VERMILLION, S.D. — Spencer hit the road on Monday morning, traveling to Vermillion, South Dakota, to compete at the Dan Lennon High School Track and Field Meet. Spencer claimed three first place finishes at the University of South Dakota.

VERMILLION, S.D. — Heading out-of-state to South Dakota, the Spencer boys track team participated in the Dan Lennon Relays. The 4x200-meter relay team of Miles Robbins, Campbell Wessels, Gavin Timmer and Blaine Erdman took the top spot in the race. The group clocked a time of 1:35.98. Outrunning second place in Le Mars, the victory would be the only one for Spencer at the meet.

Nine athletes from the Iowa Lakes sports shooting team traveled to San Antonio, Texas, to compete in two trap events. The ACUI/SCTP College National Shoot was held at the National Shooting Complex from March 21-25. This year was the second largest College Nationals ever held with 741 athletes from 73 teams competing in the American Trap Singles Event.

SPENCER — We all have a passion for something in the world. Some have multiple that keep us going every single day. For sixth generation farmer Kurt Christensen, he farms over 1,000 acres of land and herds 2,000 cows here in Spencer. He also runs a vintage sports cards business, Ripping Vintage Packs. Luckily for Christensen, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

SPENCER — After a spectacular senior basketball campaign, Spencer's Jada Piercy added one more achievement for her hoops trophy case. Piercy was selected to the 4A All-State third team for her play this season.

SIOUX RAPIDS — Sioux Central junior point guard Morgan Christian was selected to the 2A All-State second team recently. Christian was a leader for the Rebels this season, leading the team in points per game, assists per game and steals per game.

SIOUX RAPIDS — After an incredible 23-1 season for the Sioux Central Rebels, two players have been selected to the 2A All-State team. Jacob Hargens was selected to the 2A first team, while Carter Boettcher was selected to the 2A third team. Hargens had a monster campaign this past season. He is just the second Rebel to ever receive first-team honors. He shot 63% from the field, scoring 655 points this season for the Rebels.

KANSAS CITY — The Spencer Tigers eighth grade team went down to Kansas City over the weekend to participate in a USSSA 14 & Under Tournament. They faced teams from Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, and complied a perfect 5-0 record. They would end up winning the championship game 10-3 over a team from Kansas City. The team was sponsored by Seversen Construction and Sunshine Foods. Pictured above are, back row coaches: Paul Daniels, Chris Seversen, Nate McCormick.

The Iowa Lakes men's basketball team fell short at the NJCAA National Tournament this week falling to Waubonsee, 70-64, in the first round game, then falling to Johnson County, 77-76, in their consolation game. The Lakers finish the year 24-10.

In their contest against Waubonsee the Lakers were led by Isaiah Williams with 16 points, Jeremiah Burke added 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Creighton Morisch had 13 points.

Waubonsee was led by Joey Niesman with 23 points.

The Iowa Lakes Community College softball team lost a heartbreaker in game one, as they fell to Kirkwood Community College in nine innings with a score of 10-9. They then dropped game two 10-2.

Game 1: Kirkwood 10, Iowa Lakes 9 (9 innings)

The Iowa Lakes Community College softball team turned to the long ball to earn a sweep over Northeast Community College. MacKenna Jones picked up the win in the 4-2 game one victory and Jayda Staige earned the win in the 16-11 game two win. The Lakers are now 19-7 overall and 4-4 in conference.

Game 1: Iowa Lakes 4, Northeast 2

Iowans who are graduates of “frog and toad school” have collected data on more than 2,200 wetlands since 1991, providing an incredible record of activity. The goal for this year’s graduates is to add to that legacy.

“It's rare to have such a broad set of data collected over so many years on one species, much less a whole group of vulnerable species,” said Stephanie Shepherd, coordinator for the frog and toad survey for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Finally, yes finally, spring is slowly coming, and most certainly open water angers are getting excited. Here is an opportunity for muskie anglers to get together for the annual Spring Muskie Fishing Seminar hosted by the Upper Great Plains Chapter 29 of Muskies Inc.

I wish that fish responded to stress the way that some people do. Some people, when in a stressful situation, eat more than usual. Fish usually respond to stress by eating less. A lot less. Fishing pressure is what often causes stress for fish. Following are some ideas on how to catch fish that are stressed due to fishing pressure.

We’re just around the corner, and plans are already set for the 41st Iowa Great Lakes Area Walleye Weekend tournament. Set for May 6-7, the weekend tournament coincides with the reopening of the walleye season on Big Spirit, East Okoboji and West Okoboji lakes, which has been closed since Feb. 14.