Okoboji Project

01/21/2026

Happy Winter Games week! Who's gearing up to brave the temperatures this weekend in Okoboji?

Watch our story on the 2025 Cheerleaders on YouTube to get ready for all the upcoming activities!📣

08/27/2025

Standard Saturday fireworks show for Arnolds Park Amusement Park: 230 shells💥
Fourth of July fireworks show: 608 shells💥💥💥

“Fireworks of Okoboji” is available now on YouTube.

08/23/2025

Fireworks of Okoboji 💥 available now on YouTube

Summertime in Okoboji, Iowa explodes with life, activities, and jobs. A pyrotechnic job falls to Tal, who is tasked weekly with a show that reminds us what it means to be American. Fired from the waters of West Lake, the fireworks draw families and boaters together under the same sky that lights up the lake.

08/08/2025

Us at the Dickinson County Museum - Iowa living our best archive life 😆 We were flipping through 1925 and 1926 editions of the Spirit Lake Beacon for our season finale, A Night Out in 1926.

✨ Stories, ads, scandals — it’s all in there.

🎧 Listen now: https://okobojiproject.com/episode-page-a-night-out-in-1926

08/06/2025

It’s here — our Season 2 finale. 🥂

A Night Out in 1926 drops you right into a summer evening at the Iowa Great Lakes, nearly 100 years ago. You’ll arrive by train, stroll through the amusement park, slip into your glad rags, and dance under the lights of the Casino.

There’s Prohibition mischief in the air, fashion straight from the pages of 1920s style magazines, and a boat ride home with the music still ringing in your ears.

Thank you to our friends Cole Clawson from Dickinson County Museum - Iowa and Jonathan Reed from Okoboji and the IOWA GREAT LAKES history books!

And thank you to everyone who tuned in this season. Your support, listens, and messages make every story worth telling. We couldn’t do this without you. ❤️

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or right here:

Stream the latest episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. The Iowa Great Lakes is a vibrant quilt woven from the threads of American history. Check out our episode about the roaring 20s in Okoboji and more!

07/23/2025

Folks, this one’s special. ❤️ Love Stories from Okoboji features five real couples — each with their own path, each rooted in the same extraordinary place.

We’ll take you to the Majestic Roller Rink in the ’60s. Gerk’s Resort in the ’70s. Even Taco House over a plate of nachos.

We thought we were making an episode about summer love. But we found was something deeper — a reminder that beautiful things can grow from very ordinary places.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or right here:

Stream the latest episodes wherever you listen to podcasts. The Iowa Great Lakes is a vibrant quilt woven from the threads of American history. Check out our episode about love stories in Okoboji and more!