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Atlas announces new director

The Board of Directors of Atlas of the Lakes Area recently announced the retirement of Dave Butterworth, as he hands the baton over to Atlas' new Executive Director Tonya Kuranda. Butterworth has helped build ATLAS of the Lakes Area after serving there and at Atlas Spencer for many years. The board thanks him for his efforts.

Kuranda, who has been on staff with Atlas of the Lakes Area for over a year-and-a-half, was elected executive director effective Dec. 1, 2023.

Biden emerges as Iowa Democrats' preferred candidate

•Mail-in participation less than 3 percent of Iowa's registered Democrats

Unofficial results show Democrats across the state have expressed their support for President Joe Biden in the coming election. State-level organizers conducted the party's presidential preference process by mail this year and released the results Tuesday afternoon. The initial tallies show 11,083 Iowans voted in support of the incumbent president – 56 of them from Dickinson County.

Decker seeks new trial after 2022 murder conviction

•New attorney claims previous defense failed to prepare, pursue key testimony

A woman convicted in 2022 of murdering a Lake Park resident is again asking the court to grant her a new trial.

Applications being accepted for Iowa Great Lakes Walleye Weekend Grants

The 42nd Annual Iowa Great Lakes Walleye Weekend tournament will kick off on Saturday, May 4. The annual event welcomes more than 2,000 anglers from more than 15 states seeking the $42,000 grand prize. Each year, a portion of the proceeds from the Walleye Weekend registration fees is donated back to the community to benefit angling in the Iowa Great Lakes, and grant applications are now being accepted for 2024.

ILCC highlights music department

The Iowa Lakes Community College Board of Trustees convened last month for their regular board meeting, with a spotlight on the Iowa Lakes Music Department. Robert Leifeld, vice president of administration, began the meeting by recognizing the exemplary dedication of the Iowa Lakes music faculty members.

Carol Ayres Stueven, a professor and instrumental music director, boasts a three-decade tenure at Iowa Lakes, and she actively supports her peers in online learning initiatives.

Cherish Center announces Cherished Daughters Dance

Cherish Center recently announced its Cherished Daughters Dance will be held from 6-9 p.m. Sunday, June 2 at the Roof Garden Ballroom and the Arnolds Park Amusement Park property. Organizers said the Cherished Daughters Dance provides an evening of intentional investment in a girl’s life from her father or a positive male role model — daughters, along with their fathers, or male role models, create memories to last a lifetime, and daughters are made to feel cherished.

Sirens 03-07-24

Jenni Lee Good, age 37, was booked into the Dickinson County Jail at 6:42 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 on a previous court decision. She was schedule for release Monday, March 4, 2024.

Spirit Lake Library News 03-07-24

Returning borrowed library books on time, or sometimes at all, has been an issue for libraries since the beginning of these revered institutions. In 2021, a children’s book was returned 111 years overdue to a library in Boise, Idaho. And last July, a book that had been checked out in 1904, was finally returned to the New Bedford Public Library in Massachusetts — 119 years late.

Milford Memorial Library News 03-07-24

Students in grades four through 12 are invited to join MML’s Make Your Own Luck Challenge. This challenge will be available Tuesday, March 12, through Friday, March 22. The young adults will be given a canvas, a four-leaf clover stencil and instructions to make chalk paint they will use. This is a free activity, but does require registration. Registration can be done by calling 712-338-4643 or online at www.milford.lib.ia.us.

MMU receives $500K for drinking water project

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds recently announced 16 communities and organizations which have been awarded a total of $8 million in grants to support water quality projects. Among them was Milford Municipal Utilities, which has been granted $500,000 for a drinking water project — that local project is estimated to cost about $29 million in total.

LRH accepting applications for junior volunteer program

Preparations are in place for Lakes Regional Healthcare’s Junior Volunteer Program. Each summer, roughly 30 high school and college students assist physicians, nurses, other professional staff and patients in the Emergency and Surgery Departments.

Iowa community college aviation programs to receive federal funding

A total of three Iowa community colleges will receive a combined total of more than $1.2 million to expand their aviation training programs. These Aviation Workforce Development grants were made possible thanks to program funding in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, legislation U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley supported.

Community Briefs 03-07-24

City report on West Okoboji released

DOT to hold public meeting as next phase of highway repaving project nears

Motorists in the Iowa Great Lakes will soon be seeing orange cones and yellow construction equipment again.

The Iowa Department of Transportation expects the third phase of its Highway 71 repaving project to begin as soon as March 11 — if weather permits — and DOT officials plan to once again hold a public informational meeting before crews get started.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 7 in the Majestic Pavilion in Arnolds Park.

Okoboji man dies of self-inflicted gunshot after authorities respond to rural shooting

Local authorities said an Okoboji man has died of a self-inflicted gun wound after an incident which took place Tuesday afternoon at a rural Lake Park residence.

History for all to hear

•Museum volunteer's curiosity leads to readers theatre production

She wasn't that interested in history as a child, but Kathy McNeill of Spirit Lake now finds herself behind the wheel of an event steeped in it.

McNeill has sifted through stacks of fragile, yellowing letters penned by one of Spirit Lake's often-overlooked founders — Orlando C. Howe. Some of those letters will be brought to life by local figures next month during a live reading.

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