Okoboji’s boys track team earned a runner-up finish at a meet hosted by Cherokee on Thursday, April 4. The Pioneers earned 10 top-three finishes and totaled 125.5 points on the day, finishing behind meet champion Spencer’s total of 148.

Okoboji’s girls track team placed seventh at a meet hosted by Cherokee on Thursday, April 4. The Pioneers earned five top-five finishes and totaled 59.333 points on the day.

“It was a great night to start and we were really happy about finally being able to run outdoors,” Okoboji coach Jacob Evenson said. “It got a little chilly later, so we know we can run some of those relays faster, but overall I was really happy with how we handled everything.”

Spirit Lake’s girls soccer team ran into a buzzsaw in the season-opener with eighth-ranked Spencer on Tuesday, April 2. The Tigers topped 13th-ranked SLPO 6-0 in Spencer.

“I was proud of our girls’ effort and body language,” SLPO first-year coach Erick Turner said. “The girls battled against a one of the state’s best soccer teams. Hats off to Spencer on their game plan and team effort.”

The Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji boys soccer team dropped a home contest to rival Spencer on Tuesday, April 2. The Tigers topped SLPO 7-0 on a blustery, cold and wet evening at Okoboji High School in Milford.

Harris-Lake Park’s girls track team placed fourth at a meet hosted by MMCRU on Tuesday, April 2. The Wolves earned nine top-three finishes and totaled 72 points on the day.

“Quite the track meet in Marcus last night,” Harris-Lake Park coach Matt Mentink said. “We got to experience wind, rain, snow and hail all in one meet. Other than that, we had a pretty good showing for little ole H-LP girls track team.”

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.