Mid-Iowa Council

Mid-Iowa Council
Owner	Boy Scouts of America
Headquarters	Des Moines, Iowa
Country	United States
Scout Executive	Robert Hopper
Website http://www.midiowacouncilbsa.org/
Scouting portal

The Mid Iowa Council is a council of the Boy Scouts of America that serves all Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, adult volunteers and Venturers in Central Iowa. This includes the area of the state capital, Des Moines.[1]

Organization

The council is administratively divided into districts:

• Golden Eagle District South and East of Des Moines
• Bo Qui District South of Des Moines
• Hawkeye District South and East of Des Moines
• Raccoon River Valley District West of Des Moines
• TaMaHa District East of Des Moines
• Broken Arrow District North of Des Moines

Theoretically there are two other districts in the council, one each for Venturing and Learning for Life.^[1]

Council Properties

The Mid Iowa Council also manages several properties including Camp Mitigwa, Grinnell Scoutland, Strother's Lodge and prior to 2008, Camp Wapello.

Camp Mitigwa

Camp Mitigwa is located northeast of Woodward, Iowa, United States, north of the state capital in, Des Moines. The camp has over 450 acres (1.8 km²) of rolling valleys and ridges ^[2]. Lake Fisher is a man made lake which provides opportunities for canoeing, rowing, and fishing. The camp has six year-round wood heated cabins available for weekend rental through the council service center, as well as a heated shower facility. A thirty foot, five-sided Rappelling Tower is located in the camp. As well as a C.O.P.E. (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience), which includes a 400’ zipline, 30’ flying squirrel, and a triangle event that includes a Gap Step, Balance Beam and Skywalk events. Both the tower and the C.O.P.E. course can be reserved by a troop or crew. Bear Creak Lodge is the newest facility at Camp Mitigwa used as the Cub Scout Dining Hall.

Each summer Camp Mitigwa offers five one-week residence camping experiences for Boy Scouts. At the present time Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts camp at the same time. However this has been a topic of much controversy in late years, because for many years Cub Scouts camped later in the summer season.^[3]

Camp staff and maintenance

Summer camp staff is hired only for the summer season and usually consists of 30-50 high school and college students. Positions range from instructing children, managing a trading post, serving as a health officer, and life guarding at either one of the two pools or the lake.

Camp Mitigwa has one full-time, year-round camp ranger. He is provided a residence on camp. In the past the council has also employed a year round Assistant Ranger and a summer seasonal assistant ranger.

ORFs (Old Retired Fellows) are skilled in trades such as plumbing, woodworking, or electrical work and provide much maintenance. Their work can be seen all over camp and usually branded with a logo denoting their work. The Mitigwa Lodge provides more than ten workdays each year to help maintain the property.

Geography

Camp Mitigwa has three main ridges, each developed for camping. They are:

• Blank Ridge- Raymond A. Blank Ridge is currently used for Boy Scout Camping and is the central ridge of the camp. The majority of camp activities take place in and around the facilities on this ridge.

• Frankel Ridge- When the camp opened in 1923 Frankel Ridge was opened for Boy Scout camping. Since 2007 Frankel Ridge has been utilized only for Cub Scout Camping.

• Casady Ridge- Currently used for Boy Scout Camping. This Ridge was originally known as Buffalo Ridge, and still appears on maps this way. The ridge also contains four adirondacks which can be used by Scouts in camp.

Trails

• The Lake Front Trail- This trail offers an excellent views of the woodland of Mitigwa between Blank and Frankel Ridges. It goes between the Raymond Blank Memorial Dining Hall and the Frankel Ridge parking lot. The trail also passes by Lake Fisher. This trail was constructed by the Mitigwa Lodge.

• The Dan Beard Trail- The Mitigwa Lodge is currently constructing a trail that will eventually surround the entire camp. Named after Dan Beard, the trail offers an excellent view of the Mitigwa backwoods and the Des Moines River valley. The trail is expected to be completed by the 2010 camping season. The trail offers access to both outpost campsites on the south end of the property. Hidden treasures such as the Hidden Lake and Sulfur springs are visible from the trail. The trail follows portions of older trails that once went through the camp, old signs can still be found throughout the backwoods of the camp property marking these old trails.

The rest of Camp Mitigwa's 450 acres (1.8 km²) are still wild.

Campsites

Camp Mitigwa utilizes 20 campsites and has at least 4 that are no longer used.

Located on Frankel Ridge: Wakan, Chanotedah, Hopi, and Zuni.

Located on Blank Ridge: Ottawa, Chippewa, Pawnee, Fox, Osage, Piegon, and Sioux.

Located on Casady Ridge: Kick-a-poo, Mohawk, Onieda, Osage, Kiowa, Crow, Seneca, Iroquois, and Navajo.

