It is hard to believe that this is the final edition of the Okobojian for the summer of 2021. The summer was very busy and seemed to fly by. I hope you all had a much better summer than 2020 and will continue your fun, socializing safely and being involved in life’s adventures through the fall and winter...

I finally had the chance to enjoy the Dick Bauman Big Band Monday evening at the Pearson Lakes Art Center. They play every Monday evening through Labor Day, so there are only two more weeks to enjoy them. A tip of the hat goes to Greg Forney for putting this band together and all the work involved in choosing the play list, etc. ...

Happy 90th birthday to Dixon Beach seasonal resident Buddy Strub. He still plays tennis and is a very active guy. He and Marilyn Maye should compare notes and give us all a few tips. We welcome the 24 teams here for the weekend to compete in the annual University of Okoboji Budweiser Slow Pitch Tournament taking place Saturday and Sunday in Milford. ...

Summer is winding down and school will be starting soon. It doesn’t seem possible since this summer season has been flying by. I am sure part of that is because we couldn’t do much of anything last summer so we crammed as much into the Summer of 2021 as possible...

Last week we talked about family reunions. Well there is a big one coming up next week. It is the 100th Annual Baker Family Reunion. What an amazing feat! For 100 years they have been getting together. I applaud their dedication to family. The event takes place at noon on Sunday, Aug. ...

A family reunion took place this month that brought people together from Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa. The children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of George and Betty Banning gathered together for the first time since July of 2003...

CBS Sunday Morning’s Mo Rocca brought us up to date on an entertainer who has been one of our favorites for five or six decades. Marilyn Maye is 93 years old and still doing live shows. He interviewed her about the pandemic and not being able to perform for a live audience. ...

I got a heads up from Bill Carpenter the other day about entertainer Neil Dover. According to Bill, Dover will be performing a free outdoor concert from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 27 in Speier Park (across from the airport) in Okoboji. Dover has a lot of fans here with his previous shows and is a super entertainer. That should be a fun event. Be sure to bring your lawn chairs...

I was delighted to hear from Julie Scheib, director of Discovery House in Spirit Lake that their porch parties are back this summer. The next Discovery House porch party takes place on June 12 with Christopher Jon entertaining. The crew of volunteers at the house begin serving grilled brats and hot dogs at 6 p.m. ...

Heartiest congratulations go out to Steven and Leah Jensen. The owners of Maxwell’s Beach Café welcomed their second daughter to the family a couple of weeks ago. I have been told Max (Maxine) is an adorable baby, and I secretly hope she looks like her mom! I am sure that Steven is already spoiling her. Why not? Now he has two daughters to enjoy...

The descendants of Charles and Josephine Gonnerman are getting together for a family reunion for the first time in a couple of decades. The gathering will take place on the Heebner farm east of Spirit Lake. Have fun everyone! I had a chance to chat with Ruth Anne Burke on the phone the other day. ...

Congratulations to Maddi Tesch, the museum administrator at the Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Music Museum in Arnolds Park. Last week she earned her MLIS degree from the University of Washington in Seattle. MLIS stands for Master's of Library Informational Services and she earned it all online. Maddi was dedicated to getting to this point as she loves research and archiving. Her family and everyone at Iowa Rock ‘n Roll are so proud of her. Way to go Maddi!...

How are you all doing with this hot, humid mid-August weather? It makes us all wonder what August will be like. Stay cool and hydrated as much as possible. I want to send out many happy birthday wishes from all of us friends and fans to Aubrey LaFoy. ...

Even though there were a couple of chilly, rainy days, I think the Memorial Day weekend was a success in the Iowa Great Lakes Region...

Hello to you readers out there. Welcome to the summer of 2021. It promises to be much better than 2020, and we are all looking forward to that! It is nice to see some things returning to normal this year. Spudnuts is open again. That makes many people’s mouths water immediately...

Through all the unusual and far from normal happenings this summer, my friend Bob Stewart and I finally got to visit and take our annual photo together. Bob and his family live in the Des Moines area but he enjoys summers here in the Iowa Great Lakes Region. ...

The ambulance transporting Spirit Lake Fire Chief Pat Daly received a fire apparatus escort into town. Daly continues to recover closer to home, at Lakes Regional Healthcare...

Chuck and Lila Kummerfeld have enjoyed a three-week visit with their daughter and son-in-law Dee and Aaron Gengler. They have really cherished spending time with their grandsons Xavier, Sebastian and Levi who are 9, 7 and 4 years of age; the perfect spoiling age! The Genglers (see the accompanying photo) made the long journey from their home in Luxembourg. ...

Marshall Crane sent me this awesome photo of a hot air balloon floating past the Spirit Lake water tower. This photo is a prime example of the many colorful things we get to enjoy here in the Iowa Great Lakes Region. We have such a wide variety of events and happenings going on daily around here. You always need to be sure to keep your eyes and ears open. I am sure you don't want to miss anything. Thanks for the picture Marshall!...

Congratulations go out to Scott and Diane Benjamin on the 100th birthday of the Little Swan Lake Winery! They are holding a birthday party at the winery Saturday evening and they have invited the Beyond Blue full band to provide the musical entertainment. The Benjamins are both great musical instrumentalists but continually promote the talents of others at their winery. Have a great party!...