Stories from Wednesday, August 22, 2018

The Sunken Grove and Leo Shimon Marsh Wetland Complex becomes Grand Central Station twice a year for migrating ducks, geese, pelicans and shorebirds that stop to rest and refuel before resuming their journey. The nearly 1,300 acres of wetlands, marshes, prairies and timber is surrounded by some of the most productive farmland in the world in southwest Pocahontas County...

Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult — visitors to the Dickinson County Nature Center have loved seeing the monarch butterfly’s life cycle in person inside Pollinator Paradise this year. The monarch enclosure inside the pollinator-themed area of the Okoboji nature center is filled with more than 100 monarchs in different life stages. ...

If an angler wants to catch more fish, there are a few things that need to be taken into consideration. One really important factor, and one that is becoming more and more prevalent is water clarity. The water in many areas is becoming clearer than it was ten years ago, and that clearer water is having an impact on fish catching...

What a crazy spring and summer we have had. It seems like just yesterday that we were worried if the ice would go off for walleye opener! Then, of course, much of our summer was filled with river and lake flooding issues from the heavy rains. Even now in August, when we usually don’t get a lot of rain, we have gotten two- and three-inch rains and more!...

Iowa Lakes women's basketball player Lemia Ntor-Ue has committed to continuing her academic and athletic career at the University of Texas Permian Basin, a Division II institution, located in Odessa, Texas. Ntor-Ue graduated from Iowa Lakes Community College in May 2018...

Iowa Lakes Community College softball coach Katie Larson announced the signing of Taylor Allen to the 2018-2019 recruiting class. Taylor is the daughter of Curt and Shelley Allen and played for the Neepawa Area Collegiate Tigers out of Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada...

Editor's Note: This is the first installment of a weekly series previewing prep football in Dickinson County. The rankings are according to the Des Moines Register's preseason poll and last year's records are included in the headings. There are plenty of unknowns entering the 2018 football season...