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Okoboji Online | Guestbook | Archive | February 2009

Archive February 2009

Could it be?	=)
Monday, February 2, 2009 at 9:07 AM Is that "THE" car on the ice?

Old Lincoln Nurse	oocmednurse2@hotmail.com
Monday, February 2, 2009 at 11:52 AM I SEE there is a CAR on the LAKE..I, too am wondering if you are doing the "bet when the car sinks" THIS year..Last year, they said it was "too expensive and not ecologically correct"..so I was just wondering..I KNOW someone KNOWS! We'll be back in July when the ice is not 17 inches think on West Okoboji!!!

Josh Frommie	Jfrommie@yahoo.com
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 7:46 PM Does anyone have more info on the snowmobile races this weekend? Thanks

Sled race

Info

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 10:09 PM
Some websites say its on Smiths Bay however.. Saturday "Vintage Snowmobile Race" On East Lake Okoboji. In front of Parks Marina. Races start at 11am. Registration Friday 7-9pm at Okoboji Boat Works and again on Saturday morning from 8-10am. At Parks Marina.. "Fire em Up $1,000 Fastest Sled of the Day.. Sunday "Grudge Match" run whatcha brung 2009 and older.. studs on track needed. Head to head racing 4 lanes 500 feet.

Great Job	snowmobile@aol.com
Monday, February 9, 2009 at 2:26 PM Just wanted to say what a great job Lisa Parks/Parks Marina did on organizing the Vintage Snowmobile Race. Everything was very will planned and organized. Our family had a great time! Thanks again.

FLteacher

need@info.com

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 5:29 PM
I am a high school teacher in Florida but was born in Jackson, MN and have introduced my southern charges to winter in the northern hinterlands. Two years ago my classes played along with the "when will the car fall through the ice game." I see that there is a nice red car sitting on the ice again. Does ANYONE know if it is there for a similar "game?" I am very interested!

Lisa	iloveboji.com
Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 6:10 PM Where is everyone? Did everyone die?

Die?	Not dead
Friday, February 13, 2009 at 9:20 AM Just hibernating.

ToFLTeacher	BojiLover
Monday, February 16, 2009 at 9:34 AM Check out this link. It will tell you all about the car. http://www.exploreokoboji.com/news_story.asp?sty=91919

West Lake land Owners

Get Involved

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 3:10 PM
It is a complete waste of county money to allow more water to run out of west lake. This action will lower the water level to the connecting water ways to the east and south. Please consider eliminating the current board of supervisors, who know for a fact all flooding on west lake was eliminated by professionals in 1993. The first to go lives on Big Spirit and is influenced by a small group of west lake radicals, that are used to getting what they want. Being clever knowing how and who to approach to fight for a needless cause. Speak your mind, do not let further mistakes be made.

Boji Lover	please help
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 10:48 AM Our church is bringing a group of middle school kids to Boji to perform the first weekend in June. Can someone tell me a couple of good places to stop between Sioux City and there - we will stop in LaMars (Blue Bunny tour) on the way there - need a place on the way home on Sunday afternoon. Thanks for your help!!!

LET SOME $$ FLOW TO

EAST LAKE

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 12:33 PM
I know the all mighty $ speaks; West Lake land owners are heard and the rest of us tuned out. Spend/waste money on controlling the water level on West what about spending the money on East Lake to get it dredged where it is needed (whole north end by fish hatchery; north of the narrows and the narrows them self). Everyone is ready to spend TAX PAYERS money on West Lake ideas/projects but East Lake has TAX PAYERS TOO, that would like to see some of our money come to help improve our portion of the GREAT LAKES area. Is there not someone there year round that can speak up for us on East Lake and see what help we can get.

wayne	wayne@tableturn.com
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 1:05 PM Looking for classmates. Go to Facebook.com and search "Spirit Lake High School Class of 1970"

Wayne	To: please help
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 1:13 PM Not really techy but historic Oychedan Mound, highest point in Iowa. Caylor Prairie, 5 miles west of the Lakes off Hwy 9. Shows prairie exactly how it was 150 years ago, like Little House on the Prairie. Also glacier remnants all over western Iowa, just do the research.

