A Spirit Lake man accused of committing murder in rural Ireton had hoped charges would be dismissed after a new trial was granted in June. However, a jury of his peers found 71-year-old Gregg Eugene Winterfeld guilty of second-degree murder after deliberations this month. The jury chosen for Winterfeld's initial trial in April came to the same conclusion.

Many a farm field in the Lakes Area has been reduced to stalky stubble in recent weeks as producers continue the season's harvest.

"The bean harvest seemed like it went a little slower than normal due to the weather conditions that we had, but it looks like they've kind of cleared those beans fields off pretty recently," said Gentry Sorenson, a field agronomist for the regional Iowa State University Extension and Outreach offices. "They've moved on to corn since then."

The court process for two suspects accused in the murder of a Lake Park woman might split into two trials if a judge approves a motion filed late last month.

By Seth Boyes - News Editor

No notable photograph exists of President Abraham Lincoln giving his famous Gettysburg Address — it's said the speech was so brief that the photographer hadn't finished setting up his camera before its conclusion. But a number of folks lined up to have their photos taken with "Mr. Lincoln" following his recital of the well-known speech Monday afternoon at the Milford Community Center.

A Lakes Area man authorities said likely harbored anti-government sentiments has entered a guilty plea in a federal weapons case which stemmed from a fatal rollover in January of 2020.

By Seth Boyes - News Editor

State officials ordered Bridges Bay Resort in Arnolds Park to close its pools after the near drowning of a 2-year-old boy prompted an investigation, which found the pools lacked adequate lifeguard supervision.

Judge says court lacks jurisdiction

A district judge has decided there isn't anything the court can do for a group of property owners who hoped to take the city of Arnolds Park and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to court over proposed improvements to a nearby path.

By Seth Boyes - Staff Writer

A series of minor thefts in early September had Lakes Area store clerks scratching their heads. Newspaper racks were empty. Storefront vending boxes were cleaned out, and copies of the Sept. 2 Dickinson County News were hard to come by just 24 hours after the weekly newspaper was distributed throughout the Iowa Great Lakes.

Don't go out alone, 18-year-old Calvin Grosvenor was taught.

It's considered the number one rule for open water diving — and Thursday afternoon it saved a life on West Lake Okoboji.

Grosvenor is credited with not only bringing his diving partner to the surface of the lake during an emergency, but swimming him to shore and performing CPR until help arrived.

Dickinson County's population numbered around 1,200 some 150 years ago. The city of Milford had just been platted, and the area's growing population had decided it was high time the community was home to a newspaper. A number of newspapers sprang up in the region in the years and decades to come, eventually joining together to form what is today the Dickinson County News.

THE BIRTH OF THE BEACON