Stories from Wednesday, March 29, 2017

New commercial and recreational turtle seasons and daily catch limits went into place on Wednesday, March 22. A harvest season and catch limits will help protect Iowa’s harvestable turtle breeding populations and the survival of these sensitive species...

The efforts of Iowans to improve Iowa’s lakes, rivers and streams have resulted in success stories across the state, and a new publication is showcasing some of the most impressive efforts over the last decade.  Working with groups statewide, including the Iowa DNR’s Watershed Improvement Program, Iowans are making changes on the land to improve our waters. ...

Hunters will be going through their equipment, patterning their guns and securing vacation days to pursue the elusive Eastern wild turkey as Iowa’s premier spring hunting season is almost here. Elusive maybe an understatement; of the estimated 50,000 turkey licenses that will be purchased, only about 20 percent of hunters will find success...

About this time every year I start thinking about new or existing open water fishing techniques that I want to learn more about. One of the real keys to fishing success is being versatile. There are lots of ways to catch fish. Some techniques are kind of seasonal, others work better for bigger fish, and some are more productive when the fish are real finicky or real active...

Although I get frustrated at the early spring temperature ups and downs, it’s still an awesome time to enjoy the great outdoors. This past Saturday I spent most of the day checking out fishing spots and just watching nature. Yes, it was cloudy and cold with temperatures in the upper 30s, and, yes, the northeast wind brought with it a pretty biting wind chill. Yet, it was an awesome day to be out and about. When you get a chance, I encourage all of you to take some time to do just that...

The afternoon sun burned as my brother and I crested yet another in a seemingly endless succession of ridge tops. We stopped for a moment. Our hats and shirts were damp with sweat after a few hours spent hiking under a canopy of ponderosa pines near the southern end of the Black Hills National Forest in western South Dakota...

Another Iowa Lakes Community College soccer standout has signed papers to advance to a university to continue his soccer career. Jack Stonehouse will join the University of Hawaii Hilo Vulcans as he pursues his bachelor’s degree. As a Laker, Stonehouse appeared in 18 games, starting in 16 of those. He registered three goals — one of which was a game-winner — and had six assists ending his sophomore season with 12 points...

Laker soccer standout Enoch Duval has committed to play this fall for Division II Tiffin University in Ohio. Duval appeared in 19 games for the Lakers registering eight starts, seven goals and five assists as a sophomore. Duval – a native of Marion – helped the Lakers reach the semi-finals of the regional tournament in the 2016 season...

Iowa Lakes Community College softball player, Leilani San Pedro, has been recognized as last week's ICCAC Athlete of the Week.  San Pedro, is a freshman outfielder from Redlands, California. She is the first Iowa Lakes softball player to receive this award this season. She was selected for this award based on games played during the week of March 13-19. San Pedro produced big numbers for the Lakers during their 8-2 week in Clermont, Florida...

Golf enthusiasts are invited to attend the Clay County Scholarship Golf Outing set for Friday, June 2, at the Spencer Golf & Country Club. Registration and meal will begin at 12 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. shotgun start. A short awards program will follow play...

The Iowa Lakes men's golf team began its spring season by posting a team score of 318 – 22 shots behind tournament leader Kansas City Kansas Community College with a 296 at Mozingo Lake Golf Course in Maryville, Missouri — through the first round of the Graceland Invitational on Friday, March 24...

The Iowa Lakes softball team swept doubleheaders against Northeast Community College and Southwestern Community College last week to improve to 17-4 overall and push its win streak to eight games. The Lakers swept Northeast Community College on Saturday, March 25. The Lakers won game one 8-5 and game two 23-9 in six innings. Shelby Davis came up big for the Lakers in game one, bringing in four of the Lakers' eight runs. The Lakers had 12 extra base hits, including six home runs in game two...

The Lakers hosted their first home games against the Yellow Jackets from Rochester Community and Technical College on Tuesday March 21. The Lakers were able to draw in a small crowd and win their first two home games of the year. It was pitching duel until the third inning of game one on Tuesday...

In its final tournament, the Spirit Lake seventh grade traveling team secured a championship in heated competition at the Worthington Wild Turkey Shoot Out March 18. Saturday’s first victory of the six-team tournament came against the home team of Worthington with Spirit Lake winning 33-20...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire girls track team ran well at the Chelsey Henkenius Relays held Monday, March 27 in Lake City. Toni Alesch earned a pair of first-place finishes, winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes in 13.24 and 27.28 seconds, respectively...

Okoboji boys and girls track athletes went west on Tuesday, March 21 to take part in the Dan Lennon B High School Track and Field Meet hosted by the University of South Dakota. The Pioneers competed against some of the best small school athletes in Iowa and South Dakota, and came away with several top-10 finishes...

Spirit Lake and Harris-Lake Park track athletes traveled north to Brookings, South Dakota Saturday to compete at the Ruth Marske Indoor High School Meet held at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on the South Dakota State University campus. The Spirit Lake boys came away with nine top-10 finishes on the day, and earned a sixth-place team finish, while the Spirit Lake Park girls placed 19th overall with eight top-10 finishes...

Brink brings golf ball recycling business to northwest Iowa

Through the combined efforts of East Okoboji Lakes Improvement Corporation, the city of Orleans, and Mike Hawkins of the DNR, a strategy for addressing curlyleaf pondweed will be implemented in two areas of East Lake in May of 2017. At their March board meeting, EOLIC finalized details for a contract with Mark Petersen of Underwater Solutions to remove curlyleaf pondweed from north of the Narrows to the State Fish Hatchery. ...