Boji Lover

---

Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 12:15 PM
To the church middle school group. There is very little time between Sioux City and Okoboji. Blue Bunny is the obvious stop. For real food you might stop at Bob's (Bob's Drive-In; Highway 75 South, Le Mars, IA 51031) They have a summer spot adjacent to Arnold Amusement Park that is very popular. They serve loose meat "burgers", hot dogs, wonderful milk shakes, etc. Hope this helps.

water level

money.

Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 10:21 PM
Dredging East is going to cost Im guessing a minimun of 6 million easy. And I wouldnt be suprised if they said higher. I know of a river in eastern Iowa cost over 3 million and that was a smaller dredge project than East would be. Half the size id say ). which needs redone after this past year flood. How are you going to get grant money when all the funds are going to Eastern Iowa? Also where are you going to dump the silt for fill? Kum and Go boat ramp was the last site years ago. Spirit is 6ft higher in elevation so it will allways cause silt to build on the north end. East Lake once a marsh land with a stream runing through it if u think back at old pictures. And for the record. The 1993 improvements were not enough to keep West from flooding again. Think back 2 or 3 years ago. Lazy Lagon on west lake was less than a foot from going over its banks. maybe even made it over. They also are using a lock system in some areas. Its not lowering the normal level its just runing out faster.The lake rose 19 inches with the rain and Big Spirit Unloaded its water a lot faster. I saw a lot of damaged boats and docks first hand. and that was in 2004 or so. So choose from Millions in property damage or have it at the normal level. And keep in mind you have the usual drought years and all the nature stuff. I work right by the water. I dont see it any lower than years past. It just seems that way. IF you dont beleave me just wait untill we have rains like they did in eastern Iowa and then so how the updated system works. I bet you will all thank them. West and East would of flooded again. Consider it preventative maintiance/ I think they are doing a pretty darn good job. No erassion milfoil and no zebra muscles. I think id be thanking them. Drive less than 2 hrs away u will hit them both. Im sure I will get a negitive response after posting this from some but hey you cant make everyone happy no mater what u do. ID be greatfull that we still have beutifull lakes up here and people are making an effert to keep it that way. you can talk the talk but its another thing to actually put forth the effert. they arent projects that became mistakes when it comes to clean water and flood preventions.

clarifying

sorry..

Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 10:40 PM
I was responding to 2 posts in my last post, However I will say im not disagreeing with the dredge and feel it should be worked on but the problem is geting the sufficient funds. They are also working on cleaning up East Lake as we speek. They are doing some work with run off at the storm sewers into the lake to keep errosion down. One other issue that needs to be adressed is the the run off at the park by Kables trading post.maybe they are. So they are infact working on improving East lake water quality as well. Sorry for writing a book everyone.

Lower Gar Outlet

GET INVOLVED

Friday, February 20, 2009 at 10:09 AM
There is a Dickinson County Board meeting, Tuesday, February 24th at 11:30 and the Lower Gar Outlet will be on the agenda. The Board has been hiding this topic under the code name of Project L535 because they don't want the public to be informed and they don't want to hear from you. WE NEED YOUR HELP. If you are unaware of this project, the Board is trying to spend an estimated $300-$400 thousand dollars of taxpayers money on a project to lower the lake levels because a couple West Lake people are complaining about the possibility of another 1993 flood. The Board has approved moving forward with project plans and is getting ready to put the project out for bids. They are moving forward without all the facts. The spillway was changed after the 1993 floods according the the studies done by the Iowa DNR. The liklihood of another flood like 1993, is a very remote possibility with the current outlet in place. What is more likely is that draining the lake faster will result in more low water levels. If you look at the Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council website data (http://www.watersafetycouncil.org/), you can get 61 years of water level data. You'll see from the data that the lake level is actualy lower than the Lower Gar outlet dam more times than it is above the dam. Fifty-nine percent of the time the water level is below the dam height. Over 61 years, the lake level averages between 7.8 inches above or below the height of the dam. Lowering the lake level faster in the summer will leave less water to evaporate during periods that rainfall is less to increase the amout of water in the lakes. Draining the lake faster will lower the lake levels and cause more algae, restrict boats in many areas of the lakes, and create more boating hazards. Economic issues will also be a result as less tourists will use the lakes due to low water issues. The Board of Supervisors are trying to push this through without the public knowing about it. If you live in the areas of the East Lake Narrows or north of the Narrows, in the Harbor, in the canels off West Lake, in Lower Gar, Minnewashta, or Upper Gar consider what it will be like having the lake level 8-10 inches lower than it typically is in August/September/October and consider how that will impact the lakes for you. Will you be able to get your boat out of your area of the lake to use the rest of the lakes? Will more hazards (rocks, sandbars, etc.) be a problem? Will the algae become more of a problem and lake water quality will be poor? If you own a business in the Lakes area will your business suffer if there are fewer tourists? If you have property in the Lakes area will your property values decline? The Board is trying to make a change to the lakes without supporting facts. This change could have a major impact on the future of our lakes. WE NEED YOUR HELP. Attend the meeting on the 24th. Write or call your Supervisor on the Board and express your opinion. Thank you for your support.

