Area boys and girls competed in the 2023 Knights of Columbus “Keep Christ in Christmas” Poster Contest. Iowa Great Lakes Council 5043 sponsored the creativity contest over the holidays. The local contest winner was 12-year-old Scarlett Gigstad, a member of St. Mary’s Parish in Spirit Lake. She is the daughter of Kristina and Daniel Gigstad of Spirit Lake.

Dr. David Stephen Keith, a family physician with Avera Medical Group Spencer, has achieved the Degree of Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. The national medical association represents nearly 127,600 family physicians, residents and medical students. Keith was one of more than 250 family physicians who received his FAAFP degree last fall during the American Academy of Family Physicians’ annual meeting held in Chicago.

Tyler Matthew Cook, age 28, was booked into the Dickinson County Jail at 4:08 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10 after being served a warrant that day. Cook had been charged with forgery last month. Criminal complaints from that time indicated Cook knowingly used counterfeit $100 bills as currency at the Jiffy Gas Station in Spirit Lake on Nov. 25, 2023.

Winter Games Bridge Tournament to be held

Local students named to Morningside University fall 2023 dean's list
 

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources plans on hosting a series of town hall-style meetings where local staff will provide updates on recently completed hunting and trapping seasons and discuss possible changes to hunting and trapping rules and regulations as well as address other topics as requested.

The Iowa Rock 'n Roll Music Association is pleased to announce the Hall of Fame Class of 2024, which will be honored during the Hall of Fame Induction Spectacular on Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 through

Sept. 1.

The Dickinson County Behavioral Health Coalition and Iowa Great Lakes Rotary are excited to announce that Let’s Talk Dickinson will be held live on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at the Pearson Lakes Art Center. This free event is open to any parent of school-aged children in Dickinson County interested in learning about and finding resources to support children and adolescents who are struggling with mental health, behavior or learning challenges.

Have you heard about a new app or purchased a new device that you would like some help with? Join us for Tech Help Hour from 4-5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30. Patrons will get a limit of 15 minutes of help if there are others waiting.

Attention all college parents or soon-to-be college parents. If you have a student who will be enrolling in post-secondary education this fall, you will want to fill out the FAFSA form. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid which offers grants, loans, work-study and more to help you pay for college or career school. At the Spirit Lake Public Library, we have a digital resource that can assist you.

Tanker trucks from four area fire departments were called to the Monarch Cove area Saturday afternoon to help contain a house fire reported in the tightly packed lakeshore neighborhood. No injuries were reported.

This story was updated Monday, Jan. 15 to include an additional vehicle fire call which took place Friday, Jan. 12.

Temperatures in the low, single-digits weren't enough to keep a vehicle from igniting Thursday morning in Spirit Lake, but it didn't take Spirit Lake firefighters long to get the flames under control. No injuries were reported.

A crowd of over 100 – including two Republican presidential candidates and several Iowa GOP lawmakers – rallied Wednesday at the Iowa Capitol to oppose the use of eminent domain for carbon-capture pipelines.

Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has made the property-rights issue a central focus of his presidential campaign in recent weeks, spoke at the rally in the Capitol rotunda. Fellow GOP candidate Ryan Binkley, a Texas businessman and pastor, also spoke at the event.

Muscatine County leaders are expected to pause new approvals of wind farms in light of a proposal that will include turbines that exceed 650 feet in height.

“They’re going to have problems with those that nobody in this room’s even thought about,” Muscatine County Supervisor Scott Sauer said in a meeting this week.

Iowa's biennial caucus has long been known as the first in the nation, often gaining the attention of many presidential hopefuls. This year's caucuses are scheduled for Jan. 15, but only one of the state's two major political parties will be deciding their preferred presidential candidate that night.