Sports

Spirit Lake Park will send a ton of veteran experience to Des Moines this week as six Indians, including five seniors, punched their tickets to the state wrestling tournament. Seniors Kyler Dunn, Joe Waters, Kyler Rieck, Nate Cornwall and Dakoda Powell each qualified for state with top-two finishes at the Class 2A District 7 wrestling tournament held Saturday in Orange City. Freshman Jon Burnette will also join his teammates at Wells Fargo Arena...

Okoboji juniors and twin brothers Blake and Hunter Abrahamson each punched their tickets to Des Moines with runner-up finishes at the district tournament in Orange City on Saturday. They will make the trip to Wells Fargo Arena together for the second time in as many years but took different routes to their second-place finishes. Fortunately, both were up to the task...

Spirit Lake battled back from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime in the open round of postseason play Saturday night but ultimately fell to Lakes Conference rival Estherville Lincoln Central. The Midgets won 41-36 in Spirit Lake, ending the Indians' season...

After suffering just two losses in a regular season that culminated in a Siouxland Conference championship, No. 10 Okoboji looked primed for a deep playoff run when postseason play kicked off on Saturday. However, the Pioneers' third loss of the season came at the least opportune moment, as they dropped a one-point home loss to unranked Sioux Center in the opening round of the girls' Class 3A regional tournament, ending their season...

Harris-Lake Park struggled mightily in the third quarter of a 20-point season-ending loss to George-Little Rock Saturday. The Mustangs outscored the Wolves 23-3 in the third quarter of a 70-50 win in the opening round of the girls Class 1A regional basketball tournament in George...

After a dominant third quarter, it seemed as the Okoboji had taken control of a Siouxland Conference road contest with West Lyon. However, the 12th-ranked (3A) Pioneers needed to fend off a Wildcat comeback before outscoring their hosts in overtime of a dramatic 62-59 win Tuesday, Feb. 5, in Inwood...

Okoboji earned a second straight conference road win Tuesday, Feb. 5, with a 12-point victory over West Lyon in Inwood. The Pioneers walloped the Wildcats 80-68 in Siouxland Conference boys basketball action. "The guys put together a really nice offensive performance tonight, and it was great to see so many guys contribute throughout the course of the game," Okoboji coach Ryan Stumbo said. ...

Spirit Lake snapped the longest losing streak of an up-and-down season Tuesday, Feb. 5, with a 68-55 road win over Lakes Conference rival Cherokee. Spirit Lake led 14-6 after one and took a 28-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. In the third quarter, Cherokee outscored the visitors 26-21, but Spirit Lake pulled away in the fourth with an 18-15 score to take the 13-point victory...

Area anglers need to mark Thursday, Feb. 21 on their calendar for the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club’s (IGLFC) annual spring fishing seminar at the Hap Ketelsen Center in Everly. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., followed by the meal at 6 p.m. and seminar at 7 p.m. ...

Some fishing friends and I got into a conversation recently, and as usual, the talk turned to fishing. We talked about ice fishing and we talked about open water fishing. We talked about techniques for fishing and we talked about favorite places to go fishing. After exhausting all those topics, we got into a conversation about the tools that we use to go fishing, and then we got a little more specific...

The Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club’s (IGLFC) recent Wild Game Feed held at Haggy’s in Royal on Saturday, Jan. 12 netted approximately $2,450 for the Jim McDonnell Scholarship fund. IGLFC president Terry Thomsen, notes, “The Wild Game Feed was a huge success! The big crowd on hand contributed to a very successful raffle, silent raffle and horse races.”...

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is extending the trapping season for muskrat in several areas of northwest Iowa until April 1. The areas where the extended season is being allowed are Diamond Lake, West Hottes and Marble Lake in Dickinson County; Burr Oak Lake in Emmet County, Trumbull Lake and Barringer Slough in Clay County; Virgin Lake in Palo Alto County, and the Lizard Lake Wildlife Area and Little Clear Lake in Pocahontas County...

Iowa is one of the most important wintering grounds for Bald Eagles with thousands of the huge raptors moving into the state from the north to join our resident breeding birds.  Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan all have some of the highest densities of nesting Bald Eagles in the lower 48 states and many of those eagles, especially from Minnesota and Wisconsin move into Iowa during the winter months and frequently gather in large numbers around areas of open water to feed and roost...