(Okoboji)– A number of local organizations got some unexpected good news this (Thursday) afternoon.
It was announced in a brief ceremony at the Dickinson County Nature Center that a local woman who passed away last year has left behind some four and-a-half million dollars in bequests through her estate.
David Vanbuskirke, a nephew of Lavonne Foote who lived many years with her husband Dale on Big Spirit Lake before he passed away in 1982, announced the gifts.
The local organizations received bequests and the amounts are as follows:
The Mini Wakan Shelter House project: $20,000
Lakeside Lab $100,000
Spirit Lake Public Library $100,000
Lakes Regional Healthcare $250,000
Spirit Lake Community Schools (for scholarships) $300,000
Dickinson County Nature Center: atleast $200,000 (possibly up to $500,000)
Iowa Nature Conservancy (for projects in Dickinson county): $1,000,000
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (for suitable projects in Dickinson county): $1,000,000
Northern Iowa Prairie Lakes Audubon Society: $10,000 (restricted); $100,000 (unrestricted).
Vanbuskirke tells KUOO news the awards are a direct testimony to the love Lavonne had of the area. She grew up in the Storm Lake and Alta areas.
Lavonne was 94 when she passed away.
