No winner in Million Dollar Bird drawing [American News, Aberdeen, S.D.]

Jan. 07--The most valuable pheasant in the Aberdeen area was shot, but there was no grand prize winner in this afternoon's Million Dollar Bird drawing.

Owen Windham, of Benton, La., however, won $1,000 and a Mossberg SilverReserve over and under shotgun. He shot banded bird No. 24, and his number was drawn from a barrel by Aberdeen Mayor Mike Levsen. But it didn't match the predetermined million-dollar number stored in an electronic device.

Roy Gruenstein of Aberdeen shot banded pheasant No. 73, the one stored electronically. Had his number been drawn from the barrel, he would have won $1 million. The prize, covered by an insurance policy, would have been payable in $25,000 increments for 40 years.

Before hunting season, 100 banded pheasants were released in the Brown County area. Hunters who shot banded birds and turned them into the Aberdeen Convention and Visitors Bureau won from $100 to $500. Forty-nine bands were turned in. The Aberdeen Hotel Alliance also sponsored the Million Dollar Bird contest.

Alicia Desantell, of Bethel, Minn., also won a shotgun -- a Browning Maxus Hunter -- when her name was selected in a drawing. She registered for the prize at Game Fair, a Minnesota outdoor show. Online registrations were also accepted.

Casey Weismantel, of the convention and visitors bureau, said the Million Dollar Bird contest will be tweaked next year. Instead of giving away a second shotgun via drawing, a million-dollar band will be given away with registrations taken on the huntfishsd.com website, he said.

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