Group raises $8.2M to preserve land along East Lake Okoboji
SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (AP) — A preservation group has raised enough money to buy and preserve 50 acres on the East Lake Okoboji shoreline in northwest Iowa. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation announced Tuesday it had raised $8.2 million to buy the land near Spirit Lake. The Sioux City Journal reports the land being purchased includes 2,020 feet of natural shoreline, which is the last undeveloped and privately owned stretch along the lake. The foundation plans to begin an ecological restoration of the shoreline but will allow low-impact public use, including trails that connect to an adjacent state park.