The Mid-America Council of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

offers programs in 58 counties in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

. The Mid-America Council was formed from a merger of the Covered Wagon Council and the Southwest Iowa Council in 1965. The first recorded Council in the area was in 1918 as the Omaha Council. In 2000 the council merged with the Prairie Gold Council that had been located in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

. The first recorded Scouting activity was a 1917 potato harvest by Troop 42, still in existence, reported on by the

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...

History

In 1917, the Hartington Council was formed, closing in 1918. In 1915, the Omaha Council (#326) was formed, changing its name to the Covered Wagon Council (#326) in 1930. The Mid-America Council (#326) was formed from a merger of the Covered Wagon Council (#326) and the Southwest Iowa Council (#175) in 1965. In 2000 the council merged with the Prairie Gold Area Council (#179) that had been located in Sioux City, Iowa. In 1920, LeMars Council (#182) was created, merging into the Sioux City Area Council (#185) in 1926. In 1918, Sioux City Council (#185) was created, changing its name to the Sioux City Area Council (#185) in 1926. In 1939, Sioux City Area changed its name to the Sergeant Floyd Area Council (#185) in 1939. Sergeant Floyd Area merged into Prairie Gold Area Council (#179) in 1972. In 1919, Fort Dodge Council (#179) was created. In 1942 the council changed its name name to Prairie Gold Area Council (#179). In 1920, the Shenandoah Council was founded, folding in 1921. In 1919, Council Bluffs Council (#175) was created. In 1926 the council changed its name name to Waubonsie Boyer Council (#175). It chnaged it name again to the Southwest Iowa Council (#175), eventually merging into the Mid-America Council in 1965.

Organization

The Council is separated into twelve districts. * Black Hawk District * Diamond Dick District * Goldenrod District * Iron Horse District * Northwest Iowa District * Ohwahnasee District * Petah La Shauro District * Thundercloud District * Trailblazer District * Twin Lakes District * Wagon Wheel District * War Eagle District

Camps

Mid America Council operates four camps. Its Boy Scout summer camp is located at Camp Cedars, near

Fremont, Nebraska Fremont is a city and county seat of Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 27,141 at the 2020 census. Fremont is the home of Midland University. History From the 1830 ...

while its Cub Scout resident camp is located at Little Sioux Scout Ranch near

Little Sioux, Iowa Little Sioux is a city in Harrison County, Iowa, United States. The population was 166 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is most known for Little Sioux Scout Ranch of the Boy Scouts of America. History Little Sioux was laid out in 1855. ...

. Other council camps include Camp Eagle, near

and Camp Wa-Kon-Da, Bellevue, Nebraska. The council formerly operated Camp Wakonda near

Griswold, Iowa Griswold is a city in Cass County, Iowa, United States. The population was 994 at the time of the 2020 census. History The town was named for J. N. A. Griswold, a railroad director. Geography Griswold is located at (41.2354, -95.1406). Accord ...

, in operation from 1948 until 1978. The Little Sioux Scout Ranch was heavily damaged by a tornado on June 11, 2008, which killed four Scouts and hospitalized 40 of 93 Scouts and Scouters attending a leadership development event. Camp Butterfield is currently being sold for private hunting and recreation purposes.

Little Sioux Scout Ranch

The Little Sioux Scout Ranch is a Scout reservation operated by the Mid-America Council of the

. It is located in

, approximately sixty miles north of

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

in Iowa's

Loess Hills The Loess Hills are a formation of wind-deposited loess soil in the westernmost parts of Iowa and Missouri, and the easternmost parts of Nebraska and Kansas, along the Missouri River. Geology The Loess (, , or ) Hills are generally located bet ...

and is approximately 15 minutes east of

Interstate 29 Interstate 29 (I-29) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with I-35 and I-70, to the Canada–US border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba ...

. Hiking trails cover the heavily timbered camp, along with mowed meadows and several remote campsites. There are also four cabin shelters and a lake. The

Mutual of Omaha Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Association, Mutual of Omaha is a financial organization offering a variety of insuranc ...

Administration Building was completed in 2000, and two years later the MidAmerican Energy Pavilion was finished, seating 300 at picnic tables. Individual packs, troops and posts use the facility, along with

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner Go ...

conclaves, district and council camporees. Pahuk Pride, a weeklong

National Youth Leadership Training National Youth Leadership Training, often called NYLT, is the current youth leadership development training offered by the Boy Scouts of America. The program is conducted at the council level over six days for Scouts, Venturers, and Sea Scouts. ...

event, was held annually at this camp. The camp was the site of a tornado that killed four

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

and injured 48 others on June 11, 2008.

Camp Cedars

The Mid-America Council's

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

is located at Camp Cedars, located on the Covered Wagon Scout Reservation (CWSR) near the village of Cedar Bluffs in Saunders County,

. Perched on a bluff above the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itsel ...

, the camp has of deciduous woods, prairie, and river bottoms. Facilities include a heated outdoor pool, shower houses, the Thomas Equestrian Center, an air-conditioned dining hall seating over 500 and an amphitheater with seating for over 1,000 audience members, as well as four renovated, air-conditioned cabins and three air-conditioned lodges. Cedars features an extensive Challenging Outdoor Program Experience, or COPE, course a

zip line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bot ...

, a tall rappelling tower and climbing walls. There is also a shooting sports facility, a nature center, and an equestrian center. Twelve campsites provide 264 permanent tent platforms, including a wheelchair-accessible campsite, for Scouts and leaders. It has been the site of archeological digs. Following the tragedy at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch, Camp Cedars built

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

shelters in response. In addition to Little Sioux, Cedars plays is an important site for the Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge of the

,"History of the Vigil in our Lodge"
Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge.

Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge

The

Scouting's national honor society is represented in the Mid-America Council by the Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge. The lodge is administratively divided into chapters corresponding to the council's districts. The Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge is part of Section G5, in the

Gateway Region The Gateway Region is the primary urbanized area of the northeastern section of New Jersey. It is anchored by Newark, the state's most populous city. While sometimes known as the Newark metropolitan area, it is part of the New York metropolitan ...

. Home of Steven Buer Jr., the 2022 National Vice Chief of the

References

External links

Mid-America Council website

from

WOWT-TV WOWT (channel 6) is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located on Farnam Street near downtown Omaha, and its transmitter is located on a "tower farm ...

, Omaha, Nebraska
Remembering the Boy Scouts
at NPR.org {{Scouting Local councils of the Boy Scouts of America Central Region (Boy Scouts of America) Youth organizations based in Nebraska 1965 establishments in Nebraska