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A Terril man was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for lascivious acts with a child. Cody Lee John Taylor was accused of using his mouth and hands to violate two young girls over a period of several years, and authorities believe he used threats of violence in some instances to keep the abuse secret...

Residents in the area of Pillsbury Point on West Lake Okoboji have filed a court petition against the city of Arnolds Park and the state of Iowa. The group says the city plans to improve a nearby pathway but claims the city has abandoned rights to it. Both the city and the state have filed for the case to be dismissed...

The annual Upper Des Moines Opportunity Sharing Christmas program provides holiday gifts to low-income children of Dickinson County. Below is a list of participants included in this year's program. UDMO asks that each item be wrapped and include a tag with the family number as well as which member that gift is for. ...

Spirit Lake got out to a hot start and showed tremendous grit bouncing back from a slow second quarter in an interstate girls basketball loss to Worthington (Minnesota) on Tuesday, Nov. 30. The Trojans topped the Indians 49-44 in Spirit Lake. The Indians were without senior leader Brooke Smith, who is recovering from surgery to fix a broken nose — an injury she suffered in the opening game of the season...

Entering the 2021 football season, Spirit Lake knew it would face a gauntlet of the best teams in the state, as Class 2A District 2 teams combined to go 39-16 in 2020. Three teams played in the state quarterfinals. One team won a state title. All but one team had a winning record...

At the Annual Business Meeting of the Professional Developers of Iowa, the membership elected Shannon Landauer, president and CEO of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, as its president for 2022. “It is really a special time to have the opportunity to serve as the president of Professional Developers of Iowa,” Landauer said. ...

Okoboji alumnus Zach Koepp took a few different paths in life before becoming a film maker, but he said story telling has always been a part of his life. Koepp has now been working professionally as a film maker for several years and filmed his latest production in the Lakes Area earlier this year. ...

"Betty: A Memoir" by Spencer author Mary McSwain Steele has been selected by Iowa Lakes Community College as the core book for the 2021-22 academic year. Each year a new book is chosen by the college's core book committee to be highlighted and utilized across the disciplines at all five Iowa Lakes campuses...

It seems like every week we are learning more and more about not only the possible origins of COVID-19, but about our own government’s involvement in dangerous scientific experiments overseas – including at the now-infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology in Communist China. It’s disturbing, and I continue to hear from Iowans who want both answers and accountability...

Serving our nation in uniform was one of the greatest honors of my life. It left me with countless experiences, lifelong friends and lessons that I carry with me every day. It also provided me with a deep appreciation and understanding for the unique challenges our servicemembers and veterans face. ...