In the midwest do water levels in creeks and streams rise and fall at night or at certain times of the month?

Small bodies of water do not have tides. The rise and fall of rivers and lakes is determined by precipitation and evaporation in the drained basin that feeds them.

The moon does not cause creek levels to fluctuate in Wisconsin. Though there are tides on the Great Lakes, the tides are very small, barely measurable. Furthermore, these micro-tides do not impact inland creeks. To prove this to yourself, look at the real-time gage data on the link below. You can pick one near your stepfather's farm. If his creek [or any creek near it] had tides, the gage data would show substantial and regular ups and downs, every single day, like the last link which gages the ocean tides at Wick in the United Kingdom.

For the original question, here's an idea- The surface of the creek freezes, and snow falls on top. Then...

(1) During cold spells, available water freezes. Since so much water is locked-up in ice, at its headwaters and among its tributaries, the creek withers. The remaining ice remains frozen and prominent above the new low creek level. More snow falls onto this surface.

(2) During a thawing cycle, more water is available to the creek, so its level rises. The fast moving water gouges at the underside of the ice. It melts the middle first. As Mooseboy stated previously, water at the sides of the stream passes more slowly, so it does not erode/thaw the ice there at the same rate. After this thaw cycle, when a new freeze cycle begins, the ice that was gouged/carved remains at the old thaw-high water level.

Well, creeks and streams tend to lead to rivers, which lead to the ocean. This would lead me to believe that the tides in the oceans are directly related to the "tides" in streams and creeks.