Stories from Tuesday, May 1, 2018

The Okoboji girls golf team picked up its first victory of the season on Tuesday, April 24, edging MOC-Floyd Valley by one stroke at a Siouxland Conference meet hosted by Boyden-Hull The Pioneers carded a 192 to the Dutchmen's 193. "It was a very cold and wet night and I feel the girls played very well under those conditions," Okoboji coach Bill Alexander said. ...

The Spirit Lake Park girls track team competed Tuesday, April 24, at the OA-BCIG Falcon Girls Relays. The Indians placed third overall after earning 12 top-three placings, including four championships and four runner-up finishes. Kourtney Delperdang starred once again on Tuesday night. ...

The Spirit Lake boys track team competed at a meet hosted by Emmetsburg on Tuesday, April 24. The Indians, coming off of a first-place finish at the Okoboji Relays on Monday, picked up 10 top-three placings on the night, including three championships and five runner-up finishes...

The Spirit Lake boys golf team fell three strokes short in a home dual with Estherville Lincoln Central on Tuesday, April 24, but the Indians impressed head coach Bob Kirchner in their second meet of the season. I was very pleased with the golf team last night," Kirchner said. "Only the second night out and we took 10 shots off our team score from Monday's meet. ...

The Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji boys soccer team fell just short in a 3-2 road loss to Unity Christian Tuesday, April 24, in Orange City. It was the Indians' second straight one-goal loss to start the season after losing 2-1 to MOC-Floyd Valley on Monday...

The Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji girls soccer team picked up a second straight win on Tuesday , April 24, to move to 2-2 on the season. The Indians defeated Unity Christian 3-2 at home. Hannah Poolman (pictured) scored two goals for the Indians. Sophomore keeper Jordyn Hamm made five saves on the night. Additional information was not made available. (Photo by Matt Heinrichs)...

Harris-Lake Park boys and girls golf squads hit the links Thursday afternoon at a meet hosted by Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. The Harris-Lake Park boys carded a 172 to edge West Sioux (185) and HMS (192), while the girls carded a 218 to top HMS (236), but fell 13 strokes shy of West Sioux (205)...

The Okoboji boys track team ended a winless streak that lasted more than 5 years, according to coach Brad Peter, on Thursday. The Pioneer totaled 150 points to win the John Larson Relays hosted by North Union in Armstrong. "It was a total team effort," Peter said. ...

Okoboji boys and girls golf squads hit the road Thursday to compete in a pair of Siouxland Conference meets. The Pioneer boys placed fourth at Rock Valley and the girls placed second at Sheldon. "The kids fought through the wind and we had our best finish of the season, losing the tiebreaker for third to Sioux Center," Okoboji boys coach Jeremy Wollenburg said. "I’m really happy with how our guys are progressing this year."...

The Spirit Lake boys golf team hosted Spencer, Estherville Lincoln Central and Le Mars at a Lakes Conference quad Thursday at Brooks Golf Club. The Indians carded a combined round of 182 to place third. Spencer won with a 171. The Midgets placed second with a 178. The Bulldogs carded a 223 to place fourth...

The Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji boys soccer team dropped a 1-0 road loss to Spencer on Thursday. The two squads remained scoreless for most of the contest, but the Tigers snuck a shot past SLP-O keeper Greg Will with less than 7 minutes remaining to earn the victory...

Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji's Emily Alger battles a Spencer player for the ball in Spirit Lake on Thursday. The SLP-O girls dropped a 7-0 loss to the Tigers. Additional information was not made available. (Photo by Matt Heinrichs)

The Harris-Lake Park boys track team competed at a meet hosted by Le Mars on Friday. The Wolves placed fifth while earning six top-three placings, including two championships and one runner-up finish. Edgar Tapia earned both of the Wolves championships. He won the 400-meter dash in 53.21 seconds, and the 400-meter hurdles in 60.24 seconds...

A short-handed Spirit Lake Park girls track team ran well at the Ross Samuelson Co-Ed Track Meet hosted by South Central Calhoun on Friday in Lake City. The Indians scored 89 total points to place fourth. "I thought all of our girls did a great job and we were very competitive considering we were very short handed with four of our athletes gone," Spirit Lake Park coach Tim Heinitz said. ...

