Saugstad to speak at ILUUF

The initial weeks of a permit hearing for Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed carbon dioxide pipeline will take place during this fall’s harvest, despite the objections of farmers who want to attend.

“These are the days and times,” said Geri Huser, chairperson of the three-member Iowa Utilities Board, which will decide whether to approve Summit’s permit. “If any changes occur to these three weeks, it will be to remove a day due to board conflicts, not party conflicts.”

A Spirit Lake man will spend up to a decade behind bars after pleading guilty to a trio of sexual abuse charges filed in three separate counties — Dickinson, Clay and Osceola.

"I lost my faith there," Lind said, trying to contain his emotions ahead of Thursday's sentencing. "It's hurt me greatly, and I'm truly sorry."

Hope Rolls parts ways with project

Plans are moving forward in the development of a large public park near the Spirit Lake High School campus.

The public saw some initial renderings in mid-November for the proposed Spirit Lake Community Park, and the Spirit Lake School Board on Monday unanimously approved plans and specifications for the project's first phase, including an area to be called the Aspen Seemann Memorial Park.

It likely won't be the type of groundbreaking Lakes Area residents are excited about, but officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation hope the end result will please many a motorist when all is said and done.

Crews intend to begin work this week as they prepare to repave portions of Highway 71 — the Lakes Area's main thoroughfare. The work is part of a seasonally phased project designed to avoid the peak summer months upon which many area businesses rely.

A pair of Dickinson County organizations were recently named recipients of state grant funds.

The Dickinson County Conservation Board and the Pearson Lakes Art Center were both awarded funds through the Iowa Economic Development Authority's Destination Iowa program. The program provides grant funding for tourism and similar investments in quality of life across the state. Destination Iowa funds have provided more than $115 million to 46 projects in Iowa.

The Spirit Lake Middle School seventh and eighth grade jazz band participated in the MOC-FV Middle School Jazz Festival on Friday, March 10 at MOC-Floyd Valley High School in Orange City. The band performed three selections, followed by an onstage clinic from judges Greg Forney and Kevin Linder.  The SLMS Jazz Band received a second place trophy in class 3A-4A. Bethany Frostestad received a plaque for outstanding soloist in class 3A-4A. A group of four Spirit Lake students were given certific

State Rep. John Wills (R-Spirit Lake) and State Sen. Dave Rowley (R-Spirit Lake) recently welcomed members of the Iowa Bankers Association to the Iowa House. (Photo submitted)

Jason Dean Schomaker, age 48, of Greene was booked into the Dickinson County Jail at 3:51 p.m. Monday, March 6 on charges of stalking — first offense — and two counts of violating a no contact order. A criminal complaint said Schomaker texted a protected party on Jan. 15, attempted to call the protected party on Jan. 19 and called again on Jan. 20, leaving a voicemail. Schomaker was served a warrant on Monday, Mach 6 and booked into the jail the same day. Bond was set at $2,600.

Attention, OverDrive app users! OverDrive is discontinuing the legacy OverDrive app the end of April 2023 and transitioning users to the Libby app. Libby is OverDrive’s newer app for browsing and enjoying digital content from our library. There are tens of thousands of titles that most Spirit Lake Public Library card holders can download for free — Libby is set up to work in your home library. Open Access patrons will not be able to use this feature.

Northwest Bank is named a Top Mortgage Lender in 2022. The Iowa Finance Authority recently announced its 2022 top mortgage lenders. The awards were given to the lending institutions and loan originators who assisted the most homebuyers through IFA programs in 2022.

The public is invited to Community Connections at 10:30 am. March 16 at the library. The program takes place the third Thursday of each month and is open to adults wanting to learn and socialize. Coffee and refreshments are provided. We will be learning about beekeeping from the Northwest Iowa Beekeepers Club. This is a free program and attendees are encouraged to socialize after presentations. Bring your questions.

The Future Ready Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship has paid off big for Iowa Lakes students. During the 2022-23 academic year, students enrolled in qualifying programs received over $1 million dollars in scholarship aid.

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

Sydney Peterson of Okoboji was recently named as a confirmed winner of the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship. The challenge is open to legal U.S. residents who are seniors at an Iowa high school during the 2022–2023 academic year and plan to attend college in fall 2023. Other Iowa high school seniors still have a chance to receive funds for college while learning ways to reduce college loan debt through a program which offers $1,000 scholarships.