Fall 2023
For Your Recipe Box
PB & J Fruit Pizza 1 Tortilla shell Peanut Butter Jelly or Jam Favorite Fruits Bake Tortilla shell for 10 minutes at 375º flat on oven rack. Remove and cool. Spread peanut butter over entire tortilla shell. Drizzle your favorite Jelly or Jam, I chose Raspberry jam. Sprinkle with your favorite fruit sliced to the…
Read MoreA Farm Boy from Spirit Lake
A farm boy from Spirit Lake never imagined the adventures he’d experience after graduating from Diamond Lake No. 1 in eighth grade. Bob Boettcher not only impacted countless engineering projects across the State, but he also served as mayor of Spirit Lake from 1979-1989. He served in World War 2 and Korean wars and was…
Read MoreFair Days
Fair Builds Community When the gates open on Sept. 9 at the Clay County Fair (CCF), young and old will excitedly pour onto the 222-acre fairgrounds to pet baby calves, enjoy world-class entertainment, talk to hundreds of vendors and eat yummy fair food. Blue-ribbon competitions showcase everything from cakes, photography and animals. The CCF is…
Read MoreEscape to Estherville
Enjoy a hike in beautiful Fort Defiance State Park, canoe down the West Fork of the Des Moines River, or fish or hunt in one of the many surrounding public areas. Visitors can learn more about the fallen meteorite while checking out Estherville’s history at the Emmet County Historical Museum. Estherville is filled with unique…
Read MoreDee’s Bee and Butterfly Festival
It’s a beautiful sight to observe the journey of the Monarch butterfly. Every year, the colorful orange and black butterflies travel south in the early fall and then reside in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico during the winter months. Some of the Monarch butterflies start their migration journey from the balcony of the Dickinson…
Read MoreKylie’s Book Nook
My name is Kylie Sebert. I’m a native of Spirit Lake and recently moved back to West Des Moines! I have a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, with an emphasis in fiction. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook as @litwithkyiejo. As with most writers, one of my passions is discovering and…
Read MoreLake Life Review
Another summer and another tractor ride in the books! 2023 was my 9th year participating in the annual Tractor Ride Around West Lake (T.R.A.W.L.) that the Okoboji FFA puts on. For those of you who don’t know what it is, I am sure you have seen or heard it make its way through town and…
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