Neither the Iowa Great Lakes Chamber or the Department of Natural Resources was convinced the region's annual fishing tournament would be put on ice this weekend. Chamber Events Coordinator Kara Matheson said organizers expected the recent warm weather would take care of the lakes' frosted coverings and allow anglers to let out their line in search of the 10 specially tagged walleye — not to mention the prizes that accompany them — during the 36th Annual Walleye Weekend...

Spirit Lake boys and girls golfers hit the road Friday, as the boys competed at a triangular hosted by Sheldon, while Marisa Weeks and Jordyn Tepfer represented the Spirit Lake girls squad in Spencer. Weeks carded a 52 and Tepfer carded a 58 at Spencer...

Spirit Lake-Okoboji picked up a key victory Friday afternoon, downing Lakes Conference rival Le Mars 9-0. While the score looks lopsided, SL-O coach Bob O'Hara said the victory came down to several close victories. "Both teams went into the meet shorthanded, as Le Mars was missing their No. ...

One match separated Spirit Lake-Okoboji and Le Mars on Friday afternoon at Speier Park. Unfortunately, it was host SL-O who came up just short in a 5-4 loss to the Bulldogs. "After we played a tight meet Tuesday, I believed it could be even tighter this time, and it was," SL-O coach Dan Taylor said. ...

Aug. 13, 1994 — April 19, 2018 A funeral service for Casey Spaeth, age 23, of Spirit Lake, was held Saturday, April 28, 2018, at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Burial was at Lakeview Gardens Cemetery. The family requests that memorials be given to the Discovery House in Spirit Lake...

April 6, 1938 — April 27, 2018 Charles Leroy Thoreson, 80, of Bradenton, Florida, formerly of Spencer and Spirit Lake passed away on Friday April 27, 2018 in Spirit Lake surrounded by his family. Chuck, the son of Carl and Velma Thoreson, was born April 6, 1938, in Spencer. It was there he received his education...

The Okoboji boys and girls track teams competed at the Nighthawk Relays hosted by Boyden-Hull/Rock Vally on Friday. The boys scored 56 points to place fifth overall. The girls totaled 26 points to place sixth. "The boys gave everything they had Friday night," Okoboji boys coach Brad Peter said. "It was our third meet of the week and the fourth in eight days, so there was no doubt we were running on fatigued legs and tired minds. ...

Feb. 24, 1924 —April 20, 2018 Services for Howard Wilson, 94, of Milford were held Tuesday, April 24, 2018, at the Union Memorial Church in Milford. Burial was at the Milford Cemetery with military rites by the Milford American Legion Post 384. Howard P. ...

March 7, 1941 — April 27, 2018 Roberta "Bobbi" Varisco, 77, of West Des Moines, passed away peacefully on April 27, 2018. She was born on March 7, 1941 to Howard and Bernice (McClelland) Spring. A visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, at Brooks Funeral Care, 7975 University Boulevard in Clive. Funeral service will b 1 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at Merle Hay Funeral Home 4400 Merle Hay Road. Burial will be at 2 p.m. Friday, May 4 at Lakeview Cemetery in Spirit Lake...

Harris-Lake Park boys and girls golf squads hit the road Friday to take on War Eagle Conference foe Akron-Westfield. The Wolves boys fell three strokes short of the Westerners' pace, falling 185-188. The girls fell 191-226. "The boys had a difficult day today," Harris-Lake Park boys coach Tyler Vaudt said. "The course conditions were difficult but the missed short putts under 5 feet were the difference between us and Akron. It’s the first time we had more three-putts than one-putts this season."...

Buena Vista University (BVU) Theatre presented Michael Frayn's "Noises Off" April 26-28 in Anderson Auditorium on the BVU campus. The closing night of the show followed BVU's annual Student Recognition Dinner. "Noises Off" is a British farce about putting on a farce. ...

The Spirit Lake-Okoboji boys tennis team placed third overall at the Lakes Conference Tournament played Saturday in Spencer. Kyler Olsen earned First Team All-Lakes Conference honors after placing third in the No. 1 singles bracket. Olsen went 3-2 on the day, earning wins over Cherokee, Storm Lake and Estherville Lincoln Central, and losing close sets to Spencer and Le Mars...

Iowa Lakes Community College Foundation is retiring the Clay County Golf Event, but everyone is invited to join Iowa Lakes in the comfort of their home as foundation members raise money to assist Clay County students as they continue their education at any Iowa Lakes campus...

