Area Happenings & Accomplishments

Tourism tours continue in O’Brien County

During the past two months, O’Brien County Tourism has promoted four different tours that families can enjoy locally while maintaining a safe social distance from others. If you missed information about the tours, you can find it at http://www.obriencounty.com.

The O’Brien County trivia treasure hunt will take you on a search through the county, looking for answers to the questions you can find in a downloadable format on the website. Look for Tour O’Brien County on the homepage slider.

We’ll See You Outside barn quilt tour takes you on a drive through O’Brien County to see how many barn quilts you can find. Look for Barn Quilt Tour on the homepage slider. There are links to a list of barn quilt addresses with GPS coordinates and Google Maps links. As a bonus, you can also find a link to favorite recipes submitted by barn quilt owners.

If These Walls Could Talk blends history, architecture, trivia and travel. The public is invited to take a trip around the county and “listen” for the stories old buildings have to tell. If These Walls Could Talk tour on the homepage slider will take you to links for tour questions as well as links for information and pictures for buildings in each of our communities.

Tour O’Brien County – We’ll See You Outside Cemetery Tour is an opportunity to visit each cemetery in O’Brien County. Locate the headstones marked with a blue ribbon on an orange stick and learn about this sampling of pioneers, soldiers and other fascinating individuals in the history of our county. The homepage slider titled Where the Journey Ends will take you to the links you will need for this tour, including an audio tour for each cemetery.

Watch for information on day trip itineraries and a new tour that is set to launch in the near future. O’Brien County Tourism encourages you to post photos to their Instagram account: Tour O’Brien County, #tourobriencounty and Facebook Page: Tour O’Brien County.

Sense the outdoors at Dog Creek Park

“Sensing the Outdoors” is the next program offered by the O’Brien County Conservation Board in the summer 2020 series. Enjoy an evening walk up the trail as a treat for all of your senses on Tuesday, June 23, from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. at Dog Creek Park.

Meet Naturalist Charlene Elyea in the parking lot on the south side of the lake at any point between these hours. She will welcome you and your group to provide an introduction and instructions. Your group must not include more than 10 participants. Take-home materials will be provided and stations will be marked along the trail for your enjoyment. If at any point your group encounters another along the trail, please announce your presence and allow a safe passing distance.

Families are encouraged to attend together. Call the Prairie Heritage Center at (712) 295-7200 for more information.

Guided plan for visiting conservation areas

Most people are familiar with one or two areas that the O’Brien County Conservation Board manages. This summer there is an opportunity to explore more through the “Get to Know the Conservation Board Areas” activity, which will give you a guided plan to check out 19 of the 25 areas managed by the board.

Download the form from the conservation board website at http://www.prairieheritagecenter.org, or email [email protected] and a form will be sent to you. Head out to visit each of the sites. There are GPS coordinates and a clue which will take you to a wooden object somewhere in the park or wildlife area. Write down the clue word from each area. Completed forms returned by Sept. 30 will be entered into a drawing to win a two-night stay at a 6-person camping cabin at Dog Creek Park.

Call (712) 295-7200 for more information.

NWI fishing report

Iowa Great Lake water temperatures have warmed up quickly and are currently around 70 degrees. The bite is picking up with warmer water temperatures. The panfish bite has taken off throughout the chain of lakes; they are nesting in the shallows along the shoreline.

East Okoboji Lake: The walleye season is open. The water temperature is 70 degrees. There is a great panfish bite along the shorelines in the shallows; many fish are bedding, allowing for easy shore and dock fishing. Bluegill, excellent. Large schools are moving into the shallows to bed and can easily be caught around hoists and docks. Black Crappie, fair. Yellow perch, fair.

Silver Lake (Dickinson): Walleye, good.

Spirit Lake: The walleye season is open. The water temperature is 70 degrees. Walleye and panfish bite has been great. Bluegill, good. Large schools have been found gathering around hoists and docks. Walleye, good. Evenings have had fairly good bites; daytime bite is picking up. Black bullhead, fair: Anglers have been successful at the north grade.

West Okoboji Lake: The walleye season is open. The water temperature is 70 degrees. A good bass bite has been observed in canal areas, as well a good panfish bite in various harbors and around docks and hoists. Bluegill, good. Large schools have been found gathering around hoists and docks. Black crappie, good. Smallmouth bass, fair. Largemouth bass, fair.

Hartley blood drive is June 24

LifeServe Blood Center will conduct a blood drive in Hartley on Wednesday, June 24. Donors can give blood from 12:30-5:30 p.m., at the Hartley Community Center.

No walk-ins are allowed due to COVID-19. Schedule an appointment by texting LifeServe to 999-777, calling (800) 287-4903 or visiting lifeservebloodcenter.org.

Outdoor program focuses on size of solar system

The next event in the weekly series of guided/self-guided experiences hosted by the O’Brien County Conservation Board will be held at the Prairie Heritage Center on Thursday, June 18, from 4 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

“How Big? How Far?” will focus on the size and distance of the planets in the solar system. Be prepared for a bit of a walk as your group will travel from the sun to Pluto and back again.

Meet O’Brien County naturalist Charlene Elyea in the Prairie Heritage Center parking lot at any point between these hours. She will welcome you and your group to give you an introduction and instructions. Your group must not include more than 10 participants.

Take-home materials will be provided, and stations will be marked along a path for your enjoyment. If at any point your group encounters another, please announce your presence and allow a safe passing distance.

Families are encouraged to attend together. Look forward to more of these types of programs this summer. Call the Prairie Heritage Center at (712) 295-7200 for more information.

HPL writing prompt

The Week 1 writing prompt for the Hartley Public Library’s summer library program is “How I spent my time this spring.”

Submit 1-2 pages to the library by Thursday, June 25, with your name and a telephone number or email address, and whether you give permission for others to see your work with or without your name on Facebook, the library website or displayed in the library.

Herrig named to BSC President’s Honor Roll

Tyler Herrig, of Greenville, has been named to the President’s Honor Roll for the spring 2020 semester at Bismarck State College, N.D.

Students must maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale while enrolled in at least 12 semester hours of classes to qualify for the BSC President’s Honor Roll.

Named to UI spring dean’s list

Grace Berberich, of Royal, was among the more than 8,500 undergraduate students at the University of Iowa named to the dean’s list for the 2020 spring semester. Berberich is a student in UI’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and is majoring in Nursing Interest.

Undergraduate students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who achieve a grade point average of 3.50 or higher on nine semester hours or more of graded coursework during a semester are recognized by inclusion on the dean’s list.

Colton Schiphoff included on ICCC dean’s list

Colton Schiphoff, of Hartley, has been named to the dean’s list at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge. He is the son of Dixon and Kari Schiphoff, and a 2018 graduate of Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn.

Students named to the dean’s list at Iowa Central earn a grade point average of 3.5-3.99, with a minimum of six credit hours.

Local students earn degrees from ISU

A virtual commencement ceremony was held this spring at Iowa State University to honor the nearly 5,100 graduates who earned degrees. The traditional on-campus celebrations were moved online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. University leaders recorded three commencement ceremonies to honor graduates.

Local graduates include: Eric Thorne, Bachelor of Science, Industrial Engineering, Cum Laude, Hartley; and Claire Solsma, Bachelor of Science, Agricultural and Life Sciences Education and Political Science, Sanborn.

Food pantry at Hope Lutheran Church in Everly

The food pantry at Hope Lutheran Church in Everly is still open. Temporary hours are Mondays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., and Wednesdays, 1-5 p.m. Please knock on the church door and food will be brought out to you.