What a weekend it was for the walleye opener. For all the forecasts of rain and thunderstorms, they just kept splitting around the Iowa Great Lakes. I know we need rain, but it was certainly a reprieve for anglers. After I get the results from the tournament, I will post them in a column in next week’s paper. Here is a quick update from the weekend.

The loud singing from springtime marshes comes from a tiny package, the chorus frog – an inch-long virtuoso common to Iowa. Chorus frogs along with other frogs, toads and salamanders are being recognized during National Amphibian Week, May 7-13.

National Amphibian Week, sponsored by the Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, is a way to increase awareness about amphibians and to celebrate all things amphibian.

Rainfall in April was just over two inches but 1.5 inches below normal for the month.  This comes after a drier than normal March.  As a result, streamflows are down across much of the state, and conditions are generally deteriorating in the eastern two-thirds of Iowa.  While all of the Drought Regions of Iowa are rated as “normal, " downward trends are shown in the state's central, northeastern, and southeastern parts.

Spirit Lake’s girls golf team earned a home win over Lakes Conference rival Storm Lake Tuesday, May 2 at Okoboji View Golf Course. The Indians carded a combined round of 205 to top the Tornadoes’ total of 218.

“We took another step forward yesterday,” Spirit Lake girls coach Parker Mulder said. “We didn't shoot our best score, but our girls are taking the necessary steps to get better meet to meet. I liked that we had some consistent scores across the board.”

Spirit Lake’s boys golf squad earned a narrow victory over Lakes Conference rival Storm Lake on Tuesday, May 2. The Indians edged the Tornadoes 171-174 at Lake Creek Country Club in Storm Lake.

Caden Hassel had the low round for Spirit Lake, carding a 37 on the day. Kaleb Johnson shot a 43 and Pierce Hetland shot a 45. Spencer Robinson rounded out the Indians’ scoring with a 46. Max Jones carded a 48 and Bennett Lewis carded a 56 on the day.

Harris-Lake Park’s girls golf team placed eighth at the War Eagle Conference tournament held Tuesday, May 2 at The Ridge in Sioux Center. The Wolves carded a combined score of 471 on the day, finishing 58 strokes behind meet champion South O’Brien’s total of 413.

Despite not being at the top of their game in singles, Spirit Lake-Okoboji’s girls tennis team earned a rivalry win over Spencer to remain unbeaten on the season. SLO defeated Spencer 7-2 at a dual held Thursday, April 27 at Speier Park in Okoboji.

The hosts went 4-2 in singles.

Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji’s boys soccer team snapped a three-match losing skid with a 4-2 home victory over West Sioux on Thursday, April 27. SLPO, after dropping matches to Western Christian, Sioux City East and MOC-Floyd Valley, righted the ship despite facing a 2-1 halftime deficit against the Falcons.

Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji’s girls soccer team kept its winning streak alive with a dominant home win over Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley on Monday, May 1. SLPO topped the Nighthawks 7-0 at the Bedell Family YMCA Soccer Complex in Spirit Lake.

SLPO took a 4-0 lead at halftime following a goal by Mikaya DeGraaf in the first minute and three goals by Claire Turner. Maddy Waterhouse connected on two goals in the second half and Lexie Powers connected on one to make it a 7-0 final.

Despite facing the stiff winds that have plagued the Midwest in recent weeks, Spirit Lake-Okoboji’s boys tennis team earned a decisive home victory over Lakes Conference rival Storm Lake on Monday, May 1. SLO topped the Tornadoes 7-2 at Speier Park in Okoboji.

Okoboji’s boys golf team placed ninth at a Siouxland Conference meet held Monday, May 1 at Otter Valley Country Club in George. The Pioneers combined for a team score of 195 — finishing 28 strokes off the pace set by meet champion MOC-Floyd Valley.

Spirit Lake-Okoboji’s girls tennis team earned a dominant Lakes Conference road win over rival Storm Lake on Monday, May 1. SLO swept the Tornadoes 9-0 in Storm Lake.

In singles, Catherine Straus defeat Tammy Xayavath (10-0); Emma Straus defeated Jaslyn Saengchanpheng (10-3); Mikayla Mingus defeated Kazoa Vang (10-2); Izzie Wycoff defeated Kristina Yang (10-8); Lauren Ditsworth defeated Narissa Lovan (10-2); and Ellie Richter defeated Amy Vang (10-0).

Spirit Lake’s boys track team earned a runner-up finish at the Tornado Relays held Monday, May 1 at Storm Lake High School in Storm Lake. The Indians totaled 146 to finish behind meet champion Spencer’s total of 153.

Spirit Lake’s girls track team took a skeleton crew to Storm Lake on Monday and came away with four top-three finishes at the Tornado Relays. The Indians totaled 51 team points to place seventh.

Led by a low round by Macy Button, Spirit Lake’s girls golf team placed second and finished a stroke behind champion Central Lyon at a tournament hosted by Sibley-Ocheyedan Monday, May 1 at Sibley Golf & Country Club in Sibley.

Button carded a 43 to win the individual title by three strokes over Central Lyon’s Mariah Gerleman. The Indians combined for a round of 198.