Students who want to get ahead – or catch up – on classes with their four-year or community college will be interested in classes planned for this summer at Iowa Lakes Community College. A variety of transferable course work is available with one class beginning as early as May 11, and additional classes starting in mid-May just after many students return home for the summer...

An open meeting of the Board of Trustees for the Milford Memorial Library will be at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, in the community room. The agenda will be posted on MML's website and bulletin board at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. We welcome you to come and be a part of making MML a great library...

As the nation celebrated National Park Week April 21-29, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke recently announced that visitor spending in communities near national parks in 2017 resulted in a $35.8 billion benefit to the nation’s economy--a nearly $1 billion increase from 2016-- and supported 306,000 jobs...

Commencement exercises at Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon will be held on Friday, May 11. The associate degree nursing pinning ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. in the Northwest Iowa Lifelong Learning and Recreation Center. The student keynote speaker is Misty May-Wilcox of Spencer an associate degree nursing graduate. 
The faculty speaker is Nancy Popkes...

Charlotte Endorf, a lifelong Nebraskan, is a member of Toastmasters International earning the Distinguished Toastmaster award twice. She specializes in speaking to elementary schools, women's groups, museums, town festivals, senior centers and libraries throughout Nebraska bringing characters in her books to life accurately...

Just in time for spring, Congress passed and the President signed the Omnibus Spending Bill. In it, there were some very positive outcomes from a wildlife and conservation perspective – mainly in that United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation funding was not cut, as has been the case the last several years...

The Iowa Smokefree Air Act will turn 10 years old on July 1 and the members of the Iowa Department of Public Health's (IDPH) Iowa Students for Tobacco Education and Prevention (ISTEP) organization marked the milestone occasion at their annual summit. Each year, students in grades 7-12 statewide come together with the mission of changing the general social attitude toward tobacco use and raising awareness of the dangers of tobacco through education...

Iowa law prohibits mowing roadside ditches each year between March 15 and July 15, to protect ground-nesting birds and to prevent nest destruction. Roadside ditches, while not optimal habitat, can be the only grassy habitat available in certain areas of the state for ground nesting birds. ...

Optique of Spirit Lake has become the northwest Iowa retailer for EnChroma glasses, which are designed to help people who suffer from color deficiency (color blindness). The glasses enhance the vibrancy and saturation of certain colors and improve color discrimination...

It's a new fishing season! After a spring unlike any other in memory, we’re finally getting the lawn mowers ready for action. That’s the down-side: The up-side is that the fish are biting, and the bite is just going to get better. Following are some things that you can do to make your fishing season even better this year...

As I entered the Spirit Lake Hatchery last Friday, April 27, I saw DNR biologists and technicians busily collecting walleye eggs from big female walleyes. “How can that be,” I asked myself, “with the lakes still mostly ice covered. Where are they getting these fish?”...

The Harris-Lake Park boys golf team earned a War Eagle Conference road win Monday, topping Trinity Christian 193-206 in Hull. The Wolves were led by meet medalist Adrian Martin's round of 45. Teammate Jaxson Heikens carded a 55 to earn runner-up medalist honors. Lucas Gunderson carded a 49 to place fourth. Bret Sohn rounded out the Wolves' scoring with a 53. Non-counting rounds came from Bryce Perkins (55) and Isaac Ihnen (56)...

Northwest Iowa RSVP engages people 55 and older with meaningful community involvement. Iowa Lakes Community College has been the local sponsor for this federally funded, Senior Corps program since 1977, and RSVP has an office staffed by a county coordinator on each of the five Iowa Lakes campuses...

April 23-30 was World Immunization Week, sponsored by the World Health Organization to highlight the collective action needed to ensure that every person is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. Since 1988, Rotary International has partnered in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, involving WHO, the U.S. ...

Shelia Haagerty joins the professional stylists at Salon of Okoboji. Shelia has 10 years of experience in cosmetology and provides haircuts for the entire family, waxing, manicures and pedicures. She also specializes in color, highlights and lowlights. She is personable, upbeat and looks forward to making you look good...

Good Samaritan Society Home Care, Heritage Landing Senior Living Apartments and Pastor Perry Aalgaard will be hosting a National Day of Prayer — Balloon Ceremony from 2-3 p.m. Thursday, May 3. People of all faiths are welcome to join Heritage Landing — 1305 Jeppeson Rd. in Milford for a devotion and communion with Rev. Aalgaard from the First Lutheran Church...

