Local cat news

It has been reported several times that mountain lions have moved into Eastern South Dakota. A female and kitten were spotted by Merle Schimke near his farm northwest of Wessington Springs a few years ago. Craig Wenzel found mountain lion tracks seven miles southeast of town while deer hunting two years ago. Another lion was seen in the Lane area. And is was rumored that a mountain lion might have been frequenting South Gulch near Wessington Springs this past fall.

The 20th annual Wessington Springs fishing derby will be held Sunday, June 12 at Ft. Thompson on the Missouri River. Participants depart from the North Shore boat launch for the tournament. The derby was changed to a Saturday last year, but Dept. of Game, Fish & Parks officials changed the date back to a Sunday, according to Dennis Mettler, of Wessington Springs. More information will be available at a later time.

“He was running with his ears back and I had to think fast.”

A WESSINGTON SPRINGS NATIVE had the hunt of a lifetime on a ranch near Pringle, SD this fall. Rita Kolousek, Pukwana and formerly of the Wessington Springs area, was on a hunt with friends, hoping to bag her first elk. She got more than she had hoped for when, after sitting in a draw for 30 minutes, she saw a Mt. Lion approaching them. “He was running with his ears back and I had to think fast,” Rita said, “because when I pulled up and shot he was within eleven steps from us!” The landowner’s wife told her they “could have been pork chops and apple sauce” if she had missed. Upon returning to the area after getting the landowner to comeout to the site, they spotted a herd of elk. “And that is when I shot my first elk,” she said. The cat, Rita and the nice 6X6 bull elk are all shown above. —Craig Wenzel

 THE PHEASANTS FOREVER Banquet and Auction was held Sunday evening. The event was sponsored by the Wessington Springs chapter. Many of them are pictured above on Sunday morning as they set up the displays and tables for the event. They are: Standing, left to right: Craig Salter, Cory Minor, Lynn Ogren, Ron Ogren, Tom Hoefert, Dan Kruse, Frank McGowan, Darwin Weeldreyer, Bill Salter, Fred Krohmer, Kali Krohmer, Jay Ball, Brady Younie; Front row: Joan Hoefert, Cristin Hoefert, Jason Weber, Denny

JOHN GREEN, a noted wildlife artist, is pictured above with this year’s Pheasants Forever Springs Chapter painting “The Road Hunt.” The work was auctioned off soon after Green had finished it at the event. The painting was auctioned off for $4,100 with half going to the local chapter and half going to the artist.

McGowan, Brandon Naiar, Hayden Hooks, and Jake Krohmer. The event was held at the Prairie Lounge and entertained many hunters and local pheasant enthusiasts for a fun evening of fund raising. Proceedsgo toward area pheasant habitat and youth programs. Many area businesses and organizations contribute items to the auction.

AS THE OFFICIAL first day of Spring came last week, the Jerauld County countryside did indeed look the part. Canada geese are pictured on a dam a mile northeast of Springs in the photo above. Huge flocks of geese and ducks can be seen all over the county in the air and in area fields where they feed. The snow depth is now officially down to zero inches but many of the deep drifts are still around. A week of temperatures in the 40s and 50s should help melt the drifts and also dry up the farm lots where calving is in full swing. Yup, suddenly life is very good in Wessington Springs. Today (Monday, March 30, 2010) the sun is shining and it’s around 70 degrees!!!! As our parents used to say, every spring, “Well, looks like we made it through another one.” –Craig and Duke