Stories from Tuesday, November 27, 2018

To help farmers still working to bring in this year's harvest, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation extending the temporary weight-limit exemption for trucks operating on Iowa roads. The proclamation was effective until Nov. 27. The proclamation specifically increased the weight allowable for shipment of corn, soybeans, hay, straw and stover by 12.5 percent per axle (up to a maximum of 90,000 pounds) without the need for an oversize/overweight permit...

As the holidays approach and donation requests rise, you may come across more naughty than nice. Scammers will take advantage of your generosity all year long, but especially during the holidays. But first, remember: Just because there are fraudsters who prey on donors, doesn’t mean you should stop giving. There are great charities out there that help change lives. Please keep giving, but do your research first...

  A: Consider the fact that one in eight females born today in the United States will receive a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetimes. That effectively means this disease will impact every single American, in every neighborhood and every household in this country. The National Cancer Institute estimates about 266,120 new cases of invasive female breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2018 and 40,920 women will die from breast cancer by the end of the year...

Nathan Kollasch with Milford Boy Scout Troop #170 spent Saturday, Nov. 10, installing two new trail kiosks at Kenue Park and the Nature Trails trailhead. The project is part of the work he is doing to earn his Eagle Scout Rank. Several other scouts from the Milford troop also helped Nathan get the kiosks placed. ...

In not quite two years, public statements checked by fact checkers found over 6,000 untruths, i.e. lies. Unfortunately, the person telling the lies and holding the record is the President of the United States. How are U.S. citizens to know where our president is leading us? How can international leaders know what the positions of the United States are when they cannot believe what the president says?...

May 23, 1936 — Nov. 22, 2018 A funeral service for Charlene Hedquist, age 82, of Lake Park, was held Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, at First Presbyterian Church in Lake Park. Burial was at Silver Lake Cemetery. Charlene Mary Hedquist, the daughter of Chester and Elise (Wulf) Perry, was born May 23, 1936, in Hartley...

Oct. 20, 1950 — Nov. 23, 2018 A memorial service for Jim Watt, 68, of Milford was held Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Milford. James (Jim) Rex Watt was born on Oct. 20, 1950, in Mason City. He was the youngest son of Robert and Irene Korth Watt, joining older siblings Norene and Steve. ...

July 3, 1935 — Nov. 16, 2018 A funeral service for Marjorie Wood, 83 of Spirit Lake was held Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018, at the Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Marjorie Ethel Wood, the daughter of Sophia and Emil Nachtigal, was born July 3, 1935, in Terril. The family later moved to Spirit Lake, where she graduated from Spirit Lake High School...

A wind turbine specialist from Germany will soon make a visit to Iowa Lakes Community College, according to Delaine Hiney, executive director of facilities management. Hiney also told members of the Iowa Lakes Board of Trustees that the college's Chava turbine is working correctly and is currently in motion. ...

Spirit Lake High School Key Club members Cameron Quance, Emery Groen, Mikia Kriener, Elsie Parriott, Molly Van Dyke, Emily Werner and Tori Zemler filled 40  backpacks for the Spirit Lake backpack program. (Photo submitted)

Spirit Lake High School Key Club leadership team members raised funds through the club's root beer float sales and recently presented a check to Jodi Lange for the March of Dimes. (Photo submitted)

The fourth-grade K-Kids from Spirit Lake Elementary packaged the basics for 30 Thanksgiving dinners and delivered them to the Upper Des Moines Opportunity food pantry on Tuesday, Nov. 20. The project was made possible with the K-Kids working in conjunction with the Spirit Lake Noon Kiwanis club. ...

We have a big week at the library this week. Milford’s Holiday Fantasy is happening this coming weekend, and we have a lot of great events planned. Join us on from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, for the Festival of Trees featuring live music from Allison Antoine. ...

Did you know that reading to a child is one of the most powerful ways to boost his or her brainpower? The simple and enjoyable act of sharing books helps a child learn pre-reading skills such as understanding the sounds letters make, developing a bigger vocabulary and building background knowledge — all important skills that help prepare a child for learning to read and entering kindergarten...

From 2014-2017, there was a 38 percent increase in methamphetamine treatment admissions in Iowa. Similarly, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reports there was an eight-fold increase in Iowa deaths related to amphetamines, which includes methamphetamine...

The Graduate School of Banking at Colorado (GSBC) is pleased to announce that Joe Conover, bank strategies officer, executive vice president at Northwest Bank in Arnolds Park has graduated from the Executive Development Institute for Community Bankers, a rigorous 19-month leadership development program for up-and-coming executive officers of community banks...

The 39th Annual University of Okoboji Winter Games presented by GrapeTree Medical Staffing is just around the corner! Mark your calendars for Jan. 24-27, 2019. The 39th Annual University of Okoboji Winter Games Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4, in the Hedburg Theatre located in the Maritime Museum in Arnolds Park...

The blizzard that stretched across the southern third and parts of eastern Iowa over the Thanksgiving weekend was a friendly reminder of winter driving and Iowa weather, according to the Iowa State Patrol. State Troopers covered 93 crashes and assisted 131 motorists in an 18-hour period beginning at 6 a.m. Sunday...

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 and places a significant focus on community-based prevention, requiring nonprofit hospitals such as Lakes Regional Healthcare (LRH) to show that they understand and engage with their communities to identify its most pressing needs...

A Fostoria man was booked into the Clay County Jail Saturday after a brief chase. A deputy saw 56-year-old Daniel Wilson walking near a road in Fostoria. The deputy confirmed valid warrants were issued for Wilson, regarding charges of third-degree theft, two counts of identity theft under $1,000, two counts of forgery and two counts of failure to appear. ...