Stop wasteful spending

5 NEW SUPERVISORS

Friday, February 20, 2009 at 2:15 PM
The flooding of 1993 was studied by the army corps of engineers and their recommendations were met. The water receded rapidly, with no more problems. One supervisor questioned maybe it would be in order to have the army corps of engineers do a further study regarding the few radiclas desires to just get their way. This was dismissed by the majority of the board as they NO that lowering west lake 8 to 10 inches is not a wise thing to do. Believe me the few radicals will be at the Feb. 24th meeting with their silly lawyers, and give a very convincing bunch of babble regarding the millions of dollars of west lake shore that is being washed away. I would like to have a survey taken of all land owners on west lake regarding this silly plan. We need to vote out all our current supervisors and get fresh people who can say NO to the small powerful who request personal selfish reasons to harm our water ways. We have many dangerous life theatening roads in our county that need attention. One is a gravel road that comes to a T with no stop sign. Some one is going to get hit by one of the 300 large trucks per day that travel at high rates of speed and are breaking no laws by not yielding to taffic. WHAT IS A LIFE WORTH? I can not help but think, some large sums of money may be going to a few campain funds. WE MUST VOTE OUT ALL CURRENT IRRESPONSIBLE SUPERVISORS THAT SUPPORT LOWERING WEST LAKE!!!!

k	please?
Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 12:31 PM All of this is interesting . . . really! But I'm sure much of it doesn't get read because it's too long for this "guest" book. I know you can edit down to a short paragraph and still get your points across. C'mon, give it a go!

Read The Report

Cover to Cover

Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 1:35 PM
Here's what the Army Corps of Engineers' report actually said: "With the addition of the emergency culverts in 1993, the flooding threat to Spirit Lake was greatly reduced. However, the Okoboji chain still faces much the same flood threats it did before the emergency culvert was put in place. One alternative that could reduce the flood threat on the Okoboji chain was analyzed, which was to remove the road just upstream from the Lower Gar Lake [outlet]." Iowa Great Lakes Management Plan, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, February, 1997, p.58

Summer Resident

fun@boji.com

Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 1:45 PM
Why has nobody suggested adding maybe one or two more of the big square tubes like the one the Corps of Engineers installed in 1993 but then put gates on them so that they can be closed off. That way if we had a big rain event these could be opened to release more water. With these tubes installed and the gates closed the water level all the normal years would not be affected or drop any sooner than now.

Just the Facts	Please
Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 2:28 PM Dear Read the Report, Cover to cover....I would be interested in reading the report if it can be found on the internet. Please supply a link so that we can all read the report.

Read The Report 1

Cover to Cover 1

Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 3:17 PM
The reports (1997 & 1999) are not on the internet. The Dickinson County Engineer has them in .pdf electronic format. If you take a couple new CD's to the Engineer's office, they may be able to download them for you on your disks. Give their office a call and see if they can do that for you. I have asked the Okoboji Protective Association if they can post the files on their website.

COE Report

Information

Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 4:00 PM
The DNR requested 1n 1997 and again in 1999 that the Corps of Engineers study the flooding potential of the Iowa Great Lakes. The 1997 report is 147 pages and 13 MB in file size. The 1999 report is 70 pages and 3 MBs in size. In the 1997 COE report on page 111 recommendation 7 - point 3 the COE said: “Construction of additional capacity at the Lower Gar Lake outlet, either by installing more culverts, replacing the existing culverts with a bridge, or complete removal of the road has the potential to lower peak stages on the Okoboji chain and may warrant further investigation.”

Good Decisions

Dickinson County

Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 4:09 PM
Before you try to throw out the existing Board of Supervisors you might to attend some of their meetings to learn about all the issues they must deal with every week. It is not easy to find five dedicated and talented individuals who are willing to invest a large amount of their time to serve our county. On spending - are you aware the Iowa Department of highways has alloctaed $100,000 towards the 230th Avenue road repair at the Lower Gar roadway?

