Cass County Conservation Director Micah Lee provided the County Board of Supervisors with a quarterly report on progress and activities associated with the Conservation Department, during the Supervisors’ meeting Wednesday morning, in Atlantic.  Lee said over the past quarter, conservation staff have been in a maintenance mode, and getting ready for the camping season. He said at the Cold Springs State Park near Lewis, the dead trees were cut down and removed that were impinging on the roadway. Trees were also removed along the Rock Cut Trail to improve access. Micah said he’s still working with the Iowa DNR with regard to the widening of the south driveway entrance.

Widening the driveway would make it easier for the larger camping vehicles to access the park. They’ve also been working at grading the roads and filling potholes. The same type of work has been conducted at the Nodaway Recreation Area. Cleanup activities have also been underway on the T-Bone Trail. Those efforts have been made easier thanks to a new piece of equipment the Conservation Department received. Lee said a grant from the Cass County Community Foundation allowed them to purchase a UTV – Utility Terrain Vehicle – and a rotary brush, which will be used to remove twigs, leaves and gravel much faster than before. Previously, hand brooms and blowers were used to clean-up the trail.

At the Pellett Memorial Woods, staffers did minimal clean-up work to keep the walking path accessible, but still natural appearing. Lee said they added mulch at the entrance, so visitors’ feet don’t get muddy, in addition to some trimming. At the West Nodaway Recreation Area, boundary fences were repaired, and measured for food plots in preparation for planting this Spring. At the Cass County Outdoor Classroom, Micah says approximately 80 dead Scotch Pine trees which were infested by beetles were cut down. Replacement, beetle-resistant Blue Spruce trees, have been ordered and will be planted as soon as possible. Some Willow Trees were trimmed, and rock placed on the roads. Other clean-up work has been conducted along the Hitchcock Nature Area walking trail.

Lee said also, that Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning has provided 113 environmental education programs over the past quarter, and spoke with more than 2,129 people in the process.

Sheriff’s officials in Fremont County report the arrest Tuesday evening of 37-year old Lisa Marie Ferguson, on a Forgery charge. Her arrest was the result of a search warrant executed at a residence in the 1600 block of Argyle Street, in Hamburg, as part of an ongoing investigation.  Sheriff’s deputies were assisted at the scene by officers with the Sidney Police Department.

Ferguson has since posted a $5,000 bond, and was released. The case remains under investigation, and additional charges are possible.

A child suffered only minor injuries after he fell some 10-to 15-feet and was trapped, when a concrete cover over a well gave way Tuesday afternoon in Adams County. Sheriff’s officials say Corinna Morehouse called at around 3:15-p.m., to report her son had fallen into the well.  Emergency personnel were able to remove the child, who was transported to Alegent Health Hospital, in Corning. The boy was treated at the hospital and then released. His age and name were not provided by the Sheriff’s Department.

Officials say emergency personnel assisting at the scene included: The Adams County Sheriff’s Department; Prescott Fire Dept.; Corning Ambulance, and the Corning Fire Department.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A judge has blocked Iowa State University from releasing documents about food safety research conducted for the maker of the beef product that critics call “pink slime.”  District Judge Dale Ruigh ruled last month that releasing the information would cause “irreparable harm” to Sioux Falls, SD-based Beef Products, Inc., by revealing information about proprietary food-processing techniques.

BPI filed legal action seeking to block the release in 2010 after the records were requested by a Seattle law firm specializing in food safety. The New York Times later sought the documents.  The research was conducted by professor James Dickson, who was hired by BPI as a consultant in 2002. Dickson says his research has found that a process in which ammonia is applied to meat makes the product safer by killing bacteria.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say the Prairie Rose Lake restoration project is heading in the right direction. The over $3 million project started back in July 2011 when the lake was dewatered allow construction work to begin in the basin. Since that time, the DNR has dredged the basin, added fish habitat and modified the spillway to keep carp from returning to the lake. Brian Hayes, Fisheries Biologist for the Iowa DNR, says the gate was closed back in September 2012 and the lake is finally seeing some water.  “I estimated about 50 acres of surface acres of water out there. When the lake is full, we have about 175 acres of water. So we have about a third of the lake out there. Volume wise it is a pretty small percentage. But those snow storms in March saw some water movement and we captured some water.”

He says now is the time to introduce fish back to the lake. “We are going to introduce Bass, Blue Gill and Catfish this spring and summer. That is what we want to initially establish. Once they are established then we will introduce crappie. Right here in the spring, we will start with adult large mouth bass. We have a goal of getting 200 in there, about 1 bass per surface acre. That will be enough to see some reproduction of large mouth bass this summer. The blue gills were over-wintered on the other side of the state. Anytime now, they will drain that pond and bring the fish over in a truck. Those blue gills will provide food for the bass.”

