The first weekend in June is always Free Fishing Weekend here in Iowa. That means that, if you are an Iowa resident, you do not need a fishing license to fish in the state that weekend. (All other fishing regulations do apply, though.) This year, Free Fishing Weekend will run from June 3rd-5th. 

From 6:00-8:00 PM on Sunday evening, June 5th, the Conservation Board will be available to help people fish at Thorpe Park’s Lake Catherine. They will have fishing poles, tackle, and bait available for people to borrow at the boat ramp, as well as instruction, if people need it. Snacks will also be available, as will handouts that people can take home with them. Everyone is welcome, from toddlers to senior citizens!

   In case of inclement weather that Sunday evening, the Free Fishing Weekend event at Thorpe Park will have to be canceled, and that announcement will be posted on the WCCB Facebook page, and Twitter feed. If anyone has questions about the event, they can contact the WCCB at 641-565-3390 or Winnebago County Naturalist Lisa Ralls at lralls@winnebagoccb.com.    

The first weekend in June is always Free Fishing Weekend here in Iowa. That means that, if you are an Iowa resident, you do not need a fishing license to fish in the state that weekend. (All other fishing regulations do apply, though.) This year, Free Fishing Weekend will run from June 3rd-5th. 

From 6:00-8:00 PM on Sunday evening, June 5th, the Conservation Board will be available to help people fish at Thorpe Park’s Lake Catherine. They will have fishing poles, tackle, and bait available for people to borrow at the boat ramp, as well as instruction, if people need it. Snacks will also be available, as will handouts that people can take home with them. Everyone is welcome, from toddlers to senior citizens!

   In case of inclement weather that Sunday evening, the Free Fishing Weekend event at Thorpe Park will have to be canceled, and that announcement will be posted on the WCCB Facebook page, and Twitter feed. If anyone has questions about the event, they can contact the WCCB at 641-565-3390 or Winnebago County Naturalist Lisa Ralls at lralls@winnebagoccb.com.    

The first weekend in June is always Free Fishing Weekend here in Iowa. That means that, if you are an Iowa resident, you do not need a fishing license to fish in the state that weekend. (All other fishing regulations do apply, though.) This year, Free Fishing Weekend will run from June 3rd-5th. 

From 6:00-8:00 PM on Sunday evening, June 5th, the Conservation Board will be available to help people fish at Thorpe Park’s Lake Catherine. They will have fishing poles, tackle, and bait available for people to borrow at the boat ramp, as well as instruction, if people need it. Snacks will also be available, as will handouts that people can take home with them. Everyone is welcome, from toddlers to senior citizens!

   In case of inclement weather that Sunday evening, the Free Fishing Weekend event at Thorpe Park will have to be canceled, and that announcement will be posted on the WCCB Facebook page, and Twitter feed. If anyone has questions about the event, they can contact the WCCB at 641-565-3390 or Winnebago County Naturalist Lisa Ralls at lralls@winnebagoccb.com.    

Country Thunder is a premier country music festival held annually at Heritage Park of North Iowa. This year’s event will be June 10, 11, 12 with featured artists Kip Moore, Lee Brice, Chris Young, Michael Ray, Travis Tritt, Trace Adkins, Sawyer Brown, Lindsay Ell, Lainey Wilson, and Kameron Marlowe. This event is not planned or organized by the Winnebago Historical Society. To learn more about this event, please visit the website at:

Visit the Country Thunder website for more information!

Country Thunder is a premier country music festival held annually at Heritage Park of North Iowa. This year’s event will be June 10, 11, 12 with featured artists Kip Moore, Lee Brice, Chris Young, Michael Ray, Travis Tritt, Trace Adkins, Sawyer Brown, Lindsay Ell, Lainey Wilson, and Kameron Marlowe. This event is not planned or organized by the Winnebago Historical Society. To learn more about this event, please visit the website at:

Visit the Country Thunder website for more information!

Country Thunder is a premier country music festival held annually at Heritage Park of North Iowa. This year’s event will be June 10, 11, 12 with featured artists Kip Moore, Lee Brice, Chris Young, Michael Ray, Travis Tritt, Trace Adkins, Sawyer Brown, Lindsay Ell, Lainey Wilson, and Kameron Marlowe. This event is not planned or organized by the Winnebago Historical Society. To learn more about this event, please visit the website at:

Visit the Country Thunder website for more information!

If you’re looking for something to do as you’re relaxing outdoors this spring, you might want to consider picking up a book and joining the Winnebago County Conservation Board’s Book Club! The next meeting will be over Zoom on Tuesday evening, June 14th, from 7:00-8:00 PM.

   The book that the club will be reading this time is Henry Beston’s The Outermost House, first published in 1928. Henry Beston was a Harvard graduate who was an ambulance driver and a correspondent during World War I. After the war, he needed some peace and solitude and found it by spending most of a year living alone in a small cottage along the shoreline of Cape Cod. The Outermost House is his journal of that time, a classic book that details the rhythms of the seasons, the ebb and flow of life along the seashore, and how nature contributes to our humanity. But, you don’t have to live near the ocean to appreciate his love and reverence for nature, no matter where it is. 

   Beston is considered one of the foremost nature writers of the 20th century and one of the fathers of the modern environmental movement. In fact, it is said that The Outermost House contributed to the designation of the Cape Cod National Seashore. And, Rachel Carson said that Beston greatly influenced her own writing. 

   To participate in the WCCB Book Club, people should contact Winnebago County Naturalist Lisa Ralls at lralls@winnebagoccb.com to sign up and receive the Zoom meeting link. The book itself is widely available in bookstores, libraries, and online. Club participants will then meet on the evening of June 14th to discuss the book! For more information about the WCCB Book Club, people can contact Lisa Ralls at the above email address or at 641-565-3390.