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)

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Tuesday night of 34-year Angie Jo Huffstutlear. The Villisca woman was charged with Serious Domestic Abuse, following an investigation into an incident in the 100 block of north 5th Avenue, in Villisca. Huffstutlear was taken into custody at around 8:10-p.m. and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where she was being held without bond, pending an appearance before a magistrate.

The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (ABD) is joining other organizations across the country to observe April as Alcohol Awareness Month. Shannon Pogones, oversees the A-B-D’s training programs for retailers. “This is the time of year when youth are typically out attempting to purchase more alcohol, having graduation parties, and spring break parties, and prom parties and after parties and things where alcohol is present,” Pogones says. The division sent out reminder letters to retailers on the issue.
“It went out to licensees — even restaurants and places that just have beer and wine permits — saying ‘hey’ prom and graduation are coming up more, just be aware that you may be seeing more of an increase of youth attempting to purchase in your area,” Pogones says. The letter also reminds the retailers of the online training A-B-D has created to teach employees how to avoid selling to minors.

“We also helped create a tool called I-Alert which helps stores and on and off-premise locations make a policy for their establishment,” Pogones says. She says those policies allow them to decide if they are going to card everybody, or just people who look under 30, and then they can then give it to their employees and have everybody sign off on. The A-B-D website also provides information for parents on how they can help prevent problems with alcohol. Pogones says simply being up to meet your child when they come home can be a deterrent.

“Communicate with other parents and school officials on where your child may be going and discuss the consequences that your child’s school may have around if they get caught possessing or consuming alcohol,” Pogones says. “Whether that my jeopardize your graduation or future sporting events or things like that and also just the consequences of the harm you may do to yourself and potentially others.” Pogones says it’s important for parents to keep the lines of communication open about the dangers of alcohol, and that conversation can start before they reach high school age. Find out more at Iowaabd.com.

(Radio Iowa)