08/12/21: Area Happenings & Accomplishments

Named to academic all-state team

The 35th all-academic team has been selected by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. Named second team academic all-state was Samuel Heyn, of Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School.

A panel of coaches selected the senior players who have demonstrated outstanding academic, moral and athletic characteristics. The first team consists of the Top 24 players. The next 21 players receive a second team all-academic certificate.

Named to the first team from this area were Trey Engelmann and Cade Rohwer, of Alta-Aurelia; and Luke Rasmussen, of Central Lyon.

Central Lyon's Jacob Pytleski was also named to the second team.

Winners of 4-gal best ball tourney at Meadowbrook

Meadowbrook Ladies held a 4-gal best ball tournament on Wednesday, Aug. 4. Thirteen teams competed in the tournament. Winners of the flights were:

First Flight (62): Lanette Bates, Linda Walvoord, Lynn Cole and Marchia Lundquist.

Second Flight (69): Cindi Groen, Sue Schulz, Janine Maurer and Deb Jostand.

Third Flight (71): LaVonne Peters, Cheryl Langfitt, Connie Grigg and Lisa Kaiser.

Area students awarded NCC scholarships

Area students attending Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon have been awarded scholarships.

Cherryenne Hibbing, an Associate of Arts major, and Ethan Spronk, an Industrial and Commercial Wiring major, of Hartley, are among incoming students to be awarded NCC President's Scholarships. The full-tuition scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement in high school and an essay written about themselves and how NCC can help them be successful.

Spronk was also awarded a $1,000 Ag Processing, Inc. scholarship by the NCC Foundation. The scholarship encourages students to pursue careers in agri-business.

Karter Van Meeteren, a Powerline student from Sanborn, was awarded a Corn Belt Cooperative Scholarship. Corn Belt Power offers scholarship opportunities to students who reside in a county served by a cooperative in its system in order to maintain a skilled and educated workforce to serve its members into the future.

Jennifer Nyansongo, of Sanborn, was awarded an Iowa State Bank Scholarship. The $500 scholarship is awarded to students based on academic achievement and potential for success. Nyansongo is enrolled in the Nursing program at NCC.

Jagger Anliker, of Primghar, is the recipient of an NCC/Iowa Regents Transfer Scholarship. The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn graduate is an Information Technology Specialist student at NCC. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to encourage students to use NCC as a bridge to continue their bachelor's degrees at an Iowa regent institution.

NWI fishing report

Offshore fishing for bass has been very good lately. The panfish/perch bite has been excellent lately. Fish are under more stress with warmer water temperatures; if you plan to catch and release, try to release the fish as quickly and gently as possible.

East Okoboji Lake: The water temperature was 78 degrees last Thursday. Many anglers have had success with slip bobbers/spoons and vertical jigging and drop shot fishing. A great bluegill/crappie/yellow bass bite can be found trolling weed lines. Many anglers have observed high catch rates with a lot of sorting.

Black crappie, fair. Crappie are hard to target specifically, but can be caught mixed with other panfish. The bite has improved in and around docks and hoists. Bluegill, good. Bluegill have been biting like crazy recently. Leeches or worms and a simple bobber setup work well. Pumpkinseed, good. Fun and easier to catch from most docks. Use a small hook, bobber and piece of worm.

Lost Island Lake: Black crappie, fair. Bluegill, fair. Walleye, fair. Yellow perch, fair.

Minnewashta Lake: Panfishing has been good for anglers trolling weed lines. Vertical jigging is improving. Black crappie, fair. A nice crappie bite can be found with a little movement around the lake. Bluegill, fair. Pumpkinseed, good.

Silver Lake (Dickinson): Walleye, fair. Try using slip bobbers and finding weed lines.

Spirit Lake: The water temperature was 76 degrees last week. Fishing has been hit-or-miss lately. Perch and panfish bites have been good. The walleye bite is improving.

Yellow perch, fair. Best bite is morning until 11 a.m. and mid-afternoon. Depths vary depending on the time of day. Walleye, fair. Bite is hit-or-miss at dusk, but the day bite is improving. Many anglers have started to fish in shallower with slip bobbers along weed edges.

West Okoboji Lake: The water temperature was 76 degrees last Thursday. Many anglers have been most successful with trolling, but jigging and casting has also been very good. Offshore fishing for bass has been great.

Bluegill, good. Bluegill have been biting like crazy recently with fish up to 10 inches seen. Jigging, casting, and slip bobbers are working well. Leeches or worms and a simple bobber setup work well. Black crappie, good. Have been very picky lately, but can be easily caught if you aren't afraid to switch things up. Can also be caught frequently while picking through other panfish or have been found around weed edges. Walleye, fair. Walleye have been hard to target, but many anglers have been catching them while fishing for other species.

