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...

There is a special concert coming up on Sunday afternoon. The Northwest Iowa Concert Band will play in the Pavilion at Arnolds Park at 2 p.m. Can you believe this band is playing its 28th summer concert in The Park? That is the information I received from Rich Nicklay, the band’s director. That is nearly three decades of giving us a wonderful afternoon of music. Thank you to all the musicians who participate in this band as well as Rich...

This is the seventh year that Kansas City native Sam Cordes has come to the Iowa Great Lakes Region to act in productions at the Okoboji Summer Theatre. He started here as a Stephens College student. After graduation he went on to earn his Masters in Theatre at the University of Nevada. Each summer he would come back here to act in at least one play...

I got an email the other day from local entertainer Bill Carpenter. A few years back he had encouraged a young singer from Nashville to come here to perform and now recording artist Neil Dover is coming back to the Lakes Area this month. According to Carpenter, Dover is promoting his new album "Kiss Me Mama, I Gotta Go." My guess is that it is a country album. ...

I had an opportunity to visit with Melanie Banning Campbell the other day. She told me her great-grandmother lived on Dam Road in Arnolds Park and now her children and grandchildren are enjoying it as well. That makes them a six-generation Arnolds Park family. What a wonderful legacy to pass down for the generations to come!...

The month of June is flying by at, what seems to me, a record pace. Okoboji Summer Theatre is off to a fantastic start. Boji Bantam is in its first production of the summer, "Treasure Island." Rehearsals are in full swing for the opening show at Treasure Village Family Theatre. ...

I had the opportunity to chat with Bob and Karen Stewart the other night. They are here at their summer residence for a few months. The Stewarts call the Des Moines area home but love to travel. According to Bob, last fall's adventure was a boat excursion down the Rhine River in Europe. ...

The British are coming! The British are coming!! Well, that is not exactly true. It is a band called The Brits. Many of you will recognize some of their faces. Three of the band members were in the popular Rumbles who played all over this part of the state for five decades. The Rumbles played the old Roof Garden more than any other band: 44 or 45 times (I lost count)!...

Happy birthday (on Memorial Day) to our editor Russ Mitchell. He worked on his birthday so there was no celebration. When you see him, give him a happy birthday greeting. He doesn’t look a year older at all! Tom and Molly Bedell are back in their West Lake Okoboji home for most of the summer. ...