(Missouri Valley, Iowa) –  Officials with the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge invite you to join them this ​Saturday, April 6th, to learn about the passengers and cargo of the steamboat Bertrand, which sank April 1st, 1865, after the vessel struck a submerged log at around 3-p.m. on the Missouri River, 25-miles north of Omaha. The stern-driven paddle-wheel boat was headed to the gold fields of Montana Territory when the accident occurred.  After initial salvage efforts, she was quickly submerged beneath the water and silt. Her cargo was written off as complete loss.

Just over a century later, the wreck was found and its cargo recovered. Since 1981, the cargo has been on display at the visitor center at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. To commemorate the 159th anniversary of the sinking of the Bertrand, DeSoto NWR will host an afternoon of special events, beginning at 1 p.m., Saturday, at the DeSoto Visitor Center.

At 1-p.m., the refuge will host two special guest presenters from the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center. The Ford Center is located in Omaha, NE and offers “services to private individuals, museums and libraries, corporations, and state and federal agencies”, including “examination and treatment of three-dimensional objects, paintings, and works on paper”. Ford Center staff has performed extensive conservation work on thousands of Bertrand artifacts, particularly metal items like tin cans, brass lamp fittings, and steel tools. In their presentation, the conservators will share the work they perform, highlighting some of the conservation techniques used on artifacts like rare Goodyear-patent rubber rain slickers and canned foods.

Living history re-enactors will be present throughout the visitor center from 2 p.m. until 3 p.m., giving a sense of what life and travel may have been like for the travelers, salesmen, crew, and others aboard the Bertrand on their way to new opportunities in the Montana Territory.

There will also be activities for children and adults between 2 and 3 p.m., including stenciling and a cargo scavenger hunt. To wrap-up the event, join the Bertrand Curator for a presentation at 3 pm. This talk will focus on some of the passengers of the Bertrand and what we can learn about them through the belongings they left behind.

The event will conclude at 4:00 p.m. The refuge Visitor Center will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. the day of the event.

(Stuart, Iowa) – Officials with the Stuart Police Department report that at around 10:30-a.m., Friday, April 5th, the Department will co-host a mock accident for West Central Valley High School students. The exercise is in coordination with Stuart Fire Department, Stuart Rescue, Menlo Fire & Rescue, Dexter Fire & Rescue and Redfield Fire Department.

The mock accident will take place in the gravel parking lot on the south side of the sports complex. Multiple emergency services agencies will be on site.

Authorities say while this event is not open to the public, they want the community to be aware the event is taking place, and to not be alarmed if you see a large emergency response in the area.

Picture is from the Stuart P-D’s last mock accident held in 2022

If you have any questions, please email Sgt. Katie Guisinger at kguisinger@stuart911.com.

(Creston, Iowa) –  Police in Creston report the arrest at around 4:10-a.m. today (Wednesday), of 33-year-old Matthew Thomas Riddle, from Creston. Riddle was taken into custody at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center, for Driving While Suspended. He was cited, and released on a Promise to Appear [in court].

(Radio Iowa) – Officials with the GoServ Global humanitarian organization say their frustration level is growing over the situation in Haiti. The organization was co-founded in 2011 by missionary Terry Baxter and Iowa farmer Ken DeYoung following a devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010. DeYoung says they support operations in the southwestern part of Haiti. “We’ve been able to keep the school going, our hospital, birthing center, those kinds of things going fairly well,” DeYoung says. “But the biggest thing for us and the orphanage we support is the availability of food and fuel and that king of thing.” He says it has been hard to get all the supplies they need.

“The gangs have shut the road off going from Port-au-Prince to Le Cayes and so we haven’t been able to get many supplies. There is some food available, but it is at a ten-X price of what it was six months ago,” he says. DeYoung says the unstable nature of the country makes it difficult to try to help.

“You get to the point of desperation where it’s next to impossible. I’ve got a container of food sitting in Port-au-Price right now, been there for several weeks, that we can’t get up there,” DeYound says. “And even for me to fly in supplies to La Cayes, and I haven’t been able to get clearance to go in there since this whole shutdown happened. Even if I can, the desperation sets in to the point that you don’t hardly show up with plane load of food, everybody will know what it is.”

GoServe Global is in the process of moving from Eagle Grove to Ankeny.

This is Donate Life Month, when you are encouraged to sign up on your driver’s licenses to donate organs, eyes and tissue. Heather Butterfield, spokeswoman for the Iowa Donor Network, says it’s a time to highlight the critical need for donors, to shine a light on those who are on waiting lists, to honor those who’ve donated in the past, and to celebrate those who’ve received organs through transplants. She says last year was a record-breaking year in terms of the number of donors saying ‘yes’ to donation.

You can go online to IowaDonorNetwork.org to register.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – Officials with the Page County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday, said a man from Imogene was arrested after he turned himself-in on a warrant. 41-year-old Vincent Michael Martin was wanted on a Page County Warrant issued on March 4th.

The warrant charged Martin with Assault on Persons of Certain Occupations – Intent of Injury, Disarming a Peace Officer, Interference with Official Acts – Inflicting Serious Injury, and Assault on Persons in Certain Occupations.

Martin’s bond was set at $16,000, but the court allowed 10% to be paid. Martin posted $1,600 bond and was released from custody pending additional court proceedings.

A charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.