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Some open burning on a windy Friday morning resulted in the total loss of a business along Highway 71. Spirit Lake Fire Chief Pat Daly said his crews were called out around 8:30 a.m. to the Golden Buys Truckload Outlet location in Spirit Lake just south of Ferguson's Floral and Garden Center. He said the business had been burning cardboard and pallets on the property — he explained the outlet store is actually just outside the Spirit Lake city limits and isn't prohibited from open burning...

I was under the impression more Okoboji residents knew about the little island near Gingles Point on East Okoboji Lake. After all, it is the only island we have in the Iowa Great Lakes. Surprisingly, even some longtime residents were unaware this little island existed. As the restoration project to save the island gained momentum, I kept getting the same question over and over, “There’s an island in Okoboji?”...

A man charged in connection with a burglary that took place in November of 2019 has pleaded guilty in exchange for the dismissal of charges in several other cases. Patrick Miles — also known as Patrick Wascher — was initially arrested on Nov. 20, 2019, in downtown Spirit Lake after a report of an assault and robbery that morning. ...

  A: The president is borrowing a page from the Obama administration to “never let a serious crisis go to waste.” It’s as clear as the day is long what the Biden administration set out to do since day one of his presidency: Use the pandemic to shift the political landscape, reshape the economy and expand the social safety net by squeezing trillions of dollars from the American taxpayer for generations to come. ...

Some people just aren't meant to retire, according to Julie Gammack. The former Des Moines Register columnist and daughter of well-known journalist Gordon Gammack organized a number of writing retreats before retiring from her work as a business coach last year. But Gammack didn't stay still for long, and she's now preparing to host a September writers retreat in Okoboji...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated about 97 percent of Iowa's expected corn crop this year was in the ground as of Monday, which it said is two weeks ahead of the five-year average. Northwest Iowa is even closer to the season's finish line. ...

A Spirit Lake man recently found guilty of murder is hoping to begin the trial process anew. Last month, a jury found 71-year-old Gregg Winterfeld guilty of murdering 58-year-old Grant "Willie" Wilson of Cleghorn in May of 2020. Prosecutors had at one point pushed for a first-degree murder charge, but the jurors convicted him for second-degree murder. ...

I had only been at the DCN about two months before I covered the 2017 graduation season here in the Lakes Area. I was tasked with photographing both Harris-Lake Park and Spirit Lake that year — the photos were…OK. I ended up writing a column that year about how the ample hugs one sees at commencement saved me from the photographic challenges that come with gymnasium lighting...

In April, Governor Reynolds signed HF 756 regarding firearms- a bill that passed with bipartisan support. The bill addressed many areas of gun laws, but the part that caught the most attention ended the requirement that a person have a permit to carry or purchase a firearm. There is still a lot of misinformation and confusion floating around about the bill — so hopefully I can clear some of that up here...

Well, we are at the end of the legislative session and with the end, as I look back at what we have done I am somewhat amazed. The legislature dealt with many issues to make the state better and more competitive and to improve life for its citizens and to govern wisely...

Some open burning on a windy Friday morning resulted in the total loss of a business along Highway 71. Spirit Lake Fire Chief Pat Daly said his crews were called out around 8:30 a.m. to the Golden Buys Truckload Outlet location in Spirit Lake just south of Ferguson's Floral and Garden Center. He said the business had been burning cardboard and pallets on the property — he explained the outlet store is actually just outside the Spirit Lake city limits and isn't prohibited from open burning...