The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says hunter success in Iowa’s 2012 pheasant season opener followed what the roadside survey predicted. Officials say better bird numbers were found in northwest Iowa,  and few birds were seen in southern Iowa, but by and large, conservation officers found hunters were encouraged, but not satisfied, with their opening weekend hunt.

Mark Gulick, northwest Iowa district wildlife supervisor for the DNR, says “The general consensus is that the opener was good compared to the past few years. Pressure on public land was moderate to extremely high on Saturday and considerably lower on Sunday. Harvest was fair to good; many groups reported about one bird per person with several groups reporting limits, some by mid morning.” Success was not as good in southeast Iowa.

Rick Trine, central Iowa district wildlife supervisor for the DNR, says in central Iowa, more hunters were on public wildlife areas and most were pleased with the numbers of pheasants they saw over last year. Iowa’s pheasant season continues through Jan. 10, 2013.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department reports the arrest Thursday afternoon, of a Kimballton man. 31-year old Ian Lee Leib was charged with Simple Assault, Disorderly Conduct, and Interference with Official Acts, following an investigation into an incident that occurred at Leib’s home in Kimballton. He was brought to the Audubon County Jail and held on $300 bond.

Two people from southwest Iowa were arrested this week on theft charges. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports at around 8:45-a.m. this (Friday) morning, 29-year old Kristin Rose Wiechman, of Corning, was arrested on a charge of 2nd degree theft. She was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on $5,000 bond.

And, a 16-year old female from Villisca was arrested Thursday evening, on 4th degree theft and forgery charges. The unidentified teen was being held in the Juvenile Detention Center, in Council Bluffs.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Atlantic Rotary Club is holding a raffle now through November 17^th, to help fund repairs to “Santa’s Cabin,” in the Atlantic City Park at 6^thand Poplar Streets.

Santa was in Atlantic this past week to inspect his cabin.

Contractors have indicated that if some of the logs at the base of the cabin aren’t replaced in the next year or two, the entire structure might be lost within the next 5 to 10 years.

Tickets for the raffle will be available until the 30^th Annual Atlantic Rotary Club Auction on November 17th. They can be purchased at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, First Whitney Bank, Great Western Bank, Nishna Valley Family YMCA and Meyer and Gross Real Estate. Tickets are $20 for one and $100 for six with the prizes being $1,000 cash for the first recipient drawn, $1,500 for second, $3,000 for the third.

The  Atlantic Holiday Grand Lighting will take place Nov. 15th.  A holiday musical performance by Haylee Glenn will begin the Lighting activities at 5:30 p.m. followed by the appearance of Santa and Ellie the Elf, who will ask for the audience’s holiday spirit to help them turn on the lights. Free carriage rides, hot cocoa and popcorn will also be available. Santa will be in his cabin for the first visits with area children after the lighting also.

The Red Oak Police Department reports three people were taken into custody late Thursday night on drug-related charges. Authorities say 18-year-old Mason Philip Roach and 22-year-old Devin Alexander Davis, along with 17-year old Nikolus Brenton Schooling, all from Red Oak, were arrested in the 1400 block of North Broadway Street. Roach and Davis face Possession of Marijuana charges. Schooling was cited for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was later released into the custody of a parent, while Roach and Davis remain in custody on $1,000 bond each. The trio were arrested just before midnight, Thursday.

Department of Natural Resources officials have found the likely source of a massive fish kill in northwest Iowa.

Floyd River fish kill Oct 2012

Ken Hessenius, with the DNR, says the discharge into the West Branch of the Floyd River south of Sioux Center was traced to a local business. “Sioux-Preme Packing Company is a hog kill packing plant and they have a wastewater system,” Hessenius said.

The reason for the discharge is still under review and it’s unclear if the company was aware it was happening. DNR staff were notified of the situation on Monday by a local resident who reported the stream looked “murky.” Elevated ammonia levels were discovered in the stream, along with dead fish. The fish kill is still being counted.

“The preliminary information is the kill will be in the thousands, not hundreds, as initially reported,” Hessenius said. The dead fish have been found at least nine miles downstream of the plant, according to the DNR. Hessenius said potential enforcement action and fines against Sioux-Preme Packing are under review.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with Cargill have announced the closing early next year, of the company’s shell egg production facility in Panora. The move means the elimination of some 55 jobs from the area. Two shift lines operate at the Panora plant, producing premium breakfast products for a variety of companies. One is expected to shut down in January, the other in March. A third shift is tasked with sanitizing the facility.

In a press release, Cargill says “After careful consideration, Cargill Kitchen Solutions has decided to close its hard-cooked egg facility in Panora and shift production to Big Lake, Minnesota. This was a hard decision to reach, especially due to the impact on our people. This decision allows Cargill Kitchen Solution to consolidate all products that require shell eggs as their raw material into one facility that can handle current and future demand. It also enables greater efficiency by focusing our production, supply chain, and quality assurance efforts in one location. We expect that we will shift production over the next six months and will add additional staff at the Big Lake location to accommodate the increased production there.”

The company says Cargill Kitchen Solutions’ business continues to perform well.