Ida County Courier

This display features figures by artist Thomas Kinkade; it was donated by Judge Bruce Snell and his wife, Anne. Photo by Dan Mundt

Ridge View Select Choir sings Christmas tunes: The Ridge View High School Select Choir, under the direction of Mrs. Kris Kistenmacher, performed a number of Christmas songs at the Winter Concert in the Rosemary Clausen Center last week. Song choices included “Throw Open Your Shudders”, “Music’s Echo”, “All Star”, “Cold Snap”, and “White Christmas”. Photo by Brent Harm

Christmas Bird Count: Ida County wildlife photographer and enthusiast Don Poggensee, as well as Ida County Naturalist Danielle Bennett, helped organize the Christmas Bird Count on Sunday morning, starting at the Conservation Center at 8 a.m. Participants go out in groups, or individually, to various locations within a 15-mile radius of the Ida Grove area, and count the number of birds observed. Because of this nation-wide annual bird count, scientists have been able to track the impacts of things like oil spills, West Nile, and chemical bans, and have determined critical habitats in need of conservation. The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) began in 1900, when Frank Chapman suggested that teams change their tradition of shooting birds as a Christmas sport to simply taking a census of them. In the ensuing years, the idea has grown and the CBC has become a winter tradition for many birders across the country with friendly competitions among states and even circles. As the first citizen science project, the CBC has captured enough data over the years that results are now used by various scientific organizations to document changes in wintering bird populations. Photo by Brent Harm

A class without lights: Cecily Jacobsen and Elizabeth Hoefling trying to finished their schoolwork with the light from the window, since the class had none. Photo by Billie Oxendale

Kiwanis and Mid-Sioux help with Christmas donations: Members of the Ida Grove Kiwanis, as well as volunteers from Edward Jones and Mid-Sioux Opportunity, worked together to help collect Christmas present donations: Pictured, from left: Monica Gravenish with Mid-Sioux, Deb Ulrich, Kelsie Nettles (Edward Jones), Alexis Boeckman (Edward Jones), Doug Schmidt, Peter Goldsmith, LuAnn Benge, Laura Benson with Mid-Sioux and Pat Phillips. Photo by Brent Harm

Irelyn eyes the basket: Irelyn Wittrock of OABCIG has her eye on the hoop as she drives into the lane against Ridge View. The Falcons foiled the Raptors 48-32 on Friday night in Holstein. Photo by Brent Harm