Stories from Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Northwest Bank donates proceeds from their U of O Winter Games tailgate which was held Jan. 24 at the Arnolds Park Pavilion prior to the Burning of the Greens event. Northwest Bank served a great crowd of Winter Games enthusiasts who helped support fundraising efforts for Dickinson County's Relay for Life. The tailgate raised $722. Northwest Bank employees presented the funds to Dana Kauffman, on behalf of Dickinson County's Relay for Life...

I am dropping you this note about the upcoming election on April 7 regarding the Okoboji Middle School. I have been a resident in the Okoboji School District for 24 years. We have had a daughter graduate from Okoboji and a son that will be a 2016 graduate. These have been very memorable years for my family, not only living in our community, but the wonderful school experiences we've shared with our children at Okoboji Schools...

Two area basketball players earned All-State honors Tuesday from the Iowa Newspaper Association for their efforts this winter. Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire's Andy Geelan and Spirit Lake's Ryan Kriener both earned recognition from the INA. Geelan was named to the Class 1A Third Team and Kriener was named to the Class 3A Second Team...

Most Iowa school districts are losing students. This causes Iowa school districts to receive reduced state aid, since the amount of state aid is tied directly to the number of students. The Okoboji School District is one of a few districts whose class sizes are holding steady to slightly increasing. ...

Welcoming spring is wonderful in so many ways, including new activities in the S.M.A.R.T. room. Now that it is getting warmer we can head back outside with the kids to get their bodies and brains geared up for the last stretch of the school year. The "movement anchors learning" motto is one that S.M.A.R.T. sticks with throughout the year, but fresh air and an actual playground make it even more enjoyable...

Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire had three participants in the State Speech contest held Saturday in Sibley-Ocheyedan HS. Cassy Olesen received straight 1s for literary program, Sara Harris received straight 1s for poetry and Mikayla Matthews -- received a pair of 1s and a 2 rating for solo musical theater...

Iowa Lakes Community College Business Professionals of America club members returned home again this year with honors captured at the annual State Leadership Conference. State competitions were held Feb. 23-24 at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny. Over 125 students from eight community colleges participated...

Spring-like temperatures will soon make way for some of Iowa's most dangerous weather conditions. Dickinson County Emergency Management and the National Weather Service hope to bring awareness to the time of year known for thunderstorms, tornadoes and flash floods...

Three team members earned medals at the state academic decathlon competiton, March 6-7 in Mount Vernon. Matt Schmitz placed second in science, Rebecca Owens placed second in math and Jake Heitritter placed third in economics. Spirit Lake's state academic decathlon team members are (front) Jake Heitritter (second row), Brennen Zeman, Matt Schmitz, Brittany Lende, John Bauer, Madison Sieperda, Hannah Gulick, (third row) Nick Goodenow, Mark Vander Veen, Rebecca Owens, Greta Goodlaxson...

Students in fifth and sixth grade at Spirit Lake Middle School recently completed two weeks of Spring Academy. Students in Mrs. Kalkhoff's group learned to sew, completing a quilt as a group, and creating their own hot pads. The group would like to thank the many volunteers who assisted them: Caroline Tritle, Kathy Krueger, Beth Hagberg, Dori Tibben, Reba Munson, and Dee Cornell. They would also like to thank Dianne Carney for allowing us to visit her quilt shop in downtown Spirit Lake...

Safety was the theme for Iowa Lakes Community College's inaugural SERTech Event. Held March 16-20 at the Estherville Sustainable energy resource and technologies center, the event brought together several different regional employers and prospective employees for training and certification sessions...

Students from the SLHS J-term welding class have added some flare to the new city hall. The Spirit Lake City Hall building, which was completed in the fall of 2014, was lacking wall art in the main lobby, according to City Administrator Gregg Owens...

Janine Gustafson knows yoga is about gaining strength, flexibility and spiritual growth. Now she and her husband Tom are embracing growth of a different kind. Yoga Okoboji is moving out of its location in the barns along Highway 71 near Casey's in Okoboji. The studio is now located behind Matuska Taxidermy in Spirit Lake. Classes began at the new location at the start of February...

An accidental grass fire put a scare into a Spirit Lake neighborhood Sunday. Around 2 p.m. March 15 the Spirit Lake Fire Department was dispatched to the 3600 block of Keokuk Avenue for a report of a grass fire heading toward residential homes. A number nearby residents helped control the blaze with hoses and shovels prior to fire fighters arriving on scene...

Assistant Chief Jim Hentges of Arnolds Park/Okoboji Fire and Rescue said his team was called off as they were five blocks into the 83-mile drive to help dive teams locate a missing 4-year-old boy from Hancock County. "They'd found him, so we were just trying to give them as much help as we could over the phone about how to deal with the scene," Hentges said...

"If it sound too good to be true, it's a scam," says Lt. Rodney Bakker of the Spirit Lake Police Department. Local officials and energy companies encourage residents to use caution before disclosing personal information over the phone. Black Hills Energy on Wednesday, March 11, said it received what it describes as a scam report from the Spirit Lake area...

The Spirit Lake boys and Spirit Lake Park girls track teams kicked off their conference track seasons in style Tuesday at the 2015 Lakes Conference Indoor Championships held on the campus of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. Several Indians looked to be in midseason form Tuesday, placing highly among their peers...

Every four years, I hear an alarm clock. And this time, the alarm clock sounds a lot like Liz Mair, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's newly-minted strategist for online communications. Technically, she's working for Walker's Political Action Committee, Our American Revival...