The Okoboji boys track team placed sixth at the Sibley-Ocheydan Invitational held Monday in Sibley. The Pioneers scored 53 total points on the night, earning four top-three finishes, including two championships. "I thought our kids competed hard in very difficult, windy conditions against some really tough competition," Okoboji boys coach Brad Peter said. "The Siouxland is very tough once again, and it seemed that all the top teams converged on Sibley Monday night."...

It's no secret that opioid abuse has become a major problem in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that two-thirds of drug overdose deaths between 2015 and 2016 were opioid-involved overdoses. Here in Iowa, the state's Department of Public Health reports that more than 200 Iowans died from opioid misuse in 2017. ...

Winds ripped across the fairways and greens in Sheldon on Monday, as the Okoboji boys golf squad placed fifth at a meet hosted by the Orabs. "Yet again, the spring weather wasn’t kind to us," Okoboji coach Jeremy Wollenburg said. "The kids battled 30-mph winds. There were some big numbers out there today, and our kids took their fair share, but they battled back and made the most of the day."...

Earlier this week, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order to create a Children's System State Board. This Children's Board will serve as the single point of responsibility in the development and implementation of a Children's Mental Health System in Iowa...

Well I, for one, have enjoyed the spring weather this week. A week without snow or wintery weather from the winter that won't quit is certainly welcome. As we look toward closing this year's legislative session, we can say that we have had a productive year. We were able to pass many bi-partisan bills that were signed into law by Governor Reynolds. Bills of note include a mental health overhaul, school safety measures, curbing opioid abuse and addiction, water quality, pesticides in the lake, additional school funding and dollars for transportation cost relief, job training and workforce development initiatives and others. ...

The Iowa Constitution says it perfectly: "All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people, and they have the right at all times, to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it."...

Okoboji and Spirit Lake girls golfers travelled to Sibley on Monday to battle several area schools at a meet hosted by Sibley-Ocheyedan. The Pioneers won the tournament, carding a 194 to edge runner-up Unity Christian by three strokes. "The girls played very well on a very windy and hard course, and with some good teams," Okoboji coach Bill Alexander said...

In a recent Letter to the Editor titled "Let's Kill All The Lawyers" Robert Sneitzer agonized over the negative portions of President Trump's life. There are so many untruths and missing facts in his letter it is not worth the time to try and correct them. ...

After nine holes Monday night, the Spirit Lake boys golf team finished in a tie with Storm Lake for top honors at a Lakes Conference triangular at Brooks Golf Club. The Indians and Tornadoes carded matching rounds of 178 to edge Le Mars (189). Spirit Lake had the top two individual scores of the meet, as freshmen Jackson Laven and Mason Weeks carded rounds of 42. Weeks was named the meet medalist and Laven was runner-up medalist...

The Spirit Lake boys track team earned a runner-up finish at the Tornado Relays held Monday in Storm Lake. The Indians totaled 107 points on the night, finishing 42 points shy of champion and Lakes Conference title contender Le Mars. "Tonight proved to be an exciting and hard fought meet by our boys who battled both a strong head wind and strong competition, while managing improve on many PRs," Spirit Lake coach Brad Travis said. "With this the final meet before the Lakes Conference meet, we are now looking towards to cutting loose and letting it all fly. Things are looking to be very close with Le Mars, so we will see soon.". ...

The Harris-Lake Park boys track team ran at the War Eagle Conference track meet Monday in Hawarden. Edgar Tapia earned the highest individual finish for the Wolves, placing second in the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles in 52.42 and 58.69 seconds, respectively...

The Spirit Lake-Okoboji girls tennis team earned a 9-0 road sweep of Cherokee on Monday. In singles, SL-O's Casie Barba defeated Courtney Aden (10-0); Lauren Goth defeated Isabel Gebers (10-3); Izzy Backhaus defeated Megan Kellen (10-2); Marta Garcya defeated Alisanne Struck (10-0); Emily Samuelson defeated Kalina Schubert (10-2); and Grace Peterson defeated Natalie Peterson (10-0)...

The Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji boys and girls soccer teams swept Unity Christian on Monday night. The boys earned a 3-1 win over the Knights at home, while the girls earned 2-1 overtime victory in Orange City. The SLP-O boys scored all three of their goals in the first 9 minutes of the contest, as Gavin Harms scored twice and Alex Gillespie put one in the back of the net to put the Indians on top early...

