The Page County Attorney’s Office reports two sentences were handed down earlier this week in separate cases. In one of the cases, 24-year-old Kiel Mark Brittain, of Clarinda, plead guilty to livestock neglect, in association with a Nov. 2012 investigation into malnourished cows, calves and a bull found on a property in rural Page County. Brittain was sentenced Monday to one-year  in jail, with all but 4 days suspended. He was also placed on unsupervised probation for an unspecified length of time, and ordered to have no livestock during that time of probation. Brittain must also pay a fine of $315, plus related court costs.

And, 54-year-old Michael D. Weaver, of Shenandoah, plead guilty Monday in Page County District Court, to a charge of assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse. He had originally been charged with Enticing away a person under the age of 13, Lascivious Acts with a Child/Solicitation, in association with events that occurred in August of 2011. Weaver was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $625, but both were suspended. He was instead placed on supervised probation for a period of two-years, and ordered to reside at a Residential Correctional Facility.

In addition, the judge ordered Weaver to complete a psychological evaluation, risk assessment, and a Sex Offender Treatment Program. Weaver was also ordered to pay related court costs, restitution to his victims, and he must have no contact with the victims for five years.

While a major winter storm is expected to clobber Iowa today (Thursday), a sure sign of spring is already here. The migrating Sandhill Cranes are beginning to appear at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in the Missouri River valley, straddling the Iowa/Nebraska border. Greg Wagner, a spokesman for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, says many hundreds of the large white-and-grey birds have already landed in the area. All told, perhaps 650-thousand cranes will stop off in the region over the next few weeks.

“This is one of the most unique things that happens around the world with birds and with wildlife,” Wagner says. “This is the largest gathering of cranes in the world, starting about now and all the way into early April.” The cranes are making a pit stop on the way north to breeding grounds in Canada, Alaska and Siberia. The numbers should peak here in mid-March.

“You’ll see the cranes out feeding in the fields,” Wagner says. “Take along a good zoom lens with your camera, a good pair of binoculars. Enjoy the cranes at a distance. Don’t try to approach them. They’ll fly and go elsewhere.” Several hundred eagles and thousands of ducks and geese have already been spotted along the river, too. The Sandhill Cranes draw some 70-thousand visitors from around the world to the region every year, with an economic impact of about 8-million dollars.

(Radio Iowa)