Sports

Okoboji defended its turf and earned intra-county bragging rights Thursday with a 72-41 win over Harris-Lake Park. The ninth-ranked (3A) Pioneers jumped out to a 23-8 lead in the opening stanza and never looked back in the 31-point victory. "We were very happy with how the girls came out from the opening tip with tremendous energy," Okoboji coach John Adams said. "H-LP is a senior-dominant team and we knew they would come in and battle. ...

In a battle of Dickinson County rivals, Harris-Lake Park erased a 23-9 deficit to top Okoboji 78-70 in a non-conference hoops clash Thursday in Milford. The Wolves outscored the Pioneers 22-14 in the second, 23-16 in the third and 24-17 in the fourth to salt away the eight-point victory...

Spirit Lake overcame a second-quarter slump Thursday in a 65-53 home win over Bishop Heelan. The Indians led 12-7 after one quarter, but the Crusaders caught fire in the second, outscoring Spirit Lake 25-17 to take a 32-29 lead at intermission. "Two of their guys got hot from three, and they were hitting contested three after contested three," Spirit Lake coach Paul Brown said. ...

Spirit Lake suffered a third straight home loss Thursday, as the Indians fell behind early in a 54-41 loss to non-conference foe Bishop Heelan. The Indians trailed 13-7 after one quarter of play before a 21-9 score in the second put the Crusaders up 34-16 at the half. The two squads played even in the third quarter and the Indians outscored Heelan 11-6 in the fourth, but it was too little, too late...

Okoboji scored 21 points in a pair of duals Thursday in Graettinger, but it was not enough to top Spencer or host Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire. The Pioneers fell 60-21 to the Tigers and 57-21 to the Titans. "We came up short in both duals as a team but saw a lot of encouraging things from our kids tonight," Okoboji coach Nate Dau said. ...

The eighth-ranked Spirit Lake Park wrestling team picked up a pair of dual meet victories Thursday to start the season 2-0. The Indians beat Sheldon/South O'Brien 46-33 and edged host Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 39-33 in Rock Rapids. "I thought the guys competed very well for our first night out," Spirit Lake Park coach Andrew Lundgren said. "To be able to walk away 2-0 against two of the better teams from the Siouxland conference speaks highly of how well our guys worked during the preseason. We still have a long way to go in regard to being sharp and confident with our technique and ability to wrestle in many different positions, but I am very happy with how hard they competed and fought for themselves and the team.". ...

Okoboji hoops teams came away with a pair of victories Friday night during a Siouxland Conference road trip to Sheldon. The ninth-ranked (3A) Pioneer girls earned a 71-52 win and the boys picked up their first victory of the season with a 65-58 win over the Orabs...

Harris-Lake Park basketball teams dropped a War Eagle Conference varsity doubleheader Friday in Hawarden. The H-LP girls fell 70-42 to West Sioux and the boys fell 66-39 to the Falcons. The girls fell behind 20-6 after one quarter, and West Sioux added to its lead in each quarter thereafter, pulling ahead for a 28-point victory...

Solid early ice — that’s what ice anglers are looking for. For many, it might be their Thanksgiving wish: “Please give us some solid, safe early ice!” Oh, and one more thing: “with no heavy early snows!” Guess what. Maybe, just maybe it might happen...

Ice-anglers have a good number of different baits and bait styles available to them. One of the most popular and effective bait styles for ice-fishing is spoons. Look in the tacklebox of almost any angler who fishes through the ice and you’ll find at least a couple and probably quite a few spoons...

Have an extra deer at the end of the hunt? Maybe you bought an extra tag, to hunt longer? Consider donating to Iowa’s HUSH program. HUSH (Help Us Stop Hunger) works with 66 participating lockers to provide high quality meat to needy Iowans, through the Food Bank of Iowa...

Turkeys are odd-looking creatures. With their bumpy red heads, hanging flaps of skin around their faces and large tails, wild turkeys are quite a sight. The odd parts of their bodies also have interesting names and purposes. Let’s look at some of the body parts that make a turkey unique...

Get out your binoculars! These raptors can only be found in Iowa during the winter as they breed elsewhere -maybe you'll get lucky and catch a glimpse of these winter residents! 
Most common in the bluff country of Northeastern Iowa, golden eagles can be found from November through March. ...