Stories from Monday, February 1, 2016

Pay a visit to Mae Weaver's home and you're bound to hear a phone ring. "Some days I just wake up and have nothing to do," the 90-year-old said with a chuckle. "Someone calls and I am always going somewhere." Mae belongs to the Spirit Lake United Methodist Church where she is a full-time Sunday school teacher. She also picks up four ladies to attend church each week...

Since his 20s, John Stanley has been educating those around him to the best of his ability. That education has been in both a professional form as a teacher in the classroom, as well as a volunteer form as someone who takes his time to serve those he comes into contact with in northwest Iowa...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire wrestling team picked up a pair of dual wins in Estherville on Tuesday, Jan. 26, as the Titans defeated host Estherville Lincoln Central 55-22 and Manson-Northwest Webster 48-27. Against the Midgets, GT/RA got out to commanding lead as Devon Naig, Beau Schany, Tyler Hoffman, Blake Miller and Nate Harris picked up wins...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys and girls basketball teams split a Twin Lakes Conference doubleheader against Storm Lake St. Mary's on Tuesday, Jan. 26 in Graettinger. The boys earned a 79-44 win, while the girls lost a one-point contest to St. Mary's 34-33...

The Okoboji boys and girls basketball teams split a Siouxland Conference doubleheader with Rock Valley on Tuesday, Jan. 26. While the girls improved to 17-0 with a dominant 62-45 win, the boys lost their fifth straight game, falling 74-50 to the Rockets...

In a War Eagle Conference road trip, the Harris-Lake Park boys basketball team came up short against Remsen St. Mary's on Tuesday, Jan. 26, as the Wolves fell 73-64 to the Hawks in Remsen. H-LP led 20-12 after one quarter, but struggled to find the net in the second, as the Hawks gained a 29-28 lead heading into the half. ...

Coming off a Lakes Conference victory over Estherville Lincoln Central that snapped a three-game losing streak, the ninth-ranked Spirit Lake girls basketball team looked to be back on the winning track heading into a road trip to Sioux City on Thursday. However, the Indians struggled to score in a 41-34 loss to Sioux City West...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys and girls basketball teams split a Twin Lakes Conference doubleheader with Manson-Northwest Webster on Thursday. While the girls fell 65-29, the boys won their sixth straight with a 70-59 victory over the Cougars...

Iowan's are finally on the ice! It has been one of the warmest winters in quite some time leading to ponds and lakes remaining open through much of December. However ole man winter never gives up and has finally provided a sustained period of cold weather allowing anglers throughout the State to scratch that ice fishing itch...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced in early January a host of new efforts to help Iowa's farmers and livestock producers conserve water and soil resources and improve nutrient management practices on the state's 30 million acres of farmland. ...

Snow. When we think of the word we think of hard work, frigid temperatures, and dangerous driving conditions. Winter can be problematic for plant, animal, and human alike. However for some organisms, surviving winter temperatures actually depends on the presence and quality of snow cover. The subnivean zone is the area that lies beneath the snow, and within this hidden world there is a lot of activity going on...

I was in the garage messing with my ice-fishing gear the other day. I got to thinking about how ice fishing has changed so much in the past few years, which got me to thinking about some of the memorable ice-fishing trips I've been on. In the following, I'll share what made those trips memorable and what I learned from them...

Each February the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club (IGLFC) hosts a fishing seminar opportunity for both IGLFC members and non-members alike. This year's seminar will take place on Thursday, Feb. 11 at the Hap Ketelsen Community Center in Everly and will features Iowa native and accomplished tournament angler Tommy Skarlis as guest speaker...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys and girls basketball teams spit a doubleheader with Southeast Valley on Friday. While the girls fell 36-24, the boys won their seventh straight contest, topping the Jaguars 73-68 in Burnside. In the girls' contest, the Titans fell behind 15-5 after one and 21-9 at the half. The Jaguars tacked four more onto their lead with an 8-4 score in the third quarter before the Titans cut into the lead by outscoring their hosts 11-7 in the final stanza...

The fifth-ranked (2A) Okoboji girls basketball team improved its unbeaten streak to 18 games Friday with a 62-47 Siouxland Conference road win over Boyden-Hull. Twin towers Megan Peschong and Molly Mitchell combined for 40 points while leading their squad to a 14-point victory...

The Spirit Lake boys and girls basketball teams picked up a pair of victories in a Lakes Conference hoops doubleheader with Emmetsburg on Friday. The sixth-ranked (3A) boys defeated the E-Hawks 88-33 and the ninth-ranked (3A) girls won 55-47 in Spirit Lake...

Behind Dominick Titus' runner-up finish in the 120-pound bracket, the Okoboji wrestling team placed sixth overall at the Siouxland Conference tournament held Friday in Sioux Center. Titus went 1-1 on the day, beating Sibley-Ocheyedan's Zak Stanton by 9-4 decision in the semifinal before falling to MOC-Floyd Valley's Abraham Anzua, who pinned Titus in 3:47...

The Harris-Lake Park boys and girls basketball teams split a pair of games in a War Eagle Conference doubleheader with Akron-Westfield in Lake Park on Friday. While the girls came up short in a 40-34 loss, the boys held off a late run to win 59-53 -- snapping a two-game losing skid...

Spirit Lake Park wrapped up its conference season Friday, completing the team sweep with a Lakes Conference Tournament title in Spencer despite not being at full strength. The Indians clinched the conference dual team title with a victory over the Tigers a week earlier...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshrie wrestling team placed fourth at the Lynn Moody Invitational held Saturday in Pocahontas. Sophomore Kolton Roth led the way, earning a first-place finish in the 132-pound weight division. Roth, ranked sixth in the latest 1A rankings and a returning state qualifier, went 3-0 on the day with all three wins coming by fall. ...