Adjustable Dam

Realistic?

Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 4:18 PM
To Summer Resident - there has been plenty of discussion about having an adjustable dam at Lower Gar. The problem is who is going to make the decision about the dam level? It is a job with immense financial liability. No government body has stepped forward and said they want to manage the lake level. Even if some organization would do it that capability would have to be approved by the legislature and that is not an easy thing to accomplish.

opps	sorry
Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 9:55 PM slow computer. the water started 50 ft from shore in 91. with a normal depth of 9ft at the end of a 100 ft dock compaired to 4 ft in 91 with the dock starting in the same place.

More Information

Please

Monday, February 23, 2009 at 7:57 AM
To - Not Just a Whim - 1. If this project is so important to the lakes, why has the Board not made the meetings more accessible, been more forth coming with information and facts, and been more transparent with the public? 2. If violation of Iowa law 455B.275 had occured, then Iowa law 455B.275(5) gives the DNR authority to remove the structure. After 16 years you would think they would have taken such action if they felt it was necessary. 3. Typical government mentality here - Just because there's been $100,000 allocated you feel like we have to spend it. There are many more roadways in serious conditon in the county that could use the funding. 4. You stated there is $1,700,000,000 worth of assessed property in the Okoboji chain of lakes that could be damaged by a flood. However, your statistic is flawed because well over 90% of the property in the lakes would never have any damage from flooding because the properties are well off the lake level. There is $1,700,000,000 worth of assessed property in the Okoboji chain of lakes that could be permanently damaged if the lake levels are lowered too much and water quality suffers, obstructions make it dangerous to boat, and tourism decreases. 5. Changing the outflow at 230th would also require changes to the outlet under A-34. Where is this change in the plan and how much more is the Board willing to spend? 6. If people are concerned about flooding then why don't the towns surrounding the lakes apply to FEMA to participate in the national flood program? I understand they did after 1993. But withdrew after people in the designated flood plains complained they could not build on empty lots or improve their property in those areas. Why should all the taxpayers bail out those few homeowners and resort owners that chose to build in flood plains? The Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council website data (http://www.watersafetycouncil.org/) confirms the lake is lower than the dam more often than it's above the dam. Lowering the level in April/May, as you suggest, leaves less water in the lake to evaporate in June/July/August/Sept/Oct. There won't be any excess water for the dam to control during these months if the Board moves ahead with this reckless action.

To More Information

More Facts

Monday, February 23, 2009 at 9:51 AM
The Dickinson County Board of Supervisirs has a meeting at 9:30 AM every Tuesday morning. The agenda is published on the county website and is posted at the West door of the courthouse. The Lower Gar Outlet has been listed on the agenda several times in the last few months. The Board of Supervisors are not going on a whim. They are following the recommendations of the US Army Corps of Engineers contained in two different COE studies. The Department of Natural Resources in a January 2, 2009 letter asked Dickinson County to stop the blockage of the natural flow of water. The DNR would expect the County to fix the County road rather than the DNR tearing out the County road. The fact the Department of Transportation has allocated $100,000 to fix 230th Avenue is an indication that the DOT feels this is important road work. The DOT is also concerned that additional flooding in the Iowa Great Lakes area will cause damage to other roads - as was the concern in 1993. The water flow under County Road A34 has been evaluated and it is felt no further changes are needed tat A34 at this time. It is not necessary to go to FEMA. What needs to be done is to implement the recommendations of the Corps of Engineers made in their two studies of the flooding potential of the Iowa Great Lakes. When the Corps of Engineers recommendations are followed the houses around the lake will be fine.

