08/19/21: Area Happenings & Accomplishments

O’Brien County Relay For Life raises $20K

The 2021 O’Brien County Relay For Life on Aug. 10 raised $20,671 for the American Cancer Society’s advocacy, education, patient services and research programs. The event was held at Northwest Iowa Lifelong Learning and Recreation Center on the campus of NCC in Sheldon.

One of the highlights of the Relay For Life is the luminaria ceremony. Four hundred sixteen luminarias surrounded the track in the rec center. Twenty-three people participated in the survivor’s lap.

Summer Honor List announced at NCC

Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon has announced the Honor List for the summer semester. Students on the Honor List are full-time and have achieved an average grade point of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

Area students have qualified for inclusion on the Honor List.

Everly: Jenny Hollesen, Radiologic Technology.

Sanborn: Lucy Gachanja, Associate Degree Nursing; Delmer Lode, Associate of Arts; Ashlyn Manwarren, Associate Degree Nursing; Cade Schiphoff, Electrical Technology.

Sanborn drop site available for extra produce donations

Local Master Gardeners with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach O’Brien County have added a produce donation drop site at the Sanborn Community Gardens. Community members are encouraged to drop off surplus garden produce to be shared with those in need in O’Brien County.

Extra garden produce may be dropped off Monday evening up until 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning at the designated drop site, which is beside the garden shed at the Sanborn Community Gardens. The gardens are located along the east edge of North Eastern Street, directly behind the Cornerstone United Reformed Church.

According to Kate Stewart, who coordinates the Master Gardener program in O’Brien County, local Master Gardeners will harvest their own donation garden produce each Tuesday throughout the growing season and combine that with produce donations. Donations will be taken to Upper Des Moines Opportunity, Inc., Love, INC of Greater O’Brien County, the Siouxland Food Bank and additional food pantries as produce is available.

Stewart said that all donations will be cleaned, weighed and taken to the designated donation site before the heat of the day on Tuesdays. Local food pantries look forward to these fresh produce donation days.

“We at Upper Des Moines enjoy receiving the produce that is brought to our office as it does go very fast and clients love getting it,” said Brenda Collier, O’Brien County Outreach Specialist with Upper Des Moines Opportunity. “They really ask for tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers and spaghetti squash.”

For additional information on the produce donation drop site, call (712) 957-5045 or email [email protected].

NWI fishing report

Offshore fishing for bass has been very good lately. The panfish/perch bite has been excellent lately. The extended forecast calls for temperatures in the 70s and lower 80s. Most lake temperatures are in the upper 70s to 80s.

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 77 degrees last Thursday. Fishing has been hit-or-miss lately. Perch and panfish bites have been good. 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 water 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.

Iowa DNR fire grant available

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources Forestry Fire Program, working in coordination with the U.S. Forest Service, has grant money available for Iowa’s rural fire departments to help battle wildfires.

The grants offer funding assistance for wildfire suppression equipment, slide-in units, hoses, nozzles, adapters, portable tanks and pumps, personal protective equipment, and communications equipment. Additionally, if a fire department has a special need that can be tied directly to wildfire suppression, this grant allows for such special requests.

The grant provides 50 percent reimbursement for wildland fire equipment with a maximum reimbursement grant of $3,500 per department. Applications are due on Oct. 15.

Gail Kantak, state wildland fire supervisor for the Iowa DNR, said fire departments should send her a Wildland Fire Report whenever they respond to a wildland fire or provide assistance to a prescribed or controlled wildland fire. Departments actively returning these reports receive priority points in the Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant application scoring process.

All Iowa volunteer fire departments were mailed information about the 2021 Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant. The grant application package and the Wildland Fire Report form are also available online at http://www.iowadnr.gov/fire.