In a battle of Lakes Conference unbeatens, Spirit Lake’s girls basketball team proved too much for Storm Lake on Friday, Dec. 13. The No. 15 (3A) Indians defeated the No. 11 (4A) Tornadoes 61-50 in Spirit Lake.

Okoboji’s boys basketball team was too tough, too talented and too deep for Estherville Lincoln Central to handle in a nonconference clash on Saturday, Dec. 14. The Pioneers dominated the Midgets 69-33 in Estherville.

"We came out playing hard and got up early on them and really did not look back,” Okoboji coach Rich Martin said. “We did not shoot our best but that also contributed from playing a game the night before at Rock Valley."

For the past 22 years, Special Youth Challenge (SYC) Ministries of Iowa, with its headquarters near Webb, Iowa, has been offering youth with special challenges a chance to participate in and enjoy shooting sports in God's great outdoors. SYC provides training and adaptive equipment to help the hunters achieve this goal through guided spring turkey and fall deer hunts at no cost to the hunters or their families.

Thanksgiving 2024 is behind us and, in many places, there’s a skim of ice on the ponds. It wasn’t that many years ago that we would be confident there would be fishing through the ice the weekend after Thanksgiving. Not so anymore in most traditional ice fishing locations.

Ice fishing is starting later and ending sooner across much of the ice fishing belt. To the surprise of no one who enjoys fishing or outdoor activities, our outdoor world continues to evolve.

The recent blast of arctic air is growing ice on lakes and ponds across the northern two-thirds of Iowa. Outdoor ice enthusiasts are ready to get out ice fishing, snowmobiling, ice skating or fat-tire bike riding.

The DNR recommends a minimum of four inches of clear ice for fishing and at least five inches for snowmobiles and ATVs.

As of Dec. 15, Iowans can buy 2025 resident hunting, fishing and other licenses. Licenses purchased in 2024 expire on Jan. 10.

The menu of license options includes the popular Outdoor Combo annual resident hunting/fishing/habitat combo license for $55; the Angler’s Special three-year fishing license for $62; and the Hunter’s Special three-year hunting license with habitat included for $101.

Okoboji’s girls basketball team has had a brutal schedule to open the 2024-25 season.

The Pioneers opened the season with an 0-4 record while facing three ranked teams in No. 11 (2A) West Lyon, No. 3 (4A) Sioux Center and No. 5 (2A) Rock Valley. They fell to 0-5 following a 75-36 nonconference road loss to No. 2 (3A) Estherville Lincoln Central on Saturday, Dec. 14.

Spirit Lake’s boys basketball team dropped a hard-fought home game to Lakes Conference rival Storm Lake on Friday, Dec. 13. The Tornadoes — led by the state’s top-ranked hoops recruit in Jaidyn Coon — defeated the Indians 77-68 in Spirit Lake.

Okoboji’s boys basketball team earned a three-point Siouxland Conference road win over Rock Valley on Friday, Dec. 13. The Pioneers edged the Rockets 56-53 in Rock Valley.

“I feel our team played very hard,” Okoboji coach Rich Martin said. “We made some big buckets when we needed them. It was a team effort in getting this win.”

Despite an improved shooting performance, Okoboji’s girls basketball team dropped a Siouxland Conference road game to No. 5 (2A) Rock Valley on Friday, Dec. 13. The Rockets dominated the Pioneers 96-52 in Rock Valley.

Harris-Lake Park’s boys basketball team suffered a two-point loss to Akron-Westfield in a War Eagle Conference home game on Friday, Dec. 13. The Westerners defeated the Wolves 48-46 in Lake Park.

Despite a change in start time due to incoming winter weather, Harris-Lake Park’s girls basketball team extended its win streak to five games with a War Eagle Conference home win over Akron-Westfield on Friday, Dec. 13. The Wolves whooped the Westerners 48-36 in Lake Park.

Spirit Lake senior Dietrich Dirks recently signed his letter of intent to compete in track and field as well as cross country at Northwestern College in Orange City. Dirks has been a standout runner for the Indians during the course of his career. Dirks is a two-time state meet qualifier, placing 10th in Class 2A this past fall to earn all-state honors for the first time in his career. Dirks has also qualified for the state track meet in multiple events.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS FREE THROW CHAMPIONSHIP

All boys and girls ages 9-14 are invited to participate in the local level of competition for the 2025 Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship. The local contest will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025 at the Bedell Family YMCA in Spirit Lake. Registration and practice begin at noon.