More questions the

Board doesn't want to answer

Monday, February 23, 2009 at 11:45 AM
The Lower Gar Outlet Project has never been identified on the agenda as such - it's always been called the L535 Project. The agenda was finally posted for the meeting tomorow on the website this morning and the agenda finally called the project by it's name. The Board meeting minutes from 1/2/2009 (or any other meeting minutes) didn't state anything about receiving a letter from the DNR regarding the flow from the culverts. Who was the letter addressed too? Who wrote the letter? What was the content of the letter? Why after 16 years did the DNR out of the blue write a letter to address their concerns? If the Board was trying to be completely transparent and wanted the public to know the facts, then they need be more forth coming with information. If the Board was interested in making sure people were informed they would provide access to the two COE studies that keep getting referred too. Someone said the two reports are 3MB and 13BMB in size. People download movies off the internet larger than those two files. Technology can not be an excuse. How can A34 not block the outflow up stream on 230th when it's size is less than the current culverts on 230th and it would be considerably less than the proposed culverts? And why is no one willing to comment that the based on historical data from the The Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council website that the data (http://www.watersafetycouncil.org/) confirms the lake is lower than the dam more often than it's above the dam. Lowering the level in April/May, leaves less water in the lake to evaporate in June/July/August/Sept/Oct.

DNR Letter

Information

Monday, February 23, 2009 at 12:17 PM
I believe a careful review of the Board of Supervisors agendas for the past five months will show the Lower Gar Outlet is mentioned several times. Supervisor discusiions about the Lower Gar Outlet have been reported on KUOO radio and the Dickinson County News several times. The January 2, 2009 letter from the Department of Natural Resources was addresssed to the Dickinson County Board of Supervisors and was signed by the DNR Director Richard Leopold. A key paragraph of the letter "Because of the obvious potential for future flood events, it is the recommendation of the DNR that Dickinson County proceed with one of the plans of action provided by the COE in their studies in regard to increasing flow under 230th Avenue. It is my understanding that the County is considering adding additional culverts to 230th Avenue in its 2009 work plan. Failure to do so may exacerbate flooding in the Okoboji chain should extreme precipitation events recur." The reason the 230th Avenue blockage of the natural flow of water has not been dealt with sooner is that 1) many people thought the Corps of Engineer recommendations had been implemented and 2) the 2008 Spring rains in Eastern Iowa showed that we could be next with substanial rainfall and flooding. The Board of Supervisors receives many letters so not all letters received by the board will be mentioned in the minutes. The issue is not is the lake level over or below the dam more often. The issue is how much damage is caused to shoreline, docks and hoists when the lake level is held at an artificially high level.

Lower Gar Outlet	Meeting
Monday, February 23, 2009 at 1:05 PM Keep asking questions on this topic. This is the most discussion this topic has had. Show up at the meeting. Keep asking questions. Keep demanding information. Be informed.

DNR Letter

More Info please

Monday, February 23, 2009 at 1:48 PM
I'm sure the council would share a copy of the DNR letter if requested. You said the DNR letter said, "...obvious potential of a flood...." Then you linked it to the flooding in Eastern Iowa and said, "the 2008 Spring rains in Eastern Iowa showed that we could be next with substanial rainfall and flooding" to get people worried and scared. SHAME ON YOU. Here are the facts....The topography of the Iowa Great Lakes Watershed basin and the river basins in Eastern Iowa are totally different. The watershed that feeds the Iowa Great Lakes covers 140 square miles (2002 Iowa DNR Report). No rivers and very few streams actually flow into the lakes. Whatever rainfall falls in Dickinson County surrounding the lakes and a little area of Southern Minnesota can flow into the lakes. The lakes are a big bath tub. Compare that to the Iowa River with it's tributaries and the Iowa River watershed drains 2,904 square miles. The Cedar River drains 5,814 square miles. (IA DOT Report HR-029) So don't try to scare people with generalities.