Even though the drought conditions over the fall and winter slowed down the process of filling Prairie Rose Lake, Hayes says there were some benefits as well. “The drought was beneficial because we had that goal getting the common carp out of the Prairie Rose lake basin and out of the watershed. The drought really reduced the amount of standing water in the shed, stopped the tile flow and the carp had no place to hide from us. So we feel really good about the prospects of getting the carp out of the watershed and that is important for the water quality benefits.”

Hayes says the fishing in Prairie Rose Lake will take time, and the public needs to cooperate. “We were looking at an issue about we are always going to have carp in the West Nishnabotna River, not very far from Prairie Rose Lake. We really need cooperation from the public, we can’t have them moving fish into Prairie Rose Lake especially when they don’t know what they are doing. Leave it up to us. It’s an issue we are looking at and addressing. We always want to get that message out to the public, leave the stocking up to us. We will try and provide the best fishing out at Prairie Rose Lake.”

The DNR will be working this summer on hydraulic dredging once the lake re-fills.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

The first state crop and weather report that came out Monday shows a much different start to the planting season compared to last year. Farmers spent little or no time in the field last week preparing the ground for planting. Iowa Agriculture Secretary, Bill Northey, says farmers are “getting antsy” as they remember last year at this time when the temperatures were in the 70’s and preparations were farther along. “And they remember at this time on the calendar they were looking at when to plant corn, and they had their planters ready to go,” Northey says. “They had probably a lot of the field work done, certainly likely all the fertilizer applied and in some cases some of the herbicide applied out there as well. So they were ready to plant at this time.”

There were some farmers who decided it was worth the risk and already had some corn in the ground by this time last year. But Northey says the early birds have been sidelined now by the cool weather. “We had a good Fall, so some work — some of the fertilizer application and other things that could get done was done — but so far this Spring almost no fieldwork has been done or at least very little fieldwork done across the state,” according to Northey.

He says in April 2012, 75-percent of the state’s oat crop was in the ground. This year just over 10-percent has been planted. Northey says farmers are willing to wait another week or two to plant –especially if soil moisture levels are being recharged. He adds that dry conditions last week were good for livestock producers who often deal with muddy pastures and feedlots this time of year.

(Radio Iowa)

w/ Ric Hanson

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Low pressure will continue to push eastward across Missouri today and into the lower Great Lakes region by Thursday night. Thunderstorms will continue intermittently through tonight, especially across the east. Moderate to heavy rainfall is possible with thunderstorms and may lead to localized areas of ponding water and rises on local streams and rivers. A flash flood watch is in effect for eastern Iowa. Colder air will push south into the region throughout the day today, with rain gradually changing to snow. A wintry mix is likely across the northwest, with freezing rain also possible across the north overnight. Accumulating snow will be restricted to the north and west. Higher snowfall totals are possible north of Iowa, with light snow lingering into Thursday.

Officials with the John Wayne Birthplace in Winterset will go before the Vision Iowa Board today (Wednesday) to seek state funding for a museum honoring the movie star. Birthplace director Brian Downes says the museum will be built next to Wayne’s birthplace home – which is already the area’s biggest tourism draw.

Artist’s rendition of the proposed John Wayne Museum in Winterset.

“Our chamber of commerce recently announced that two-thirds of the people who come to Winterset come to see the John Wayne Birthplace,” Downes says. “According to surveys, that’s the reason they come here.” Around $1.5 million is needed to build the 9,000 square foot museum.

Downes says they’re roughly half way toward meeting that goal thanks to individual donations and contributions from the City of Winterset, Madison County and local businesses. The owner of the largest privately held John Wayne memorabilia collection has also agreed to give the museum a host of items valued at $2 million.  “That came from our Birthplace Board president Joe Zuckschwerdt, who lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,” Downes says. “He’s been collecting for 40 years and he has loads of movie posters, film wardrobes, photographs, scripts, contracts, fine art, letters, and even John Wayne’s personal date and address books.”

Several fundraising events are planned next month for John Wayne’s 106th birthday celebration in Winterset. Downes says the festivities will draw fans of “The Duke” from across the country and beyond. “People from 40 states and England and Scotland have made reservations,” Downes said. “John Wayne did the hard work a long time ago and we’re just keeping it alive.” The John Wayne Birthday Celebration in Winterset is scheduled for May 24-25. Maureen O’Hara, who starred in several John Wayne films, is scheduled to speak at a museum benefit dinner.

(Radio Iowa)