A team of ice fishermen head off the lake at Union Grove State Park during a tournament held on Jan. 22. The event was sponsored by The Pump bar and grill in Tama in partnership with the Union Grove Lake and Park Holding Corp. Organizers reported roughly 125 participants traveled out to western Tama County to enjoy the sunny winter day on the lake. – Photo by Darvin Graham

Prizes for both adult and youth contest categories were given out at the ice fishing tournament at Union Grove on Jan. 22. Pictured is a young angler headed up to the front of the Union Grove Youth Center to receive a custom ice fishing rod he won as a prize. The overall panfish winning weight was 4.09 pounds and the longest walleye caught was a tie between Colin Hartz and Daniel Smock who each pulled one measuring 16.125 inches long. – Photo by Darvin Graham

Henry Kerns with the Union Grove Lake and Park Holding Corp. addresses the ice fishing crowd at the conclusion of the tournament. Kerns chairs the local park committee that purchases and stocks walleye in the lake for visitors and residents to fish over the year. He encouraged those that patronized the lake to practice catch and release with any smaller walleye they caught as the cost of stocking can mount up when funds have to be raised a little at a time. The local organization held a free will chili lunch following the tournament as a fundraiser for the walleye stocking efforts. The park organization plans to bring back their Kayak Cruise event for 2022 on Saturday, June 4. – Photo by Darvin Graham

Volunteers with the Union Grove Lake and Park Holding Corp. help pull out extra tables and chairs to fit in the last of the ice fishermen coming off Union Grove Lake for a hot bowl of chili on Jan. 22. The local lake organization is made up of Union Grove residents who organized a freewill chili feed to help raise funds for the fish stocking fund the group uses to put walleye in the lake. – Photo by Darvin Graham

Tournament organizers Jeff Niedermann and Kip Kjormoe run the raffle table at the conclusion of the Ice Fishing Tournament at Union Grove Park on Jan. 22. -- Photo by Darvin Graham