The Iowa Lakes men's basketball team moved to 3-2 on the season after splitting at the Johnson County Classic over the weekend.

In the first game, the Lakers would face 11th-ranked Johnson County, falling by a point, 67-66.

The Lakers were led by Sam West with 17 points and seven rebounds; Kai Evans would add 14 points and Benard Omooria would score 12.

Johnson County was led by Massi Malterer with 17 points.

Fishing Iowa’s trout streams is a unique way to enjoy the cool fall weather and marvel at the amazing colors of Iowa’s prize trout. Male brown and brook trout display their brightest, most vibrant spawning colors this time of year.

The Iowa Great Lakes Fishing held its annual DNR Night this past Thursday evening, and what a success it was! With nearly 200 people in attendance, the evening was filled with updates, good food (55 jumbo pizzas consumed), raffle results and winners (over $4,000 made on the large raffle project) and updates from Department of Natural Resources personnel on the past year.

I was going through some of my tackle boxes recently. In 50-plus years of fishing, a guy accumulates a lot of lures. I sort through this accumulation of tackle in early winter every year for two reasons. First of all, to take an inventory of what lures need to be added for next season.

Although we anglers enjoy fishing our home waters, there is always the lure of fishing trip destinations. From my northwest Iowa home base, it might be a day trip to Clear Lake in north-central Iowa or Lake Rathbun in southern Iowa. Then, of course, there are the larger trip destinations across the Midwest.

Six members of the Spencer girls swim team will compete at the Iowa High School State Meet in Marshalltown Friday and Saturday against the best in the state. Lily Gross pre-qualified ahead of last week’s regional competition in Mason City; while Brooklyn Ferguson earned a spot at state in the 100 breaststroke. Both Gross and Ferguson will be joined by teammates Emily Quanbeck, Emma Storms and Ella Kasperbauer as the Tigers qualified in all three relay events.

ESTHERVILLE — Iowa Lakes Community College head softball coach Katie King, announced the signing of Morgan Fine to the 2024-25 recruiting class. Fine is the daughter of Todd and Mandy Fine and attends Spirit Lake High School.

ESTHERVILLE — The Iowa Lakes men’s basketball team moved to 2-1 on the season with a 112-76 win over Dordt’s JV Tuesday evening.

The Lakers were led by Kai Evans with 20 points. Blake Kooiman added 18 and Ashton Hermann finished with 10.

William DeJong was Dordt’s top scorer with 14 points.

ILCC will travel to Overland Park, Kansas, on Friday to take on 11th-ranked Johnson County. Tip for that game will be at 7 p.m.

MASON CITY — Brooklyn Ferguson and Lily Gross will represent the Spencer Tigers in four events next weekend at the IGHSAU State Swim Meet in Marshalltown. Prelims begin at 11 a.m. Friday with finals set to start at noon Saturday.

Emily Quanbeck earned a spot in three races, Emma Storms will compete in two and Ella Kasperbauer will appear in one for the Tigers.

Senior Kamdyn Van Gelder will accompany the team to step in as an alternative if required.

Despite finishing their Lakes volleyball campaign winless this year, a pair of Spencer Tigers were recognized for their individual efforts. Junior Addison Hobben, expected to lead the Tigers again in 2024, was named to the Lakes Conference Second Team and Tyrianna Vail, a senior, was placed on the Lakes Honorable Mention squad in her final season.

ESTHERVILLE — The 10th-ranked Iowa Lakes men’s basketball team split its home openers over the weekend. The Lakers fell to 1-1 after a 90-86 loss to defending national champion Milwaukee Area Technical College Sunday.

In popular culture, bats are creatures to be feared, especially this time of year with their association with Halloween and all things spooky. It’s perhaps not surprising that they have this reputation. Bats are only active at night and usually appear as indistinct shapes fluttering in the moonlight. Or they are huddling together in dark, dank places like caves, and abandoned buildings. Or perhaps, they’ve taken up residence in your attic.

The Iowa DNR is asking trappers for help with a study on Iowa’s gray fox population.

It’s at this time of year when many anglers are putting their open water fishing gear away. But there are some, more than you might think, that are looking forward to going fishing. They know that right now, in rivers throughout Walleye Country, there are many places that provide an opportunity to catch walleyes. And the number of places to catch walleyes is growing.

With the 2023 furharvester season now open, let’s take a look at furharvester data and population trends, which is monitored by Iowa Department of Natural Resources through three different ways: 1) Annual Furharvest Reports, 2) the Spring Spotlight Survey and 3) the Iowa Bowhunter Observation Survey. The result is an annual report entitled “Trends in Iowa Furbearer Populations and Harvest.”