The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is calling on volunteers to help cleanup a dozen state parks this weekend. Ashley Anderson, with the DNR, says Iowans will be asked to perform a variety of tasks to prepare the parks for another busy summer. The work will include trail cleanup, collecting litter and trimming of trees and bushes. The DNR has been relying more on volunteer help in recent years to maintain state parks as the agency’s budget has declined. The so-called “Spring Park Blitz” scheduled for this weekend is organized by DNR AmeriCorps members.

“The volunteers will work right along side our AmeriCorps members,” Anderson said. “The AmeriCorps members will be there to supervise or manage the volunteers.” In the event of inclement weather this weekend, some of the park cleanup events could be postponed to a later date. Iowans who are interested in volunteering are encouraged to contact Anderson by phone at 515-281-8300 or email: ashley.anderson@dnr.iowa.gov

Area “Spring Park Blitz” times/locations:

April 28th –

Lake Anita State Park: 9-11 a.m.
Lake of Three Fires State Park: 10 a.m.-noon

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

Have you ever wondered how the pioneers made their own rope or dipped their own candles?  Maybe you have even thought about trying your hand at spinning wool.  If so, you should come to the Hitchcock Pioneer Skills Festival. The Festival will be held on Saturday, May 5th at the Hitchcock House, which is located 6 miles south of Atlantic and 1.5 miles west of Lewis, IA.  The festivities will begin at 1:00 p.m. and end at 4:00 p.m.  You will have an opportunity to visit the historic Hitchcock House and see many of the skills and crafts that people of the late 1800’s used in daily living.

You could begin your visit with a tour of the Hitchcock House that is also a National Historic Landmark.  This two-story home was built in 1856. It features thick sandstone walls, window seats, native hard wood trim and a secret room that hid runaway slaves.  The secret room is located in the basement where there is also a stone fireplace where the slaves could cook food and keep warm.  It is said that the famous John Brown preached around this fireplace. Head to the barn, where the hub of the festival activities will take place.  Once you make it to the barn you will be able to observe the skills and crafts of the past and even try your hand at a few of them.  There will be rope making, candle dipping, tin punching, and woodcarvings.  

Don’t miss out on this exciting day!  The festival will be held rain or shine.  Families are encouraged to come and share the day together as they might have in the 1800’s.  There is a $5 fee for a tour of the Hitchcock House.  All activities in the barn are free of charge; donations to the Hitchcock House will be accepted.

(Press Release/Lora Kanning, Naturalist with Cass County Conservation)

Temperatures across western Iowa are soaring this afternoon. Here in Atlantic, we hit 91-degrees at 2-p.m..  The old record for this date was 90, in 1981. The National Weather Service says temps are in the upper 80’s to low 90’s.

At 2-p.m. in Carroll, Harlan, Red Oak, Shenandoah and Cherokee, it was 90-degrees. The temps in central Iowa, were only in the mid-to-upper 70’s and low 80’s.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Outdoor enthusiasts and business groups are forming a new group to promote hunting in hopes of reversing declining interest in the activity. Iowa Retail Federation President Jim Henter says hunters spend more than $288 million in Iowa every year and have a big impact on the state’s economy. Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Roger Lande says part of the hunting decline has been because the state has had a series of harsh winters that cut into wildlife population. Last year’s mild winter could help that population. 

Lande says a loss of habitat also has contributed to the wildlife decline.  Statistics from the DNR bear out the trend, with the number of hunting licenses issued in Iowa dropping for 10 straight years.

Plans for the Southern Iowa Rural Water Association (SIRWA) to bring a dependable supply of water to parts of southwestern Cass County have dried up, at least for now, because of wetter weather over the past couple of years, a fairly good supply of private wells, and because of a general lack of interest in the project. That was the word today (Wednesday) from SIRWA officials, who spoke before the County Board of Supervisors.

SIRWA inspector Max Crawford said the $7-million dollar project is on-hold for now, because they weren’t able to acquire enough participation in two separate studies which began late last Spring.

In order to qualify for a $5.4-million USDA grant to make the project feasible, Crawford said there needed to be a good majority of the people participating. He says there were 335 customers in the second area they studied, with 166 indicating they were interested in hooking-up to rural water, or 49.6-percent. Crawford said that wasn’t good enough. He says they needed at least 277 sign-up’s or 70-percent participation from the approximate 385 rural homesteads in the area. Follow-up efforts included door-to-door contacts, publishing meetings in local papers, and phone calls. Still, Crawford says the response was not what they’d hoped for. 

Beth McDermott, who lives in the area, said meetings which were held on the project were not sufficiently publicized, and therefore resulted in low turnout. Crawford said it wasn’t for a lack of trying to get the word out through print and broadcast media. McDermott, who would like to subscribe to rural water, mailed out more than 300 letters herself, to area residents trying to spur interest. Crawford said SIRWA also tried repeatedly to contact residents, but it got to the point where some people who had been contacted multiple times and refused, were getting annoyed. He said after reviewing the amount of time and money spent on pre-engineering land options for water tower sites and the conducting of surveys…nearly $120,000…and only receiving 49% interest from the residents and land owners, the SIRWA Board said no more money would be invested in the project. 

He said efforts to find other ways to bring dependable water to residents of the area, some of whom desperately want it, will proceed, but it may not be SIRWA who provides that service, and it may take up to 10-years for any progress to be made.

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The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says a Crescent man was injured when the motorcycle he was riding slammed into a car Monday evening, about two-miles southwest of McClelland. Sheriff Jeff Danker says 38-year-old Chad Mayberry was transported to a Council Bluffs hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, following the crash at around 5:30-p.m., on Honeysuckle Road near McClelland Avenue. 

Danker says Mayberry was traveling east on Honeysuckle Road at about 60-miles per hour in a posted 35-mph zone. When he came over the top of a hill, the cycle hit one of two vehicles which were stopped on the road, before veering into the south ditch and coming to rest. The driver of the car Mayberry hit, 47-year-old Robert Hirchert, of Omaha, was not injured. 

An investigation revealed the cycle had allegedly been stolen out of Omaha. Mayberry was cited for failure to maintain control, excessive speed, driving while barred and driving without insurance.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a Hastings man was arrested late Tuesday morning, on two warrants. 49-year old John Michael Hudson was taken into custody on warrants for Contempt of Court/Failure to Appear on a Child Support Hearing. Hudson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 cash bond.

No injuries were reported following an accident Tuesday afternoon in Montgomery County, about six-miles south of Red Oak. Sheriff’s officials say they received word of the car-versus-truck crash at the intersection of Highway 48 and 250th Street, at around 12:10-p.m.  An investigation revealed a 2005 Chevy Cavalier owned by Leo Manuel Martinez, Jr., of Emerson, and driven by 20-year old Effie Elizabeth Armstrong, of Emerson, was traveling north on Highway 48.

A 1992 International 4000 series truck owned and driven by 69-year old Neal Frederick Curry, of Villisca, was turning left onto the highway from 250th Street, and as he did so, the truck hit the driver’s side center of the Martinez vehicle, causing the car to go out of control and spin into the west ditch. The vehicle sustained $4,000 damage.

Curry was cited for Failure to Yield upon entering a through highway.