Sports

While the Pioneers will enjoy a little home cooking, Spirit Lake and Harris-Lake Park hit the road after picking up their first wins of the 2020 season last Friday night, but neither will have to travel far.

Without star quarterback Bubba Sohn, who suffered a dislocated shoulder the previous week, and with a constant rain soaking the turf in Lake Park, the Harris-Lake Park football team knew it was facing an uphill battle in the Wolves' Friday night matchup with Kingsley-Pierson...

After suffering back-to-back non-district losses to two of the best in Class 1A, Spirit Lake kicked off its district slate with a convincing road win over Algona on Friday, Sept. 11. The Indians defeated the Bulldogs 41-17 to pick up their first win of the 2020 football season...

Okoboji's offense looked good in its first possession against undefeated Estherville Lincoln Central on Friday, Sept. 18. The Pioneers moved the ball at will in that first drive, according to first-year head coach Nick Plueger, but after ending the drive with a red zone interception, struggled to put anything together the rest of the game, as the Midgets' lead grew to 46-0 before the final buzzer...

The Okoboji volleyball team dropped a Siouxland Conference home contest with MOC-Floyd Valley on Thursday, Sept. 10. The Pioneers fell 3-0 to the Dutch in Milford. The hosts dropped the opening set 25-7, the second 25-12 and the third 25-15. "Although the scores may not show it, it felt like a close match," Okoboji coach Ashley Linquist said. ...

Harris-Lake Park battled hard but ultimately dropped a War Eagle Conference volleyball clash with undefeated Hinton on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The Blackhawks downed the Wolves 3-0 in Lake Park. "I'm proud of how the girls played tonight," Harris-Lake Park coach Sarah deVries said. "They keep getting better with each week in our season. A couple points didn't go our way and the momentum switched, but our girls fought hard to the end. Our focus will now be on South O'Brien for Thursday."...

Okoboji and Harris-Lake Park cross country runners competed at a meet hosted by West Lyon held Monday, Sept. 14 at Lake Pajoha. The Pioneers earned a pair of top-four team finishes. The girls team placed third and the boys placed fourth. The Okoboji girls were led by Nevaeh Armstrong, who placed eighth individually with her time of 23 minutes, 30.66 seconds. Teammate Lauren Duffy placed ninth in 23:42.98. Lexi Duffy placed 10th in 21:46.01...

The Okoboji volleyball team went 2-3 at a tournament hosted by Spencer on Saturday, Sept. 12. The Pioneers defeated Estherville Lincoln Central (2-1) and Spencer (2-0), but fell to Cherokee (2-0), No. 15 (3A) Humboldt (2-0) and Algona (2-1). In their win over ELC, the Pioneers took an early lead with a 22-20 win in the opening set. They dropped the second set 21-14, but rebounded to win the third 15-10...

The Labor Day weekend always signals to me the official beginning of the fall season. The early teal season, dove season, and the cottontail and squirrel seasons are underway. The results of the August roadside count have been released. These are all traditional signs of fall arriving...

Many anglers across the Midwest declare late September and October to be their favorite times to fish and I would mostly agree. In the fall, the fish catching can be so good, for quality and quantity. In addition, the surroundings are pretty spectacular as well. The trees are in full color and wildlife sightings can be abundant...

To say that COVID-19 has changed how we all go about our lives is perhaps the greatest understatement of the century. How frustrating it has been. My wife and I are both senior citizens, so we have stayed on the fringe, used our masks and avoided crowds. It has been quite a change for us because we really enjoy spending time at so many of the events held in the Iowa Great Lakes. Sadly, we haven’t attended any of these, not even gone to a restaurant or supper club since March...

Union Hills Wildlife Area’s network of wetlands and prairie located in southern Cerro Gordo County has that been-here-forever kind of feel to it. “There’s not many places in Iowa where you get a block of habitat like this,” said TJ Herrick, wildlife biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “You could get lost here on the water. It’s the only wildlife area we (Clear Lake Unit) manage that, if you get in the middle of it, you forget you’re in Iowa. It’s just a cool spot.”...

Registrations for snowmobiles and OHVs purchased during the 2020 registration cycle will expire Dec. 31, 2020. Any decal displayed on a machine with a 20 printed on it will no longer be valid for machines to be used on snowmobile trails, public ice, or the OHV parks. Any registration that is not renewed prior to Jan. 1, 2021 will have a late penalty of $5 applied to the registration cost...