Stories from Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji's boys and girls soccer teams dropped a doubleheader at Hull on Monday, May 13. The boys fell 2-0 and the girls fell 5-1. In the girls' match, SLPO fell behind 3-1 at the half before the Wolfpack tacked on two additional goals in the second...

The third-ranked Okoboji girls golf team, fresh off of its second consecutive Siouxland Conference championship and first-ever undefeated regular season, advanced to the regional tournament final with a win Monday at the first round of the Class 1A regional tournament in Forest City...

Harris-Lake Park's Lexi Stahly placed fourth to advance in postseason play Monday, May 13. Stahly carded a 94 in the first round of the Class 1A regional golf tournament in Primghar. The Wolves placed fifth overall with a team score of 430. Kenzie Heikens carded a 108. Grace Iverson cared a 110. Katelyn Loring rounded out the Wolves' scoring with a 118...

Okoboji junior Jamison Helmers advanced in postseason play with a win Friday at Rolling Hills Country Club in Hull. Helmers carded a 79 to win an individual title at the Class 2A sectional tournament. West Lyon's Jalyn Gramstad was the second individual district qualifier with his round of 85...

The top-ranked, and returning Class 1A runner-up, Harris-Lake Park boys golf team advanced in postseason play with a win at the sectional tournament held Friday, May 10 in George. Despite not playing their best golf, the Wolves carded a combined score of 337 to win at Otter Valley Country Club...

The Spirit Lake-Okoboji boys tennis team won the district tennis tournament held Friday, May 10 in Spencer. SL-O totaled 20 points to top runner-up Le Mars (17) and third-place finisher Clear Lake (17) and advance in postseason play. "It was a fantastic day as far the team standings go," SL-O coach Dan Taylor said. ...

It takes several weeks of sunshine and warm temperatures to warm the water in rivers and lakes after spring arrives. Snow melt, cool temperature and overcast skies keep water cold long after winter is officially over. Hypothermia is a real possibility in early spring and fall...

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) spring fish spawning season is over and Iowa’s two walleye hatcheries are filled to capacity. Netting crews collected enough walleye to produce 1,082 quarts of walleye eggs at the Spirit Lake hatchery and 963 quarts at the Rathbun hatchery...

Monarch butterflies are fluttering this way, and, with some luck, they’ll be more plentiful than in previous years when they reach Iowa later this spring. During the winter months, scientists observed the largest overwintering monarch population in Mexico since 2007, said Steven Bradbury, a professor of natural resource ecology and management at Iowa State University. ...

It's a new fishing season for anglers across the Midwest and North America! Many anglers have already been fishing, others are looking forward to their first trip to the lake, river, reservoir, or pond. Following are some things to keep in mind when you get ready to go fishing...

What a great weekend we had for the 37th Annual Walleye Weekend! According to the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, more than 2,100 anglers participated in the annual contest. Those in the contest were from 17 states. Of course, many more people fished the area lakes. Boat ramps were full and cabins and lake homes were teeming with residents and guests...

The Spirit Lake boys golf team earned a 20-stroke victory over Estherville Lincoln Central on Tuesday, May 7. The Indians carded a 158 to the Midgets' 178. Spirit Lake's Ian Brandt won first-place medalist honors over teammate Mason Weeks. Both players carded rounds of 38...

The Okoboji girls golf team earned a decisive victory Tuesday, May 7 at a Siouxland Conference meet hosted by MOC-Floyd Valley. The Pioneers carded a combined score of 178. Okoboji's Hannah Butler placed first with her round of 40. Teammates Martha Stein and Grace Butler placed second and third, respectively, with their rounds of 45...

The Okoboji boys golf team placed fifth at a Siouxland Conference meet hosted by West Lyon on Tuesday, May 7. The Pioneers carded a combined score of 174 on the day. Kole Karstens led the way for Okoboji, placing sixth with his round of 41. Jamison Helmers carded a 42. Tyler Adams carded a 45. Zach Fife rounded out Okoboji's scoring with a 46...

The Okoboji girls golf team earned a convincing victory Friday, May 10 at a Siouxland Conference meet hosted by Central Lyon, finishing an undefeated conference season — the first in school history — with a second straight championship. The Pioneers carded a combined score of 179 in Rock Rapids...

The Lakes Conference named Spirit Lake-Okoboji senior Casie Barba and Estherville Lincoln Central senior Kendall Evans as its girl’s tennis Players of the Year. The two girls were 9-1 in league play, splitting their matches against each other and giving them both a point total of 180 points. ...

The Spirit Lake boys golf team advanced in the postseason with a runner-up finish at the sectional golf meet held Thursday, May 9 in Orange City. The Indians carded a combined score of 331 to edge host MOC-Floyd Valley by one stroke and finish behind meet champion Spencer (319)...

The Spirit Lake-Okoboji girls tennis team ended its season Saturday, May 11 in the first round of the regional tennis tournament held in Spencer. SL-O fell 5-4 to Estherville Lincoln Central. Following singles play, the two squads went into doubles knotted at 3-3...

Harris-Lake Park junior Edgar Tapia punched his ticket to state in a pair of events following the Class 1A state qualifying meet held Friday, May 10 in Armstrong. Tapia won the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles. His time of 50.55 seconds in the 400-meter dash is the fastest qualifying time in Class 1A. He won the 400-meter hurdles in 57.18 seconds...

Spirit Lake Park earned on automatic and two at-large bids following the Class 3A state qualifying meet held Friday, May 10 in Sergeant Bluff. Kourtney Delperdang provided the highlight, winning the 3,000-meter run in 11 minutes, 12.11 seconds, and securing her fourth career trip to Des Moines...

Okoboji will send 11 events to the state track meet this week, as the Pioneer boys and girls teams combined for five automatic and six at-large bids following the Class 2A state qualifying meet held Friday, May 10 in Sioux Center. Ethan Albright led the Okoboji boys with a pair of wins in the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles...

Spirit Lake will send seven events to Des Moines this week after a solid performance at the Class 2A state qualifying track meet hosted by OABCIG. The Indians earned a trio of automatic bids at the meet and tacked on four more at-large bids. Speedster Joe Stein punched his ticket with a pair of wins in the 100- and 200-meter dash events...

On Tuesday, April 23, the House passed Senate File 599 by a bi-partisan 95 "aye" to 3 "nay" vote. It had previously passed the Senate 49-1. SF 599 provides the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) with the primary role of implementing operating the Iowa Hemp program. I've received a lot of questions about this program...