Iowa Films Night is the first Thursday night of each month at the Pearson Lakes Art Center and at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 3, the featured movies are "Pierce Arrow P.I." and "River Riders." Pierce Arrow P.I. puts producer-actor Gary Ewing of Mason City at the microphone trying to solve a mystery with several incept performers in this radio show comedy. The second film, "River Riders," is a short documentary by Gregory W. Schmidt with original music by Iowa artist/musician, Paul Micich...

The planning for the area's favorite winter event must already begin. The Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber is looking ahead to the 39th Annual University of Okoboji Winter Games. The Winter Games Committee is seeking logo designs for this year’s games scheduled for Jan. 24-27, 2019. The logo will be used on all Winter Games merchandise as well as print advertising, entry forms, social media, mailings and website promotion...

Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach invites area residents, families, bikers and local food enthusiasts to register and participate in the First Annual Okoboji Bike-n-Bite from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 9. Bike-n-Bite is a community bike event that celebrates healthy living and local food in and around Okoboji. The event will start and end at the Lakes Area Farmers Market at the Dickinson County Fairgrounds in Spirit Lake...

Okoboji supporters who couldn't make the trip down to Ames for the Iowa Jazz Championships will have another chance to hear the top Class 2A jazz band in the state. The Okoboji jazz band will have a casual performance from 7-8:30 p.m. Friday, May 4, at Emerald Hills Golf Club in Arnolds Park...

Lakes Regional Healthcare’s (LRH) Sleep Medicine program recently received accreditation by Accreditation Commission for Health Care for compliance with a comprehensive set of standards. Sleep studies are evaluations of sleep patterns to determine if you're breathing effectively and getting to the REM stage of sleep. ...

The public is invited to a concert featuring the Quebe Sisters at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at the Pearson Lakes Art Center; Lauridsen Performing Arts Theatre. The Quebe Sisters started fiddling in their pre-teens. Growing up in Burleson, Texas, a southern suburb of Fort Worth, Hulda, Sophia and Grace were ages 7, 10 and 12 in 1998 when they attended their first local fiddle competition. ...

State Parks Preparing for Camping Season As Iowans anticipate warmer temperatures, state park staff members are getting ready for the start of the 2018 camping season. Iowa State Parks will officially launch the camping season during the first weekend in May with its annual Camping Kick-Off Celebration...

Bright yellow, striped black and white, patches of blue — the vibrant colors and designs of warblers excite birders who get the treat of seeing them migrate through Iowa. If you would like to check some birds off of your life birding list, join Dickinson County Conservation as it celebrates Wings and Wetlands Weekend with an annual Warbler Walk 8 a.m. Saturday, May 12...

Two Cuban nationals who traveled across 16 Iowa counties and used at least 54 stolen identities and credit card numbers were sentenced to federal prison this week. Pedro Alvarez Rodriguez, age 36, and Dunieski Santana Moreno, age 27, residents of Florida, were both sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. ...

Photographer Tom Gustafson of Okoboji will be featured on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Outdoors” series at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, and at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 5. This episode also features the Waterhawks Ski Team in Waterloo and the Trout in the Classroom program in Charles City...

An Democratic Iowa House candidate will seek support in Wahpeton and summer Republican events are beginning to take shape. A 5 de Mayo fundraiser for Karen Larson will take place at 6 p.m. Saturday for the Iowa House District 1 candidate. The public is welcome to invite friends and family...

Jereca Schroder, age 26, of Fostoria was taken into custody after failing to appear for plea sentencing regarding a third-degree burglary charge. The Clay County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for her arrest. A Hartley Police officer later stopped Schroder's vehicle and took her into custody. She was transferred to Clay County at 7:36 p.m. Sunday, April 29, and booked into he Clay County Jail without incident. She was held to appear before a magistrate. Bond was set at $5,000...

Iowans working together in their communities and backyards to improve soil and water quality — many with the help of DNR and Iowa Department of Agriculture assistance and funding. The groups are marking Soil and Water Conservation week April 29-May 5 to celebrate achievements and inspire others to begin work on their own land...

A former federal firearms licensee who unlawfully discharged a loaded firearm while under the influence of eight different controlled substances was sentenced April 25 to more than three years in federal prison. Shane Zellaha of Spencer, received the prison term after an Aug. 30 guilty plea to one count of being an unlawful user of controlled substances in possession of a firearm...