The Iowa Great Lakes Association and Tom Clary has engaged hydrologist Dr. Larry Weber of the University of Iowa Hydroscience and Engineering Department and his associates Dr. Marcela Politano and Dr. Nate Young to review the water levels in the Iowa Great Lakes and surrounding watershed. The IGL Association has asked Dr. Miller to make recommendations on the outflow of water to prevent future flooding...

Youth in Philanthropy teaches the next generation about the importance of community giving. At its November meeting, this group of young leaders each set an individual fundraising goal. Through small group interaction, they reached consensus for a total team fundraising goal of $45,000 to make a lasting positive impact with 2018 YIP Grants...

Emergency personnel from Spirit Lake to Milford were called Nov. 20 for a report of an accident involving several vehicles near the intersection of Highways 71 and 86. A second call for extrication equipment went out several minutes later. Traffic was regulated in several directions near the area known as Boji Junction that evening, as crews cleared the vehicles and debris. ...

Spirit Lake Fire Chief Patrick Daly said Mother Nature lent a hand in keeping a small fire near the north shore of Big Spirit Lake from becoming an explosive disaster. The Spirit Lake Fire Department was paged at approximately 10:30 a.m. Monday morning, after reports were received of a shed on fire near a propane tank in the McClelland's Beach area — just inside the Iowa-Minnesota border...

Though the lobby of the new Spirit Lake Veterans Affairs Clinic was standing room only for its mid-October ribbon cutting, several northwest Iowa legislators were unable to attend. U.S. Rep. Steve King circled back to the VA facility last week to tour the building and speak with the clinic staff...

Ask Emil Richter how long he's been putting up his temporary signs in Milford and his answer is: "When did they invent paint?" "It's been over 25 years," is his straight answer — but he said that seven years ago, too. So, it's safer to guess the Milford volunteer and businessman has braved the heat, the cold, the rain and the dark for at least three decades...

The Iowa Lakes women’s basketball team picked up a 71-61 road win over Minnesota West Saturday to move to 7-1 on the season. The Lakers were led by freshman Breanna Wendland’s 23 points. Freshman Samantha Hagedorn tallied 17 points, freshman Shareece Smith added 13 points and freshman Safiyer Coleman tacked on 11...

The Iowa Lakes men’s basketball team returned from Thanksgiving break to face the Minnesota West Bluejays in Worthington Saturday. The Lakers advanced to 6-1 on the season with a 93-89 victory over the Bluejays. The Lakers trailed in the first half but were able to rally back to take the lead 47-44 to finish the half. Lamontae Lewis and Equan Ards finished the first half with 10 and 13 points respectively...

The Harris-Lake Park girls basketball team dropped its season-opener to former Cornbelt Conference rival Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire. The Wolves fell 50-41 to the Titans at home on Tuesday, Nov. 20. Harris-Lake Park fell behind 10-7 after one quarter of play, but outscored GT/RA 15-9 in the second quarter to take a 22-19 halftime lead...

Nearly four weeks into the pheasant season and hunters are finding success similar to the August roadside survey forecast – good hunting in central and north central Iowa; spotty hunting in southern Iowa. Southern Iowa success – or lack thereof – has likely been influenced by the amount of corn still in the field. ...

Deer hunters will soon be trading in their bows for shotguns and body harnesses for blaze orange vests as the calendar turns to December and the first of Iowa’s three main gun seasons begin.  And based on reports, it looks like hunting will be good, if the weather cooperates...

Ice fishing fever — it’s all around. Area bait shops have had their ice fishing open houses, we’ve had Black Friday specials and Mother Nature has teased us with temperatures that put a skim of ice on the shallow ponds and even some of the shallow lakes...

There are a few concepts for ice-fishing that are really good starting points. If you’ll practice these concepts, with minor revisions every time out, you'll be more successful on the ice this ice-fishing season. In any type of fishing, you need to fish where the fish are. We keep on the fish a couple of different ways depending on how thick the ice is...

Thanksgiving was a special time for my wife and me this year. We took our daughter and her three children to Branson, Missouri, which I deemed as a homecoming. You see, my wife and I have been traveling to Branson for nearly 20 years. It’s kind of become a home away from home for us. ...

The Spirit Lake boys basketball team ran away with a 64-41 win over Woodbury Central in the Indians' season-opener Tuesday in Spirit Lake. Senior star Owen Coburn led the charge with 25 points and 13 rebounds — including a pair of first-half dunks. Fellow senior Kip Hurd added 16 points in the Indians' win...

The 13th-ranked Okoboji girls basketball team erased an early deficit to defeat two-time and defending Siouxland Conference champion Sioux Center 54-47 in Milford on Tuesday. Sioux Center had the hot hand from long range early, opening up a 15-8 lead over the Okoboji girls in the opening stanza...

After taking an early lead, Spirit Lake struggled mightily to maintain possession Tuesday in a four-point loss to visiting Worthington (Minnesota). The Indians fell 44-40 to the Trojans despite taking a 10-3 lead after one quarter of play. "I thought we started really well out of the gate, especially on the defensive end holding them to three points," Spirit Lake coach Naet Hoaglund said. ...

At the center of a packed Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines in late February, two young men met in the middle of a circle. Their eyes locked. Spirit Lake Park's Kyler Rieck, then a junior, was making his first appearance on "Championship Saturday." The fourth-ranked 152-pounder willed his way through several of the best wrestlers in Class 2A to get to that moment. All three of Rieck's wins came by decision and against ranked opponents. He was battle-tested and ready to scrap...

The Milford Commercial Club marks the return of Holiday Fantasy Weekend with some new events and popular favorites in 2018. This year's events will take place Friday, Nov. 30 through Sunday, Dec. 2, in Milford. Voting is already underway for the inaugural Holiday Snowman Village decorating contest. ...