Editor’s note: The North American Lake Management Society is a nationwide organization with a mission to forge partnerships among citizens, scientists, and professionals to foster the management and protection of lakes and reservoirs for today and tomorrow. NALMS and its partners have designated the month of July as “Lakes Appreciation Month.”

The popular Trees for Kids grant program is accepting applications through Aug. 26.

Grantees can be awarded up to $2,500 to purchase trees and mulch. All trees for this program must be planted on public community grounds (park, community center, public school, etc.) Youth are required to be engaged in the process, most often helping to plant the trees on site.

Tucked in to the rolling hills of southern Iowa’s Decatur County is Sand Creek Wildlife Area, a 3,700-acre destination for deer hunters and bird watchers. Here, cellphone service disappears and nature’s sounds take over ― this isn’t a white noise machine ― it’s the real thing.

Fishing can be like the weather in midsummer: Both can be very hot. To take part in this potentially fast action, you’ll need to do things a little differently than you would at other times of the year. Following are some of those things.

In the summer when the fish want to bite it works well to use faster moving baits and fish through areas quickly. If the fish are going to bite, they’ll let you know right away.

As a former high school language arts instructor, one of the units I taught in ninth grade English was Greek mythology. One of the legends surrounded the Phoenix, a mythical bird that would live for several hundred years before it would die by setting itself on fire. However, from those ashes, a new life would then start.

SERGEANT BLUFF — “It was nice to get back on the field once again,” Spencer baseball coach Brian Dirkx said. “The boys were excited to be together and play a game they love.

He added, “We got off to a rough start, but I like the way we settled in. We may not have gotten the victory, but we did some nice things defensively and on the mound.”

SERGEANT BLUFF — Ranked No. 14, Sergeant Bluff-Luton improved to 22-6 following the Warrior home victory Monday night, 7-2 over Spencer, back in action for the first time since the flooding overtook the city Saturday, June 22.

Both teams finished with six hits.

Lucy Simington led the Tigers at the plate, delivering two doubles; and Brenna Johnson, the designated hitter, added another.

PETERSON — With two games remaining on its regular season schedule, Sioux Central’s softball team picked up its 19th win on the year, a 6-0 victory. The Rebels remain tied a top the Twin Lakes Conference with Newell-Fonda at 9-1.

“We only had five hits as a team and left 11 girls on base which is concerning,” coach Kasey Krager said, following the win. “Hopefully we’ll get the hits when we need them. We’ll take win 19 on the season. …”

MARCUS — The Rebel baseball team struggled to get things going at the plate, and failed to find the strike zone on the hill during Tuesday’s 10-0 road loss to Marcus-Meridan-Cleghorn/Remsen-Union in Marcus.

Offensively, Sioux Central got one hit from senior first baseman Kadin Wood.

Alan Vasher, Sioux Central coach, said, “I just don’t think we were aggressive enough at the plate. We did a good job of putting the ball in play, but seemed to miss on some good pitches.”

Ask people why they go fishing, and you’ll get a lot of answers, but it’s pretty obvious that fishing is an extremely popular pastime. There is little doubt that fishing can be a stress reliever. Just being out on the water on a nice day like we had last Sunday can give a reprieve from the troubles people are experiencing. That is especially true right now! A break for even a few hours can mean so much!

It’s summer and the fish are hungry. At this time of year, there are lots of techniques that we can employ to catch those hungry fish. The fish can be in deep water, shallow water, they can be suspended or they can be relating to structure. One very good way to catch a variety of fish species, day-in and day-out, is by fishing along and over the weeds that grow in deeper water. Here’s how to go about that.

Hunters will notice a few regulation changes for the upcoming 2024-25 hunting seasons. These changes could impact deer hunters, waterfowl hunters and furharvesters.

DEER

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is hosting eight meetings in Western Iowa to discuss the status of the region’s deer herd as population levels have fallen in recent years. The meetings are open to the public.

State wildlife experts say there are likely multiple factors that have contributed to the decline in the number of deer on the landscape and it might take a multilevel approach for the herd to recover.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is looking for help with its annual wild turkey production survey. During the months of July and August wild turkey sightings are recorded to estimate this year’s nesting rates and nest success.

Spencer High School athletes jumped into action last week, helping anyone who needed assistance with flood cleanup from June 26-28.

The high school students, most of whom were athletes, gathered each morning at 9 a.m. to form groups and decide which houses to go to. Taylor Chapman, Spencer Community School District activities director, organized the high schoolers’ efforts.