Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say the 2012 Annual Prairie Chicken Festival will be this Friday and Saturday, April 6th & 7th, in Ringgold County.

A Prairie Chicken (photo at iowabirds.org.)

The event will kick off at the Ringgold County Courthouse auditorium in Mount Ayr with a celebration Friday evening from 5:30- to 7:30- p.m. The evening will include a presentation by Chief Blue Star Eagle, Sherwyn Zephier, and his wife Estellene on prairie chickens in the Yankton Sioux culture, including an authentic prairie chicken dance. Additional presentations will be made by Iowa Audubon, Blank Park Zoo and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

This Saturday, prairie chicken viewing will begin at 6:30 a.m. at the Kellerton Grassland Bird Conservation, two miles west of Kellerton on Hwy. 2, and one mile south.  Participants will be able to view prairie chickens on their booming ground, or lek. Spotting scopes will be provided and naturalists will be on hand to answer questions. In addition to prairie chickens, an extensive list of grassland nesting birds including upland sandpipers, Henslow’s sparrows and northern harriers will be prevalent. A second program will be presented by Chief Blue Star Eagle at the site at approximately 8:30 a.m.

A medium-sized grouse, prairie chickens were abundant in tallgrass prairies in the eastern and central United States at the time of European settlement. Their numbers began to decline in the late 1800s because of habitat loss and market hunting. The last known nesting in Iowa occurred in Appanoose County in 1952.  Today, most of greater prairie chickens are found in Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, with small populations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and North Dakota. The Kellerton population of prairie chickens is a result of reintroduction efforts by the DNR in the 1980s.

Visit www.iowadnr.gov to read more on the prairie chicken.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A prosecutor says a mother convicted of a high-profile western Iowa murder wrote a letter detailing the crime scene to a Wisconsin sex offender in an attempt to solicit testimony to back up her self-defense claims. Tracey Richter has claimed her 2001 shooting of Dustin Wehde, was self-defense during a home invasion in the Sac County community of Early. But jurors in November sided with prosecutors, who argued that Richter killed Wehde in a plot to implicate her first husband in a murder-for-hire scheme.
 
Jailers copied one letter Richter wrote to Wisconsin inmate James Landa that showed diagrams of the home where the shooting happened and a car where evidence was found. The letter included information about the victim and others Richter claims was involved. Prosecutor Ben Smith said Richter was seeking testimony to win a new trial.

A Massena man was hit with pepper spray and taken into custody after he was pulled over Tuesday night for Driving Under Suspension. Cass County Chief Deputy Sheriff John Westering says Deputy Josh McLaren attempted to stop 52-year old Barry Dean Schmidt, of Massena, at around 7:35-p.m., near 700th and Richland Road. Schmidt, who was driving a pickup truck failed to comply and was pursued by the deputy until the truck stopped near the County shed at about 720th and Richland.

Westering said Schmidt refused numerous instructions by McLaren to “Show his hands” once the vehicle was stopped. Several surrounding law enforcement agencies were called to provide backup, including the Iowa State Patrol, and Adair County Sheriff’s Deputies. Eventually, McLaren deployed pepper spray and Schmidt was taken into custody. He was also treated at the scene for exposure to the chemical ingrediants in pepper spray.

Schmidt faces charges which include Interference with Official Acts, Eluding, Driving Under Suspension, and 3rd Offense OWI. Schmidt appeared before the magistrate this (Wednesday) morning, and was initially unable to post $6,000 bond. He was being held in the Cass County Jail, pending payment of the bond.

A student-led movement to create awareness of the value Iowa’s public universities deliver throughout the state, is coming to Atlantic next week. Universities for a Better Iowa, will bring its campaign to the community on April 12th. During the event, alumni and friends of the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa, along with student leaders at those institutions, will be at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic, from 5 until 6:30-p.m.

Presentations will be made during the free event, to demonstrate the benefits to all Iowans investments in Iowa’s Public Universities have made. Light snacks and refreshments will also be served.

The Atlantic Police Department reports three people were arrested this week. On Tuesday, 28-year old Cheryl Knight was arrested for OWI and Eluding, and 29-year old William Ancherson was arrested for Driving While Suspended. On Monday, 27-year old Jill Hanselman was also arrested for Driving While Suspended. All three are from Atlantic.

Hanselman and Ancherson were cited for their alleged offenses, and released. Knight was booked into the Cass County Jail.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Department today (Wednesday) released additional details about an ATV accident that occurred over the weekend. During the incident last Saturday, a 4-year old Henderson boy was critically injured.

Officials say at around 7:15-p.m on March 31st, sheriff’s deputies, along with Henderson Fire and Rescue, and Macedonia Rescue, were dispatched to 206 Southwest Street in Henderson, after a report was received about a child being hit by a 4-wheeler. After rescuers arrived, they determined the victim, Kolbe Klindt was critically injured. LifeNet helicopter was called to transport the boy to Creighton University Medical Center.

The driver of the ATV was identified as Garret Horgdal, of Henderson. Deputies obtained a search warrant for a blood specimen from Horgdal, to determine the level of alcohol in his system. The child remains hospitalized, and the incident remains under investigation.

Owners of vintage cars are being invited to participate in a MotorMemories  vintage vehicle tour of Iowa crime scenes. The “Crime Scene Iowa” tour takes place June 13th-17th, and is open to 1987 and older vehicles. Already, nearly 40 cars are already registered from 25 different Iowa communities. Motoring through western Iowa, the tour takes a closer look at some of the better, as well as lesser known crime stories in the Hawkeye state. 

The first stop is Villisca, where 100 years ago, six members of the Josiah B. Moore family and two young houseguests were found bludgeoned to death with the Moore’s own axe. The murder spawned nearly ten years of investigations, repeated grand jury hearings, a spectacular slander suit, and murder trial. More than a century later, the murders remain unsolved.

The next stop is Templeton, in Carroll County, where during the Prohibition Era, west central Iowa farmers cooked whiskey in their barns and machine sheds to supplement their income in harsh times. The finished product was much sought-after and sold as Templeton Rye or “The Good Stuff” to those in the know. It was of such a high quality that it quickly made its way to speakeasies in Chicago, Kansas City, and Omaha through gangster Al Capone. For almost 80 years the product was considered illegal until it was introduced in 2006 as a legal brand of top shelf liquor. 

Other stops will tell the story of Jesse James in Adair and the world’s first train robbery, Bonnie & Clyde robbing the bank in Stuart and the Dexfield Park shoot-out near Dexter where his Clyde’s brother Buck was mortally wounded. Along the way local historians tell tales of other crimes, some with hilarious endings.

The tour begins on Wednesday, June 13, with presenting sponsor CWG Insurance hosting an evening event on their West Des Moines campus. The MotorMemories tours began as the MotorIoway 1000, an Iowa Sesquicentennial celebration in 1996. It became an annual event, and has now evolved into multiple vintage vehicle tours each year. Additional tour information and registration details can be found at www.motormemories.com.

COUNCIL BLUFF, Iowa (AP) – One woman has been treated after a fire forced about 20 residents to flee their homes in a Council Bluffs apartment building. Firefighters found smoke pouring from a first-floor unit on Tuesday night.  The woman was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.  The American Red Cross was helping people displaced by the blaze.   The fire cause is being investigated.