(Arnolds Park)--The early registration deadline is fast approaching for the University of Okoboji Cycling Classic Campus Bike Ride on Saturday June 27th.

Participants can choose from three different events: a 25 miles ride around West Okoboji; a 50 mile ride around West Okoboji, Spirit Lake, and East Okoboji; or a 100 mile ride around the Iowa Great Lakes and University of Okoboji Campus

Officials say the Campus Ride is neither a race nor a test of stamina. It is intended that all participants ride at their own pace and in a safe and responsible manner.

Registration is $30 for all participants, no matter the distance, until this Monday, June 1st. Prices increase on June 1st to $35 and registration will remain open until the day of the ride. To guarantee a race shirt, you should register before June 12^th.

You can register online at okobojichamber.com/u-of-o-campus-bike-ride.

Estherville)--The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation (Corridor) is hosting a Corridor Connections workshop in Estherville this Wednesday, June 3rd, featuring a panel of local marketing professionals to discuss marketing strategies and resources for small businesses and communities.

A moderated panel of local marketing professionals will discuss topics like social media management, branding & logo design, marketing strategy, video production, and other realworld marketing approaches that small businesses can use to get started and put into practice.

Panelists include Jill Harms, owner of Blink Marketing in Milford; Joe Weber, co-founder of F8 Creative in Spencer; Vanessa Moore, owner of Vertical Marketing in Spencer; and Derek Baker, Executive VP of Growth and Innovation at Mills Marketing in Storm Lake.

The Corridor Connections event will be held Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30  a.m. at the Iowa Lakes Community College Room 16 Auditorium in Estherville. This event is free for Corridor investors to attend, but space is limited. Reserve your spot at lakescorridor.com/connect.

(Estherville)—While kids are enjoying summer vacation, educational experts are concerned about the loss of learning that can take place while kids are out of school, known as the summer slide.  GTRA Superintendent Marshall Lewis says kids can enjoy the summer break and learn at the same time.

Lewis says every day activities can also serve as learning opportunities.

He emphasizes the importance of kids having fun while learning.

Lewis made his comments on the GTRA Superintendent Spotlight which can be heard every Wednesday at 5:45 pm on KILR FM 95.9.

(Estherville)--An Armstrong man was killed and another person injured in a fiery two vehicle accident Friday evening east of Estherville.

The Iowa State Patrol says the accident involving a semi and a pickup happened shortly after 6:40 pm on Highway 9 east of 410^th Avenue

The patrol says a 1996 GMC pickup driven by 41-year-old John James Bumgart of Armstrong was traveling westbound on Highway 9 when it crossed the center line and struck an eastbound 2020 Peterbilt semi driven by 50-year-old Karie Marie Eisma of Hawarden.

Following the collision, the pickup entered the north ditch and the semi entered the south ditch where it burst into flames and became fully engulfed. The Patrol says Bumgart, who was not wearing a seat belt, died at scene. Eisma was injured and transported by Estherville Ambulance to Avera Holy Family Hospital. The patrol says she was wearing a seat belt.

The Estherville Fire Department and Emmet County Sheriff’s Office also assisted at the scene.

(Estherville)--The city of Estherville has announced the opening of the Estherville Aquatic Center will be delayed.

According to a news release, the aquatic center will not open on June 1^st as originally planned due to a mechanical issue.

The city says an opening date will be announced once repairs are completed.

(Brycelin, MN)--A northwest Iowa man was injured in a single vehicle accident Thursday evening on Interstate-90 in eastern Faribault County.

The Minnesota State Patrol says the accident happened around 6:30 pm near the Brycelin exit. The patrol says 85-year-old Mark Erickson of Greenville was driving a 2018-Dodge Ram 250 pickup westbound on I-90 when the vehicle went off the roadway and rolled.

Erickson was taken to the Blue Earth Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The Faribault County Sheriff’s Office, Wells Police Department, Wells Ambulance, Brycelin Fire and Walters Fire assisted at the scene.

(Des Moines)--An Emmetsburg attorney has been publicly reprimanded for falsely claiming he had dementia in order to be excused from a case.

According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, court records show that in December 2024, police arrested Mario Delapaz of Storm Lake on charges of harassment and domestic abuse resulting in assault or injury. Delapaz was later convicted of both charges, the records show.

