Ikes Join Forces for Missouri River Clean-Up

The League helped organize three major cleanups on the Missouri River this summer. Ikes turned out for all of them — and hauled in an impressive array of trash!

At the 7th Annual Missouri River Cleanup in Yankton, South Dakota, 100 volunteers collected more than 2.6 tons of trash and scrap metal. In Sioux City, Iowa, 80 volunteers collected 2.4 tons of litter and debris. And 30 volunteers collected nearly 3.5 tons of trash along the river in the Pierre-Fort Pierre, South Dakota, area, including a three-piece sectional couch, 10 tires, a bus seat, and a water heater that had to be lifted out of the river with a winch.

“It’s a shame that we found that much stuff out there,” said Sunshine Chapter president John Henderson at the Pierre-Fort Pierre cleanup. “But we made the river healthier for fish and wildlife and more attractive for everyone who recreates on it. Hopefully this will raise people’s awareness and they will stop littering in the future.”

The League coordinated these cleanups alongside federal, state, and local government agencies and other conservation and nonprofit groups.