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!...

Bob and Karen Stewart of Johnston and family enjoyed their annual family reunion last week. They were grateful to be happy, healthy and together, and enjoyed boating, biking, Arnolds Park, and of course, the every afternoon Nutty Bar Stand stop. As you can see by the photo, they had a good time together...

Wayne Johnson, president of the University of Okoboji Corvette Club, is busy making arrangement for a new and different Vettes in the Park event this summer. Due to the pandemic, the two-day event will be one day only – Saturday, July 25. "It will be sort of Vettes in the Park but not really," he said with a chuckle, "and it will be just Corvettes." Owners will be able to drive their classic vehicles to The Park but will not be parked there for two days. ...

Mike and Mindy Spinks came down from their home in Mountain Lake, Minnesota, to spend a week in their camper at Cutty's. They celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary as well as his mother, Suzi Klaasen's birthday (I won't say which one). ...

There were 26 members of the family of Anders Jensen who gathered for a reunion at Cutty’s last week. They were commemorating the 137th anniversary of his arrival in the United States, emigrating from Denmark. That is a really great reason for a reunion, isn't it?...

Congratulations go out to Larry and Dee Truman from Milford. They celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary with a party at Table 316 Steakhouse this week. They are well known locals as Larry works in the produce department at Hy-Vee and Dee sells real estate. They love to dance so chose to celebrate with Jessie James and the Outlaws providing the entertainment. Happy Anniversary Larry and Dee!...

My mother and I went on an interesting excursion Sunday afternoon to the Iowa Lakeside Lab. The Friends of the Lakeside Lab had brought in the touring company of “Nature: A Walking Play” to enlighten us about preserving nature and getting along with our fellow man. ...

Thank you to all of you who contacted me to let me know that Tim the Corn Man is finally here for the rest of the summer with his delicious sweet corn and other veggies! He is back at his usual parking place in the parking lot of the former Methodist Church in Arnolds Park...