Shortly after the arrest, Emmetsburg attorney Fred Blake Perkins was appointed by the court to represent Delapaz in the case.

Court records indicate that in September 2025, after the court denied Perkins’ request to withdraw from the case, he allegedly renewed his request by filing paperwork informing the judge that he was not competent to conduct legal research and was experiencing symptoms of early-onset dementia.

The Attorney Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Iowa alleges those representations were false

Records in the criminal case show that in his renewed motion to withdraw from the matter, Perkins wrote to the judge and stated that his 81-year-old father was in a nursing home with dementia and that he recognized the “early warning signs” in his own behavior. At the time, Perkins was 55 years old.

(Estherville)--According to a recent Gallup Survey, seven in 10 Americans oppose constructing data centers for artificial intelligence in their local area, including nearly half who are strongly opposed.  Concern about higher electricity rates was one of main reasons cited for opposing data centers. Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative President and CEO Ryan Craig says Iowa Lakes has taken steps to protect its customer-owners from bearing any of the burden if a data center wanted to locate in its service territory.

Craig says the data centers are often built by developers who will then try and sell it to a larger company.

He says there is a growing trend toward building smaller projects.

Craig spoke with Dave Van Roekel Thursday morning on KILR FM 95.9. 

Listen to the full interview below:

(Estherville)--Former Iowa Congressman Steve King was at Bud’s Café in Estherville over the noon hour Thursday to discuss his endorsement of Zach Lahn(Lane) for Governor. Lahn is one of five candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Governor. King explains why he decided to support Lahn.

King says Lahn wants to stop the outward migration of young people from Iowa.

He says Lahn is also a supporter of the MAHA movement.

King says he thinks  Lahn has a good chance of defeating front runner Randy Feenstra in next week’s primary and would be the strongest candidate to go up against Democrat Rob Sand in the general election.

(Iowa)--Pizza Hut is leaning into nostalgia and offering customers a taste of the 90's at some of its restaurants including the one in Estherville.

Pizza Hut's parent company, Yum!, recently published a lisr of the 155 Pizza Hut Classic locations where guests can currently find a retro dine-in experience. That includes the iconic red plastic cups, checkered tablecloths, vinyl booths, Tiffany-style lamps and the red roofs. 

The retro restaurants aren't the only way Pizza Hut is bringing back memories of the '90s. The company is also promoting it's Book It! reading program with free pizza rewards for kids. 

In addition to the location at 2209 Murray Road in Estherville, four other Pizza Hut locations in Northwest Iowa will receive the retro redesign. They are in Sibley, Sioux Center, Storm Lake and Cherokee.

The chain has not announced when the changes will take place.

(Spirit Lake)--The U.S. Senate has approved the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Reauthorization Act. The legislation would extend the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration program for another five years. The program benefits 80 rural hospitals in the United States. Four of them are in Iowa including Lakes Regional Healthcare in Spirit Lake. LRH President and CEO Jason Harrington.

Harrington explains how the program works.

He says the program helps ensure the long term sustainability of Lakes Regional Healthcare.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley was one of the sponsors of the bill in the Senate. Iowa 4^th District U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra last week introduced a companion bill in the House.

(Spirit Lake)--The Spirit Lake City Council has paved the way for a new housing project on the west side of town. The council voted 5-0 Tuesday evening to approve the creation of an urban renewal plan for that area along with a developer’s agreement for the Cypress Ridge housing development. City Attorney/Administrator Gregg Owens says the agreement is with developer Lee Seeman.

Owens says even though the land is zoned R-3, the development will only consist of single family homes. He says there will be no traditional condominiums, apartments or townhomes.

Owens says homes will be in the $800,000 range. He says the development will require the construction of a new sanitary sewer lift station.

Owens says he expects the developer to start applying for building permits very soon with construction beginning within several weeks.

(Estherville)--The Emmet County Sheriff’s Office has released more details about the arrest of a burglary suspect Monday morning at Ft. Defiance State Park.

Shortly after 8:50 am, the Sheriff’s Office received a report of a male only wearing shorts that had entered several vehicles and was running around the campground in Fort Defiance State Park. Upon arrival on scene, deputies found that the male, later identified as 28-year-old Dalton Burdorff, had entered at least three unoccupied vehicles. A brief disturbance also took place with one of the vehicle owners. Burdorff had taken off on foot into the wooded area of the park prior to deputies arrival.

