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Newscast 10.25.2024: Group wants to add Okoboji events center; Polling on South Dakota abortion ballot measure; University of Northern Iowa marching band has dog (yes, dog) among members

Voting in an election is at hand in Siouxland.
Voting in an election is at hand in Siouxland.

*A group in the Okoboji, Iowa area is aiming to build a multi-sport recreation, events, and entertainment center.

The center is tentatively called The Okoboji Glacier. The non-profit group called The Spirit of Okoboji is seeking community feedback to gauge how to proceed.

According to The Spirit of Okoboji website, Okobojji Glacier could be a place for sports clubs and other events. There is no information on estimated cost or location at this early point.

The Spirit of Okoboji currently leads five projects to improve the quality of life in the area, with such pieces as the the Friends of Abbie Gardner Cabin Historic Site, and Okoboji Music Masters.

*In other news, the group hoping to place abortion rights into the South Dakota state constitution is being outraised and outspent by anti-abortion groups by more than five to one.

That information comes from state campaign finance filings that were due this week.

Just two combined donations to one group opposing the abortion rights ballot question are more than what the Dakotans For Health group raised in the last five months.

Dakotans for Health—the group backing Constitutional Amendment G—has raised just under $300,000 and spent about 80 percent of the cash raised.

Constitutional Amendment G grants abortion rights in the first trimester of pregnancy, allows the state to regulate the procedure in the second trimester, and allows for a ban in the third, with exceptions for life and health of the pregnant woman.

As for groups opposing the abortion measure, Life Defense Fund brought in nearly $588,000 and has spent over three fourths of that money on its 'vote no' campaign.

The other group, No G for SD, raised just over $1 million dollars.

South Dakota has a near total abortion ban that went into effect in June 2022. That's despite state voters twice rejecting near total bans in 2006 and 2008.

A recent poll shows 50 percent of South Dakota registered voters say they support amendment G, while 47 percent say they plan to vote no. Three percent are undecided.

*Additionally, this football season at the University of Northern Iowa, fans are delighting in watching a new four-legged member of the Panther Marching Band take the field at half-time.

Winnie, a golden retriever, is a service dog for sophomore student Gabi Riessen, who has a chronic condition called POTS (pots).

Riessen needs her dog by her side at all times to warn her when she’s about to faint. But that doesn’t stop her from having a normal college experience, like playing in the marching band.

“My heart rate fluctuates more than other people. I can get dizzy just standing. And so Winnie will warn me before I pass out, or if my heart rate is too high, so I can sit down,” Riessen said.

Riessen transferred to UNI when her prior college didn’t allow her to join activities because she needed her service dog with her.

Justin Mertz is the marching band director.

“When we first spoke on the phone, the plan was, you know, she was not really gonna really do any marching. But then we met her, we met Winnie, and we saw what they would both be capable of, and we agreed to give it a try. And the next thing, you know, there's a dog on the field,” Mertz said.

You can watch them perform next at UNI’s Homecoming football game against Missouri State on Saturday, October 26.