(Spirit Lake)– Cheerleaders for this year’s University of Okoboji Iowa Great Lakes Winter Games were honored at a dinner Thursday evening in Spirit Lake.
Two of this year’s cheerleaders, Bob Shaw and Larry Stoller, helped organize the very first winter games more than 20 years ago. Shaw says it started simply as a broomball tournament on some ponds behind the fish hatchery in Orleans. Stoller says from there, it quickly grew into an event that showcases the lakes area as not only a summer destination, but a winter one as well.
For the first time in the history of the winter games, extremely mild weather may force a change in location for some activities. Organizers have scheduled a special meeting for Friday, January 18th to talk about alternative plans in the event conditions don’t improve. Temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s over the past week have taken their toll on ice conditions.
