Harris-Lake Park’s boys track team placed fifth at a meet hosted by MMCRU on Tuesday, April 2. The Wolves earned four top-three placings and totaled 34 points on the day.

As we go through life, many of us change the way we do things. We find a better way, or sometimes just a different way of performing some tasks. In the past several decades, many changes have taken place in the fishing world. Following are some of those changes.

Staff with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are currently conducting their annual nighttime spring spotlight surveys across the state, collecting information on Iowa’s deer and furbearer populations.

Usually, ice is still lingering on the lakes here in northwest Iowa at the time I am writing this for the Spring OPA Newsletter. But this time, there are boats out on the water looking for the hot panfish bite and docks are even going in. I believe I have heard that people have been referring this last winter as the “Lost Winter of 2024.”

Roughly 35,000 camo-covered hunters in stealth mode will be heading to the timber in the next few weeks for Iowa’s spring turkey season. And, just as important as contacting the landowner, checking the shell supply and finding the decoys, part of every hunt prep is to review safe hunting practices.

The Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji boys soccer team kicked off its 2024 season with a home loss to Sioux City West on Thursday, March 28. The Wolverines scored three first-half goals in a 4-0 victory over SLPO at Okoboji High School in Milford.

Sioux City West sophomore Iven Perez scored two goals for the Wolverines. Junior Ayden Perez and senior Emiliano Perez each scored a goal. Senior Armando Morelos had two assists and Ayden Perez had one.

Spirit Lake’s boys track team earned six top-five finishes en route to a fourth-place team finish Monday, April 1 at the Scott Underwood Invitational hosted by South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. The Indians totaled 53 points on the day. Sioux Falls Christian took the team title with 81 points. O’Gorman followed in second with 65 points and Milbank placed third with 61.

Spirit Lake’s girls track team earned a runner-up finish Monday, April 1 at the Scott Underwood Invitational hosted by South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. The Indians totaled 57 points in their final indoor meet of the 2024 season, edging third-place O’Gorman by six. Sioux Falls Christian took the girls team title with 138.5 points.

University of Iowa sophomore, and former Spirit Lake High School athlete, Mike Stein earned Co-Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week after shattering his own school record in the javelin. The Lakes Area native opened the outdoor season with a 79.26-meter javelin throw, good for the second-best mark in the NCAA. Stein threw 75 meters or more on three of his six throws to win at the USF Alumni Invite held March 15. His previous record stood at 75.59 meters.

For the second consecutive year, Bass Federation’s (TBF) Student Angler Federation (SAF) is returning to the Okoboji chain of lakes for the SAF Iowa State Championships. This year’s championship will be held on Saturday, April 27. According to SAF Youth Director Bob Harris, last year’s championships had nearly 50 boats of two-youth partners per boat. With the leagues growing across the state, he anticipates that number could reach 70 teams this year.

If walleyes live near where you live, they can be caught right now. Some states, and some areas of some states have a closed season on ‘eyes, but with just a little travel, you can get to areas that have walleye fishing happening now, and those areas are probably closer to you than you think. Following are some ways to get in on the action.

Coming off record harvests in 2020 and again in 2023, Iowa’s spring turkey hunters could be living in the “good ol’ days.” And with three straight years of good hatches across much of the state, roughly 35,000 hunters are ready to hit the woods.

Roughly 35,000 camo-covered hunters in stealth mode will be heading to the timber in the next few weeks for Iowa’s spring turkey season. And, just as important as contacting the landowner, checking the shell supply and finding the decoys, part of every hunt prep is to review safe hunting practices.

Spirit Lake’s boys track team wrapped its indoor season at the Ruth Marske Invitational held Saturday, March 23 at South Dakota State University in Brookings. The Indians earned seven top-five finishes on the day and crowned one champion.

Ethan Stecker qualified for the Drake Relays with his winning time of 14.80 seconds in the 110-meter high hurdles. Teammate Cooper Winkel placed third in the event in 14.94 seconds.