New Flood Predictions

SCJ Dec 15 2008

Monday, February 23, 2009 at 2:55 PM
It is difficult to predict rainfall and flooding events, but maybe this December 15th article from the Sioux City Journal will provide some insight into our future: ............... Experts say serious flood frequency may increase Posted: Monday, December 15, 2008 CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- Time will tell if the record floods of 2008 are an aberration or the beginning of a trend. But some experts say the likelihood of serious floods in Iowa is increasing in frequency. Eugene Takle is a professor of atmospheric science and agricultural meteorology at Iowa State University. He said that if he had to hazard a guess, the possibility of serious flooding is increasing. "I'd say the likelihood of this type of event is increasing," Takle said. His colleague at Iowa State, Elwynn Taylor, said he believes increases in Iowa's annual precipitation, coupled with anticipated precipitation increases linked to global warming, greatly increase the likelihood of more frequent and severe flooding. Taylor says that since 1950, Iowa's annual precipitation has increased by 10 percent, which in turn has doubled the amount of water carried by rivers in the state. It took a previously unthinkable chain of weather events to swell the Cedar River to a 31.12-foot-tall, 1.6 mile-wide tsunami that swamped much of downtown Cedar Rapids on June 13. Taylor said a 10 percent increase in precipitation equates to roughly 3 more inches per year, making rivers six times more prone to flooding because it all runs off. What had been considered a 100-year flood is now a 17-year flood, Taylor said. Though the parameters of a 100-year and 500-year floods have increased dramatically, the odds of another flood like the one in June are about 1 in 250 in a given year, said Witold Krajewski, a water resources engineer at IIHR Hydroscience & Engineering at the University of Iowa. Krajewski and his colleagues start with the same historical data used by the Geological Survey but subject it to a different analysis that considers the role of drainage patterns in the landscape. "Yes, there was a lot of rain, but the rain was not as extraordinary as the flood," Krajewski said. Krajewski said the timing and spacing of the rainfall, combined with drainage patterns within the Cedar Rapids watershed caused the runoff to converge just upstream of Cedar Rapids on June 13. That created a "traffic jam" Krajewski said, which led to the large-scale flooding.

Weather predictions

and more scare tactics

Monday, February 23, 2009 at 5:26 PM
Thank you for making my case. The article you quoted was all about rivers and floods. TOTALLY different watershed situation than the lakes. In the article, it said, "Krajewski said the timing and spacing of the rainfall, combined with drainage patterns within the Cedar Rapids watershed caused the runoff to converge just upstream of Cedar Rapids on June 13. That created a "traffic jam" Krajewski said, which led to the large-scale flooding." Here's what the Farmer's Almanac says for 2009....Winter temperatures will be slightly below normal, on average, in the north and above normal in the south. Expect record cold in the first half of December, with other cold periods in early and mid-January and mid-February. Snowfall will be below normal in the north and above normal in the south, with the snowiest periods in early December, early January, early February, and early March. April and May will be warmer and drier than normal, with the season's first hot spell in early to mid-May. Summer will be warmer and drier than normal, on average, despite a relatively cool August. The hottest periods will be in early June, much of July, and mid- to late August. September and October will have below-normal rainfall and near-normal temperatures. Here's a quote from the American Meteorological Society on predicting weather..... Slight skill exists in forecasting average temperatures and precipitation for the month or season. The skill in forecasting average temperature is greater than that in forecasting average precipitation. No verifiable skill exists in forecasting day-to-day weather changes a month or a season in advance. Look at the charts. The lakes go through longer and more sustained periods of dry weather than wet weather. The lake level is below the dam more often than it's above the dam.

Curious

<><><><><>

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 8:16 AM
What IS the difference between a "guestbook" and a "forum"? Even though all of this is very enlightening, I don't think it's the purpose of this site. I'm thinking "Guests" would like to learn more about the entire area, not just your concerns (and long ones at that!) about one subject. I hope others won't be afraid to jump in with lighter subjects, the intent of this GUESTbook. 'Nuffs enough sometimes.

guestbook

or forum

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 9:57 AM
I think whether this is listed as a guestbook or forum, it's a way to disseminate information to people who are looking to find it. It is a nice way to discover things happening in the lakes region in a way that respects other people's thoughts and concerns. I appreciate the fact that this site actively takes responsibility for those things the public posts and does not allow posts that are harmful in nature to a person, or organization. It lets you know what is going on around town in the most pleasant of ways. Thank you okoboji.com for allowing respectful discussion of lakes topics on your guestbook!! We support your site and support those businesses whom advertise on your site too!

Highway 71 Bridge

by Wharf

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 1:49 PM
When the decision was made to put the new highway 71 road in, these same West Lake people were complainging about not wanting two access holes for boats to travel under highway 71, similar to how the railroad tressel bridge is set up. Now it is a mess getting thru their in the summer and will only get worse. Unless the water can regulated within 2" all spring and summer you will never make them happy.

Answer Hwy 71 Bridge

by Wharf

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 9:00 AM
Your comments about the West Okoboji people are wrong on two counts. First - the people concerned about flooding lake levels are not the same people that were involved with the discussion about one or two boat ports under the Highway 71 Bridge years ago. Two - The Iowa Great Lakes are chain of natural lakes that makes it difficult to control their level. The DNR dam at the Lower Gar Outlet is the control structure that controls the level of the Okoboji chain of lakes.