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39th Okoboji Winter Games, Economic Driver For Iowa Great Lakes, Kicks Off Thursday

Courtesy of University of Okoboji Winter Games / https://uofowintergames.com/gallery-2/2018-gallery/
The games started with a broomball tournament in 1981 and have grown to host a variety of events since.

The annual University of Okoboji Winter Games kicks off Thursday.
The games are considered a huge boost to winter tourism in the Iowa Great Lakes region. Tourism in Dickinson County, which includes the Iowa Great Lakes, generated about $286 million in 2017, according to Okoboji Tourism. Officials in the area say while the summer season is the main driver, the Okoboji Winter Games help boost tourism as well.

“On a typical year, the winter games will draw between [20,000] and 30,000 people to the area toward the end of January where we don’t usually have a lot going on,” said Blain Andera, the CEO of the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber and Spirit Lake Chamber of Commerce. “We’re thought of a summer tourist destination, and there’s a lot more to do here than just the summertime.”

Events planned for this year’s winter games include scavenger hunts, ice fishing and sports tournaments. One of the new events of the year is a kite festival, in which professionals will fly 16 kites that are anywhere from 20 to 100 feet long.

Kiley Zankowski, the event organizer of the games, said they try to have something for everyone.

“There’s events and tournaments for those who maybe are a little more physically active,” Zankowski said. “There’s a lot of outdoor activities for those people that want to brave the cold and there’s also indoor activities like our chocolate classic for those that love to be inside and also love sweets.”

The games began in 1981, with some people who “had cabin fever” and wanted to get outside and be active, so they started a broomball tournament, Andera said. Broomball is a sport played on the ice, similar to ice hockey, except each player uses a stick with a head similar to a broom, and they wear shoes with rubber sole grips instead of ice skates.

Andera said the games happen in rain or shine, in warm or cold weather. They’ll move events off of the ice if the ice is too thin, but they’ve never had to cancel the games. The temperatures during this year’s games will be cold.

The National Weather Service of Sioux Falls is forecasting a high of 3 degrees and overnight low of -9 degrees on Thursday, while Saturday will be the warmest with a high of 21 degrees and lows around 3 degrees.

Katie Peikes was a reporter for Iowa Public Radio from 2018 to 2023. She joined IPR as its first-ever Western Iowa reporter, and then served as the agricultural reporter.