 to Francis Jack Marchand. To this union, they had four children, Francis Jack Jr., Daniel, Teresa and Jane...

Jan. 15, 1916 - Sept. 11, 2015 A funeral service for Mildred Johnson, age 99, of Cincinnati and formerly of Milford, was held Friday, Sept. 18, 2015 at First Lutheran Church in West Okoboji. Burial was at Newell Cemetery in Newell. Mildred Matilda (Bonde) Johnson, the daughter of Christine (Mikkelsen) and Peter Bonde, was born Jan. 15, 1916 in Newell...

Jan. 10, 1933 - Sept. 15, 2015 Norma "Jean" Higdon, age 82, formerly of Spirit Lake, passed away peacefully on Sept. 15, 2015 at Thornton Manor in Lansing. Memorial services were held Thursday, Sept. 17, at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Burial followed at Lakeview Cemetery...

March 9, 1931 -- Sept. 12, 2015 Velma was born on March 9, 1931 in Spencer to Avalt and Mabel (Bernhagen) Baker. She was one of seven children, one of those being an identical twin sister. They grew up in Iowa where she graduated from Spirit Lake High School in 1949. She moved to Los Angeles where she attended college for a time...

In its first home conference clash of the 2015 season, the Okoboji volleyball team earned a straight-set victory over Siouxland Conference foe Rock Valley on Thursday. The Pioneers got out to a hot start, winning 25-12 in the opening set, but were forced to grind out a 25-22 win in the second...

The Class 3A No. 11-ranked Spirit Lake volleyball team went 3-2 at a tournament in Forest City over the weekend. The Indians earned wins over Webster City, Saint Ansgar and Class 2A No. 8-ranked Lake Mills, but fell to 3A No. 6-ranked Forest City (17-21, 25-22, 19-21) and 3A No. 13-ranked Algona (17-21, 22-20, 13-15)...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire volleyball team hosted a tournament this weekend, as the Titans took on Remsen-Union, Clay Central-Everly, and Class 1A No. 14-ranked Harris-Lake Park at home. Unfortunately, the Titans lost all three matches, but they were able to pick up sets against the Rockets and Mavericks...

Since starting out the season 6-4, the Iowa Lakes volleyball team has been on a ridiculous win streak in the month of September. With straight-set wins over Southeastern, Ridgewater, Waldorf JV, Jamestown JV and Central Lakes College this past week, the No. 12-ranked Lakers are now 12-0 since a Sept. 2 loss to Kirkwood and haven't suffered a single set loss in that stretch...

The Iowa Lakes men's and women's golf squads played host to the Iowa Lakes Fall Invitational held at Brooks National Golf Course Saturday and Sunday. After holding a nine-stroke after day one, the Laker men placed second behind DMACC by three strokes with a two-day total of 602, while the women placed fifth...

You win some, you tie some. In a three-game homestead against Northwestern JV, Dakota County and Iowa State University's Club Team, the Iowa Lakes women's soccer team went 1-1-1 on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Playing host to Northwestern on Wednesday, the Lakers had several chances to score in the opening half, but connected just once as Alex Mendez put a header in on a corner kick from Genesis Espinozo to take a 1-0 lead at the half...