The county has officially adopted a resolution regarding fireworks displays in its unincorporated areas. Assistant Dickinson County Lonnie Saunders said the resolution essentially integrates the state fireworks laws and definitions into the county laws. The resolution also provides for special permitting outside the state's specified dates. Saunders indicated the resolution could also be helpful in enforcing the law...

Spirit Lake Police offices have been moving, just not very far. The police station has been in the process of a remodeling and expansion project. Most notably, the station — a former Alliant Energy office — has moved its main entrance from the alley between Ithaca and Hill Avenue to Ithaca's street side. ...

The Spirit Lake boys golf team took top honors at the Okoboji Invitational this past weekend, carding a 344 to win by 11 strokes at Emerald Hills. Boyden-Hull (355) followed in second place. Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire (358) placed third. Host Okoboji (362) placed fourth...

Spirit Lake-Okoboji girls coach Bob O'Hara called his team's route to a runner-up finish at the Lakes Conference Tournament this past weekend a "tale of two teams." "The top of our lineup played great and the bottom just seemed flat and unable to win key matches that they should have won," O'Hara said. "On the positive side, we had three players earn First Team All-Lakes Conference and [one] earn Honorable Mention All-Lakes Conference."...

The Spirit Lake-Okoboji boys tennis team picked up a 9-0 home sweep of Cherokee on Monday night at Speier Park. It was the second meeting of the season for the two squads. SL-O earned a 6-3 road win earlier in the season. "I thought the guys played extremely well tonight," SL-O coach Dan Taylor said. ...

Harris-Lake Park boys and girls golf squads split a War Eagle Conference road dual with South O'Brien on Tuesday. The Wolves boys topped the Wolverines 163-201, and the girls fell 217-240 in Primghar. Harris-Lake Park boys coach Tyler Vaudt said the victory was exactly what his team needed as the Wolves head into the conference tournament trailing only Unity Christian in the dual meet standings...

The Spirit Lake-Okoboji boys tennis team picked up a 7-1 road win over Estherville Lincoln Central on Tuesday. SL-O won five singles matches and two doubles matches on a night where thunderstorms rolled through northwest Iowa. "I was just glad to get this meet in today," SL-O coach Dan Taylor said. ...

The Spirit Lake-Okoboji girls tennis team, coming off of a second-place showing at the Lakes Conference tournament and a 9-0 win over Cherokee, earned a 7-2 home win over Estherville Lincoln Central on Tuesday. "Tonight I saw improvement from the bottom of our lineup," SL-O coach Bob O'Hara said. ...

The Spirit Lake girls golf team earned a decisive home win over Lakes Conference rival Estherville Lincoln Central on Tuesday. The Indians carded a 234 to defeat the Midgets by 34 strokes at Okoboji View. "Very proud of the varsity and junior varsity teams tonight," Spirit Lake coach Lucas Doxtad said. ...

The Spirit Lake boys golf team defeated Estherville Lincoln Central by four strokes at home Tuesday. The Indians carded a 160. The Midgets carded a 164. "This was a terrific meet for Spirit Lake tonight," Spirit Lake coach Bob Kirchner said. "It was the lowest score our team has recorded in a few years. Also, it was the personal best scores form Jackson (Laven), Cameron (Dau), and Ryer (Donkersloot) this year. It's great to have all these kids come together in our last home meet of the year. ...

The Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji boys soccer team dropped a 2-0 home contest to Spencer on Tuesday night. Additional information was not made available in time for print. (Photo by Matt Heinrichs)

Spirit Lake teammates Joe Stein and Mason McCaffery were the lone representatives of Dickinson County at this year's Drake Relays, but both runners did well despite the weather-shortened season in northwest Iowa. "We are so proud of our boys who qualified for the Drake Relays this year," Spirit Lake coach Brad Travis said. ...

Many motorcycle owners love the roar of an engine as their proverbial hog springs to life, but most want a hand on the bike when it happens. Reports of motorcycles starting up without a rider have resulted in a recall of some Indian Motorcycles. A statement from the company said electrical components in a number of 2018 models may develop corrosion over time, potentially resulting in spontaneous ignition under certain circumstances...

Behind the door of room 312 in Spirit Lake High School, there are taxidermy animals, there are tanks for fish and there are text books. The lessons being learned are a little more difficult to point to, yet Spirit Lake science teacher Kathy Kleen has been recognized by the state for her efforts in educating young minds for 33 years...