Stories from Wednesday, October 24, 2018

The Spencer girls swim team celebrated senior night Tuesday at the Spencer Family YMCA, hosting Storm Lake and Sioux City Metro in double dual action. The Tigers bested the Tornadoes once again this year by a score of 66-27 while falling to Metro 55-39...

The 12th-ranked Harris-Lake Park volleyball team advanced to the semifinals of the Class 1A Region 1 tournament with a 3-0 win over Clay Central-Everly on Monday. The Wolves downed the Mavericks 25-13, 25-20 and 25-12 in Lake Park. Taylor Meyer led the way with 16 kills. She also had six digs, three assists, a block and two aces...

A back-and-forth battle ended in an Indians' victory Tuesday night, as 14th-ranked Spirit Lake picked up a five-set victory over unranked Algona in the semifinal round of the Class 3A Region 1 tournament. The Indians fell behind 1-0 with a 25-18 loss in the opening set, but bounced back to win set two (27-25) and three (25-8) to take a 2-1 advantage. ...

Thousands of hunters in blaze orange will take to the fields when Iowa’s pheasant season opens Oct. 27. And with the second highest pheasant population in a decade, hunters can afford to be optimistic. “We have good pheasant hunting across the state where we have good habitat,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife research biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources...

Stan’s Bait and Tackle is planning its second annual Ice Season Kickoff on Saturday, Nov. 3 starting at 8 a.m. According to owner Travis Harman, “Last year went really well, and we are really excited for this year’s event. It’s designed to be more of a casual atmosphere. We want people to come in and view all of the ice fishing products, and just enjoy talking about the products and ice fishing.”...

It’s autumn throughout the Midwest. In some areas the trees are alive with color, in more northern reaches the trees are losing their leaves. A sweatshirt feels good in the mornings, we’re several games into the football season, and the early migrating birds have pretty much left. And, best of all if you like to catch fish, now is an outstanding time to do so...

Among the list of 2018 inductees into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame is longtime fishing educator, tournament angler and local fishing guide John Campbell. Campbell says with a smile, “It’s exciting and a great honor. I have always admired those who have made the Hall of Fame and enjoyed reading about their contributions to the fishing world.”...

The regular season came to a close Thursday night at the Algona Family YMCA for the Spencer Tigers as they bested the Algona Bulldogs in a dual 94-77. Spencer’s regional meet comes Saturday, Oct. 27, at Fort Dodge High School where the Tigers will compete for a chance to swim at the state meet to be held at the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA the following Saturday. The top 24 times from across the state in each event during regional meets will advance to state...

Okoboji's volleyball season came to a close Wednesday, as the Pioneers fell to third-ranked MOC-Floyd Valley in straight sets to open regional tournament play. The Dutch defeated Okoboji 25-9, 25-8 and 25-11 in Orange City. "We had a great effort all around, but unforced errors and not being able to put the ball down for kills is what hurt us," Okoboji coach Ashley Linquist said...

The 14th-ranked Indians took care of business Wednesday evening, as Spirit Lake defeated Estherville Lincoln Central in straight sets in the opening round of regional tournament play. The Indians defeated the Midgets 25-20, 25-13 and 25-22 to advance to the semifinals...

Okoboji, as it has all season, struggled to run the ball while falling behind by three scores to MOC-Floyd Valley Friday. With nothing to lose in the season finale, the Pioneers decided to abandon the run in the second half and pulled within 12, but the success was unsustainable, as the Dutch, buoyed by running back Gage Fisher, pulled ahead for a 55-21 victory...

Harris-Lake Park is looking to the future after a 58-28 loss to Kingsley-Pierson in Friday's season finale. The Wolves, who return all but one player next year, showed promise in the final game of the season after suffering four straight losses in the middle part of the year...

Spirit Lake junior Gavin Harms raced 67 yards for a score early Friday night, giving the Indians a lead that they would not relinquish in the regular season finale against Garner-Hayfield-Ventura. Harms finished with 134 yards on 11 carries. He also caught three passes for 57 yards and an additional score. The Indians walloped the Cardinals 50-20 in Spirit Lake...

Several area runners punched their tickets to Fort Dodge this past week, as three individuals and two teams will compete at the state cross country meet on Saturday. Spirit Lake's Kourtney Delperdang will cap her stellar career with a fourth straight trip to compete in Class 3A, while Okoboji freshmen Lexi Duffy and Leah Sorenson will compete for the first time at Lakeside Golf Course. They, along with the entire Okoboji boys team, will run in the Class 2A race...