Stories from Thursday, December 27, 2018

With an eight-point win over West Lyon on Friday, Okoboji heads into the holiday break on a two-game win streak — it's first since topping George-Little Rock and Emmetsburg in back-to-back games in February 2016. The Pioneers were dominant in the middle quarters and held off a late Wildcats run to win 69-61 in Milford...

After trailing 11-9 through one quarter of play Friday, Spirit Lake buckled down defensively, holding Pocahontas Area to just 12 points over the following three quarters in a dominant home win. Spirit Lake defeated Pocahontas Area 45-23 in non-conference girls hoops action to head into the holiday break with a win...

Spirit Lake Park wrestling coach Andrew Lundgren took a skeleton crew to a tournament hosted by Sergeant Bluff-Luton on Friday. The eighth-ranked Indians placed sixth overall with four finalists and one champion on the day. "We had an opportunity to bring some guys down to Sergeant Bluff to compete against some other teams that lost their first tournament of the season due to the winter storm we had," Lundgren said. "Even though the number of total participants was down, we knew we'd have an opportunity to compete against some quality opponents from some teams that we don't see a whole lot during the year. We ended up getting four of the seven guys in the finals.. ...

The DNR recently presented a $5,000 check to the Food Bank of Iowa as a result of several fundraisers throughout the year within the department. Over the last decade, the DNR has donated more than $75,000 to the Food Bank of Iowa, through its fundraising efforts...

The Dickinson County Water Quality Commission awarded $305,528 towards clean water projects to be completed in Dickinson County. These funds will be matched against state and federal grants to provide water monitoring, education, coordination, best management practices, and watershed protection in three watersheds of Dickinson County, Silver Lake, Iowa Great Lakes and Little Swan Lake. ...

I was with some fishing friends recently, and, as usual, the conversation turned to fishing. At some point the topic of “My favorite fishing technique” came up. I was asked what my preferred way to catch fish was. I couldn’t answer. I like to catch fish, any species of fish, and I will employ any technique that will help me catch more fish. ...

Attention ice anglers, the North American Ice Fishing Circuit (NAIFC) tournament trail is coming to the Iowa Great Lakes for its second qualifier of the year Jan. 11-13, 2019. It will be a special weekend for all age groups of ice anglers along with the general public that might want to witness the fishing extravaganza...

Spirit Lake volleyball athletes Emma Loveall and Jordyn Hamm recently attended the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Phenom College Preparatory Program held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are the first athletes from Spirit Lake High School to be invited to the event, and are two of 13 Iowa athletes named on the AVCA Phenom List...

The Harris-Lake Park girls basketball team suffered a 30-point loss Friday, snapping a three-game win streak. The Wolves fell 67-37 to Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn/Remsen-Union in Lake Park. MMCRU led 17-9 after one quarter and took a 32-18 lead into the break. The Royals continued to pull away in the second half, outscoring the Wolves 24-11 in the third and 11-8 in the fourth...

Harris-Lake Park has bounced back in a big way. After starting the season 0-5, the Wolves pushed their win streak to three games Tuesday, Dec. 18, with a 55-39 road win over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. The Wolves jumped out to a commanding 22-11 lead after one quarter and maintained a double-digit advantage, leading 34-24 at the break...

Harris-Lake Park improved its record to 4-4 following a dominant win over Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn/Remsen-Union on Friday evening. The Wolves topped the Royals 63-37 in Lake Park. It was their second straight victory after topping Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 51-45 the previous Tuesday...

Harris-Lake Park snapped a two-game skid Tuesday, Dec. 18, with a six-point road win over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. The Wolves topped the Hawks 51-45 in Hartley. "We had a nice come-from-behind victory," Harris-Lake Park coach Jeff Sohn said. "We were down by seven early in the contest and then got things rolling in the second and third quarters. ...

The Okoboji wrestling team went 1-2 at a quadrangular hosted by Alta-Aurelia on Tuesday, Dec. 18. The Pioneers defeated the host Warriors 42-41, but fell 60-18 to Woodbury Central and 52-30 to South Central Calhoun in Alta. "We had a lot of exciting matches last night but have some things to improve on," Okoboji coach Nate Dau said...

Okoboji picked up a convincing win over West Lyon Friday to head into the holiday break on a five-game win streak. The 10th-ranked (3A) Pioneers topped West Lyon 53-38 in Milford. "Our defense has really carried us the first half, and I’m really proud of how hard the girls are guarding," Okoboji coach John Adams said. "We struggled offensively in the first half, but a lot of that was due to West Lyon, as they are a very well-coached team with a ton of length."...

Okoboji had six finalists and four champions Thursday at a home tournament originally slated for Dec. 1. Okoboji coach Nate Dau credited Okoboji Activities Director Justin Bouse for rescheduling the meet. "We were extremely fortunate to find a date to reschedule this event and a lot of credit goes to our AD Justin Bouse for getting it lined up," Dau said. ...

Senior Owen Coburn eclipsed 20 points and 20 rebounds for the first time in his career and sophomore Creighton Morisch knocked down a school-record eight three-pointers to lead Spirit Lake to a win over Pocahontas Area Friday night. The home team won 74-58...

Spirit Lake Park maintained a two-point lead over Algona heading into the final match of their dual Tuesday night. The eighth-ranked Indians needed a win to maintain their unbeaten dual meet record. They got much more than that when they sent senior heavyweight Patrick Bauer to the mat...