As deputies and Estherville Police started searching the large area, additional assistance was requested. Personnel searched the area on foot with assistance from drones and K9's. Around 10:35, the sheriff’s office received additional information about a man wearing only shorts that had been lying in a ditch and requested a ride from the reporting party. This allowed authorities to tighten the search area inside the park. 

Just before 11:30 am, Burdorff ended up approaching law enforcement and was taken into custody without incident. He was arrested and booked into the Emmet County Jail on the following charges: three counts of burglary in the 3rd degree, trespass and providing false identification information. He was also wanted an Emmet County Arrest Warrant for failure to appear, on an original charge of  two counts of possession of a controlled substance.

The Emmet County Sheriff’s Office thanks the public for their cooperation during this investigation. Assistance was also provided by the Emmet County Communication Center, Emmet County Conservation, Emmet County Emergency Management, Estherville Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, Iowa DNR, and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.

Residents are reminded to keep their buildings, houses, and vehicles locked.

(Estherville)--The annual Emmet County Relay for Life to raise money for the American Cancer Society will be held this Friday evening from 5 to 9 pm at the Regional Wellness Center in Estherville. Becky Olk with the Relay for Life Committee says this will be the 3rd year the event has been held indoors.

The evening will start with a community meal at 5pm featuring pulled pork sandwich, chips, baked beans, coleslaw and a bottle of water for $10. She says the opening ceremony begins at 5:30.

There will also be recognition of this year’s honorary cancer survivors: Lee Evans, Conner Haukos, and Chase Cummins.  The luminary lighting ceremony will be held at 6pm. Luminaries can be purchased during the relay. A closing ceremony will be held around 9 pm. Olk says everyone is invited to attend the relay.

Olk says there will also be a golf tournament on Saturday at the Hillcrest in Graettinger.

Emmet County Relay for Life has raised more than $2 million since it began in 1997. The funds are used for cancer research, early detection, prevention programs, patient services and advocacy. Again to register for the golf tournament contact Becky Olk at 712-209-1910.

(Spencer)--The 2026 Clay County Fair, powered by SMU, has announced the lineup of free entertainment at the Farmers Bank Stage.

September 12^th-14th will feature Parker William, a comedy mentalist and magician known for blending sharp humor and audience interaction and the country music and comedy duo of Minnesota based Poppa Bear Norton.

September 15^th-17^th will feature the storytelling of Jack Gladstone, known as “Montana’s Troubadour,” and the iPolka Band.

The final weekend of the fair, September 18^th -20th will feature Duelly Noted, a high-energy all-female dueling pianos act and Uncle Muskrat, a five-piece string band playing traditional American roots music.

Each act will perform multiple times daily during their scheduled dates. Official show times will be available in the Clay County Fair Daily Guides, which will be released later in August. For more information, visit claycountyfair.com.

?

(Okoboji)--The Dickinson County Nature Center will host the next Kenue Coffee Hour at Maser Monarch Lodge on June 4th at 10:30 a.m.

The featured speaker is John Wenck, Water Trails Coordinator with the Iowa DNR, who will present about details and future plans of the Little Sioux Water Trail.

Kenue Coffee Hour is an adult program held monthly with a speaker who presents about conservation or nature-related topics. The event offers a friendly, inviting atmosphere with complimentary coffee and conversation with neighboring nature enthusiasts. No registration is required to attend.

(Spirit Lake)--An Ames woman is facing multiple charges after a traffic stop Monday night in Spirit Lake.

The Spirit Lake Police Department says shortly before 11 am, 32-year-old Sirena Lindsay was stopped at the intersection of Highways 9 and 71 and was cited for illegal use of an electronic communications device, failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to provide proof of financial liability, improper registration plate lamp and improper lane change.

Police say further investigation turned up less than a gram of cocaine. As she was being arrested Lindsay allegedly kicked an officer in the shoulder and the stomach. She was additionally charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance-1st offense; and interference with official acts and two counts of assault on persons in certain occupations.

Lindsay was booked into the Dickinson County Jail on a $2,000 bond.