Facilities

The camp features two dining facilities, two staff housing areas, two staff lounges, and two trading posts.

There are currently three forts on the property. The first Fort Pella is located on Frankel Ridge. The second Fort Clatsop is located on Casady Ridge. The third is Old Fort Madison located on the far end of Frankel Ridge. A fort known as Fort JC used to exist near the present day Raymond Blank Dining Hall.

All buildings at Camp Mitigwa are painted "Brewer Brown" which is more commonly known as Zanzibar Brown.

Recently Camp has gone through many improvements, renovations to the Frankel pool have allowed for cub scouts to swim.

Camp also boasts several expensive stone monuments. One located at each of the two west entrances, one large statue inside the main gate, a small monument with directions near the main parking lot and a large monument notating which ridge is Blank and which is Frankel.

Grinnell Scoutland

Grinnell Scoutland is 40 acres (160,000 m²) of hardwood timber southwest of Grinnell, Iowa. The camp is ideal for Scouts who want to test their skills in a rustic outdoor environment. Scoutland offers primitive camping in seven campsite, camporee field, and an open air cement block shelter house with a fireplace and electricity for weekend camping. Other amenities include water, parade field with flag pole and large parking area.^[4]

Strother Lodge at Foster Acres

Foster Acres is located on the north edge of Ottumwa, has a shelter, Strother Lodge, primitive campsites and trails. Strother Lodge is a heated building with kitchen facilities and water. The lodge includes six tables and chairs for 50 when used as a meeting room, or enough room to sleep 20 on the floor as an overnight facility. Strother Lodge is available year round.^[5]

Camp Wapello

As of 2008 Camp Wapello is no longer being managed by the Mid Iowa Council. Camp Wapello is located on the water’s edge of Scout Bay on Lake Wapello in southeastern Iowa. It was a part of former Southern Iowa Council and is now managed by a private foundation, the Camp Wapello Preservation Group. Camp Wapello was utilized by Scouts and Scouters in Southern Iowa for many years, because of this the foundation is dedicated to preserving Camp Wapello and keeping the camp part of the Scouting program in Southern Iowa.

Mitigwa Lodge

Mitigwa Lodge
Location	Des Moines, Iowa
Founded	1951
Membership	1,300
Lodge Chief	J. Flowers
Lodge Adviser	D. Meisinger
Lodge Staff Adviser	P. Langston
Website http://450brotherhood.org/

The Order of the Arrow Scouting's national honor society is represented in the Mid-Iowa Council by the Mitigwa Lodge. The lodge is administratively divided into chapters corresponding to the council's districts. The Mitigwa Lodge is part of Section C-5B, in the Central Region.

History

Camp Mitigwa was founded in 1923. The council's first honor society was the Old Guard, founded in 1931. The Old Guard was responsible for camp promotion and improvement, membership retention and service.^[6][7] Mitigwa Lodge was founded in 1951 with 72 members of the Old Guard being inducted by members of the Illini Lodge.

In 1970 the Southern Iowa Council merged with Tall Corn Area Council to form the Mid-Iowa Council. The Bo Qui Lodge then merged with the Mitigwa lodge. The former Bo Qui Lodge is the present day Golden Eagle Chapter ^[8] and part of the present Bo Qui Chapter as well^{[citation needed]}.

In 1973 the camp hosted its 50th anniversary with great scouting fanfare and an enormous bon fire celebration held by the Order of the Arrow. Hundreds of scouts participated in the late night ceremony that culminated with the lighting of a 15-foot-tall (4.6 m) pyramid of logs it was an awe inspiring moment.^{[citation needed]}

National Order of the Arrow Conference

The Mitigwa Lodge welcomed Arrowmen from around the country to Iowa State University for the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) both in 1998 and 2004. Serving as the host lodge for both conferences, instead of sending a contingent the Mitigwa Lodge provided hundreds of Arrowmen as part of the service lodge corps.

See also

• Scouting in Iowa

References

1. ^ Mid Iowa Council BSA
2. ^ Boone County Iowa Assessor
3. ^ Mid Iowa Council (2005). Scouting in Iowa — The Values Endure, Mid Iowa Council BSA. 
4. ^ Grinnell Scoutland
5. ^ Foster Acres
6. ^ Old Guard membership, Camp Mitigwa. Des Moines, Iowa : Boy Scouts of America, Tall Corn Council, 19-- 51 p. ; 28 cm.
7. ^ Mitigwa Lodge history book. Des Moines, IA : Mitigwa Lodge 450, Mid-Iowa Council BSA, c1988. 2nd ed. vii, 39 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
8. ^ Mitigwa Lodge New Arrowman Resource Book

External links

• Boy Scouts of America
• Central Region Venturing
• Scout Shop

Order of the Arrow

• Section C-5B
• Central Region Order of the Arrow
• National Order of the Arrow