(Radio Iowa) – A heavily wooded state park in northwest Iowa is the site of an unusual event held this Saturday. It’s called the “Fright Hike” and it covers about half a mile in Fort Defiance State Park near Estherville. Lexie Ruter is executive director of the Estherville Chamber of Commerce. “We are getting everything prepped and ready to go for our one-night-only event where we usually get 1200 people out in three and a half hours,” she says, “so it’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun.”

This will be the 11th annual Fright Hike — held the Saturday before Halloween each year — held in the woods of the state park that’s about two-and-a-half miles outside of Estherville.  “We’ve got a lot of new people doing some new things this year, so it should be scary and not just the same thing as every year before,” Ruter says. “so hopefully everyone leaves scared, having had a good time.” The “Fright Night” festivities begin just before sunset this Saturday, but Ruter says the half mile route will be lit for the first hour.

“From 6 to 7 p.m. we have our ‘lights on’ hour which is when we encourage those who want a little bit less of a scary experience to come out. We do kind of take it a little bit easier if there is a child who is upset or something like that. We will back off between 6 and 7 p.m.,” Ruter says. “From 7 to 9:30 is a ‘full scare,’ so those two and a half hours are your typical haunted hour style scarings.”

A ticket to the Fright Hike at Fort Defiance is 10 dollars. Halloween has become one of the biggest consumer holidays of the year and the National Retail Federation predicts Americans will spend a record 12-point-two BILLION dollars on Halloween costumes, candy, decorations and haunted houses this year. The National Retail Federation’s annual survey found seven out of 10 people said they would participate in Halloween activities.

OTTUMWA – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections report 35-year-old Preston Kash Ingram, convicted of Robbery 2nd Degree and other charges in Lee County, failed to report back to the Ottumwa Residential Facility as required last Friday. Ingram stands 5-feet, 11-inches tall, weighs 195 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on July 11, 2023.

Persons with information on Ingram’s whereabouts should contact local police.

Preston Kash Ingram

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported, following three accidents that took place last Thursday (Oct. 19, 2023). The first crash happened at around 10-a.m., and involved a pickup truck and an SUV. Authorities say a 2018 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by 49-year-old James Allen Black, of Johnston, was westbound on Highway 44 from Avenue A, at the same time a 2020 Nissan Murano driven by 47-year-old Tanny Marie Miller, of Guthrie Center, was traveling eastbound.

The pickup crossed the center line of the road, into the path of the SUV. Miller tried to avoid the collision, but her SUV was struck on the driver’s side rear door by the pickup. The SUV came to rest in the east ditch. The pickup stopped on the west side shoulder of the road. Damage from the crash amounted to $15,000. Deputies cited Black for Failure to Maintain Control, and Driving on the wrong side of the highway.

The second accident in Guthrie County, last Thursday, happened at around 12:32-p.m., on eastbound Highway 141. Authorities say a 2008 Kenworth semi driven by 40-year-old Floyd Peterman, of Corning, and a 2005 Ford F-350 Super Duty pickup driven by 35-year-old Amalia Easton, of Ankeny, were traveling west on Highway 141 at Rose Avenue, When the pickup slowed to make a right-hand turn into a driveway, the semi struck a trailer attached to the pickup, causing Easton to lose control. The vehicle rolled into the westbound ditch. The semi stopped on the west shoulder of the road. Damage from the collision amounted to $30,000. No citations were issued.

The third accident in Guthrie County, Thursday, occurred at around 7:05-p.m., on Iowa Highway 4. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports a 2022 Chevy Trailblazer SUV driven by 34-year-old Breanna Mink, of Jamaica, was traveling south on the highway, when her vehicle struck a deer. The vehicle sustained $4,000 damage.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors received an annual report from the Cass County Library Association, and a request for an increase in funding over last year. Sara Young, with the Anita Public Library, said Cass County is below the statewide average funding for libraries (as of FY 2022), by about Nine-thousand dollars.

Funding for libraries is determined by the populations they serve.

The Board took the request under advisement, for when it comes time to work on the Budget. The Supervisors held a Public Hearing on a proposed amendment of the FY2024 Cass County Budget. Auditor Kathy Somers explained there was unexpected income such as grants, and donations, including those to the Veteran’s Affairs Department, and expenditures, that needed to be factored-in, with regard to some departmental line items.

Hearing no comments on the proposal, the Supervisors passed a Resolution approving Amendment 1 of the Cass County FY2024 Budget as published, and making appropriations for the same, effective immediately.

In other business, Diane Schultz, former President of the Iowa Morman Trails Association, spoke with regard to the replacement of trail signs in Cass County. Schultz said the process of changing-out road signs in other, adjacent counties began five-years ago, and now it’s time for the project to occur in Cass County. Many of the signs, she said, that have been in-place since the 1980’s, have deteriorated badly.

The National Parks Service is replacing the actual signs at No Cost. The only thing that needs to be funded by the county is the post and labor to install the signs. The matter was taken under advisement, and in coordination with Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken.

Wolken updated the Board on Secondary Roads Department projects, maintenance and other activities. And, the Board discussed the County 5- and 10-year Capital Improvement Plan. No action was taken during today’s (Tuesdays) meeting.