Despite average July rainfall, extreme drought returns to Iowa

Iowa received 3.98 inches of rain in July, slightly less than normal, according to the latest Water Summary Update by the Iowa DNR.

Rainfall was above normal in the western and southern parts of the state, and below normal in central and northeastern areas. The continued lack of rainfall led to the expansion of drought conditions in Iowa and the return of the extreme drought classification for the first time since April.

About 75 percent of the state is rated in some level of drought, with severe drought covering over one quarter of Iowa, and extreme drought covering almost 7 percent of Iowa. Since early July, drought conditions have improved across western and southern Iowa, but have deteriorated in east central and northeast parts of the state. The extreme drought designation covers the largest area of the state in nearly a year.

This dryness is reflected in decreasing streamflows in central and north central Iowa, and continued concern for shallow groundwater supplies in some areas of the state. The area of concern for shallow groundwater has shifted from northwest Iowa to north central Iowa.

"The rain that the state received in late July was needed, and where it came we have seen improvement in conditions. As we move through August we anticipate increased demand for water, and unless we see normal to above normal rainfall in the driest parts of the state, conditions could deteriorate," said Tim Hall, DNR's coordinator of hydrology resources, in a news release. "The area of most concern, northwestern Iowa, has seen much needed rainfall, and conditions have improved there."

Since the last water summary update, streamflow conditions across approximately half of the state remain in the below normal condition.

About 82 percent of the subsoil in northwest Iowa is rated as being short or very short of moisture, while soil moisture levels in west central and central Iowa are 77 percent short or very short. Soil moisture levels are generally better across the southern third of the state.

In the Missouri River basin, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers noted that runoff for July in the upper basin was just 34 percent of normal. Forecasted runoff for 2021 is expected to be 14.6 million-acre feet – four times less than the runoff in the flood years of 2011 and 2019.

Recent rain helps crops across state

Field activities in Iowa over the past week included fungicide and insecticide application and harvesting of hay and oats. Some areas of the state have had haying and grazing of CRP lands approved in response to drought conditions.

Topsoil moisture levels rated 18 percent very short, 35 percent short, 46 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 22 percent very short, 42 percent short, 36 percent adequate and 0 percent surplus. Topsoil moisture levels improved slightly in northwest Iowa while central Iowa topsoil moisture levels deteriorated. Central Iowa topsoil moisture rated 83 percent short to very short. Northwest and central Iowa subsoil moisture both rated 84 percent or more short to very short.

Corn silking or beyond reached 96 percent, equal to the five-year average. Corn in or beyond the dough stage reached 64 percent, four days ahead of average. Eleven percent of the corn crop has reached the dent stage, three days ahead of the five-year average. Iowa's corn condition was rated 61 percent good to excellent. Ninety-seven percent of soybeans were blooming, 10 days ahead of the five-year average. Soybeans setting pods reached 84 percent, eight days ahead of normal. Soybean condition was rated 60 percent good to excellent. Oats harvested for grain reached 86 percent, one day behind the five-year average.

The second cutting of alfalfa hay reached 97 percent complete. The third cutting was reported at 36 percent complete, equal to the 5-year average. Hay condition rated 55 percent good to excellent. Pasture condition was rated 35 percent good to excellent.

• Weather Summary

The first week of August started off with cooler than normal temperatures as negative departures of up to four degrees were observed in southern Iowa. The statewide average temperature was 71.0 degrees, 1.1 degrees below normal. Widespread rainfall was also observed across the state with the highest totals over western Iowa. However, a majority of Iowa's stations observed precipitation deficits between 0.50 inch and 0.75 inch as extreme drought expanded in northwest and east-central Iowa.

Rain totals late last week were highest in the northwest with a wide swath of totals above 0.50 inch and isolated pockets over an inch; Orange City (Sioux County) measured 1.00 inch while Holstein (Ida County) reported 1.64 inches. Another disturbance skirting the Iowa-Minnesota border brought additional rainfall across northern Iowa and eastern Iowa through last Saturday morning. Totals ranged from 0.01 inch at Cedar Rapids (Linn County) to 0.91 inch at Sibley (Osceola County).

Muggy conditions blanketed the state through the day with highs topping out in the low 80s. Another disturbance fired stronger thunderstorms in southwestern Iowa during the late-night hours and into Sunday with another cluster of storms in east-central and northeast Iowa before sunrise; heavy rain was observed at several stations with a narrow southwest-to-northeast band above 0.50 inch; four stations measured over two inches with Coon Rapids (Carroll County) reporting 2.10 inches while Grundy Center (Grundy County) observed 3.27 inches.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation at multiple stations in southeastern Iowa to 3.37 inches in Grundy Center. The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.66 inch while the normal is 0.91 inch.