(Des Moines, Iowa) – This year (2024) marks a milestone for the Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters with the celebration of its 40th anniversary grilling at the Iowa State Fair! Iowa Beef Industry Council (IBIC) officials says, since 1984, the Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters has became a beloved destination for fairgoers, offering high-quality beef dishes and a welcoming atmosphere. The Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters began its 40-year journey at the fair serving as an advocate for Iowa cattlemen and women and promoting the beef they raise. Comprised of 68 county cattlemen association and FFA groups bringing more than 1,600 volunteers each year, these passionate individuals are crucial in creating a memorable dining experience for fairgoers. These loyal cattle farmers serve nearly 90,000 customers annually and prepare roughly 28,000 lbs. of beef during the 11-day event.

For four decades, Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters has been dedicated to promoting and showcasing the best of Iowa’s beef industry. Commitment to quality and tradition has made them a staple at the Iowa State Fair. CBQ Manager Wayne Baumhover, says “One detail that makes us special is that we have something for everyone on our menu from the casual, on-the-go diner, to those interested in a true sit-down meal. Our menu has expanded and changed through the years, but one thing remains constant – it’s always about the beef.”

The Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters all-beef menu includes such favorites as Prime Rib, Taco Salad, Ribeye Steak Sandwich and the Hot Beef Sundae. Serving up mouthwatering meals is well-known amongst fairgoers, and their breakfast offerings are no exception. You can enjoy a hearty start to your day with their classic breakfast menu, featuring biscuits and gravy, brisket breakfast burrito, salt beef bagel and more. It’s the perfect way to fuel up for a day of fair fun.

Iowa cattlemen and women invite you to visit them at the Iowa State Fair to celebrate this special milestone. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a first-time visitor, there’s something for everyone at the Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters. Enjoy a delicious meal, learn more about the beef industry, and be a part of the 40th anniversary celebration. Visit the CBQ’s iconic location August 8 through August 18, 2024. Located north of the Horse Barn and east of the Walnut Center, look for the black steer on the roof.

Hours of operation are 6:30 AM to 9:30 PM. Breakfast is served daily until 10 AM. Learn more about the Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters and find a full menu at www.cattlemensbeefquarters.com.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports six people were arrested on separate charges over the past week. Early today (Monday), 29-year-old Dakota John Allen, of Hastings, was arrested on Interstate 29, for Driving While Barred (Bond: $2,000). Sunday evening, 37-year-old Justin Lee Parson, of Pacific Junction, was arrested for Criminal Mischief 3rd/offense, Attempted Burglary 3rd Degree, Possession of Burglary Tools, and Trespassing (Bond: $9,300).

Saturday afternoon, Mills County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 36-year-old Steven Wayne Wurtele, Jr., of Omaha, NE, on a Mills County warrant for failure to appear. Wurtele was taken into custody at the Pottawattamie County Jail, and was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

Last Thursday, Mills County Deputies arrested 54-year-old William Joseph Cox, of Missouri Valley, on a Mills County warrant for two counts Contempt of Court. He was also arrested at the Pott. County Jail, and held without bond in the Mills County Jail. And, 30-year-old Patrick Clayton Giesting, of Malvern, was arrested Thursday night following a traffic stop on I-29 in Mills County. Giesting was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Bond: $300).

On July 30th, 18-year-old Hunter Travis Kaufman, of Thurman, was arrested at the Mils County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for Possession of Controlled Substance (Bond: $1,000).

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa’s Stanley Museum of Art has become the first North American institution to return artwork from its collection directly to the royal family of Benin in Nigeria. The two pieces are part of a group of thousands of artifacts, known as the Benin Bronzes, stolen from the kingdom during a British invasion in 1897. Peju Layiwola is a curator at the museum, who attended a ceremony at the royal palace in Benin City to return the art to the oba, or king, of Benin.

“The palace still exists. The lineage and the kings are still there,” Layiwola says, “and so going to the palace of the oba of Benin, to the very place that was sacked, that was plundered, is absolutely the right thing to do.” Cory Gundlach, the museum’s curator of African art, also attended the ceremony. “It’s very exciting for the Stanley Museum of Art to be a leader in this particular context,” Gundlach says, “and to develop a direct relationship with the royal family and the oba in particular.”

His Majesty, Oba Ewuare II, holds up the brass plaque presented to him by Dr. Cory Gundlach (right) during the restitution ceremony at the Royal Palace. (Photo courtesy Stanley Museum of Art)

The pieces that were returned included a brass plaque and a wooden altarpiece.

(contributed by Josie Fischels, Iowa Public Radio)

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports there were four arrests that took place Friday evening through Sunday night. At around 10:30-p.m. Sunday, 33-year-old Anthony Roger Cross, of Creston, was arrested for Burglary in the 3rd Degree. He posted a $5,000 bond and was released from the Union County Jail. A little after 1-a.m., Sunday, Creston Police arrested 40-year-old Brian James Ferry, of Gowrie, for Driving While Suspended. He was cited at the scene and then released on a promise to appear in court.

At around 1:30-a.m. Saturday, Police in Creston arrested 31-year-old Kevin William Wessel, of Creston, for Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree, Public Intoxication/1st offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Interference with Official Acts. Wessel was later released on a $1,200 bond.

And, at around 6:35-p.m. Friday, Ryan James Corder, of Storm Lake, was arrested for Theft in the 3rd Degree. Corder was being held in the Union County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors are set to meet at 9-a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6th in their Atlantic courthouse Board Room. On their agenda, is: Action on a resolution approving the use of Valley Business Park (VBP) interest for use by CADCO’s (Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation) Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to support local economic development; action on the EMS Advisory Council’s recommendation to place a Public Measure on the November General Election ballot, with regard to making Emergency Medical Services an essential service in Cass County, and an associated levy that supporters say will provide a revenue stream that is a dedicated county fund that can’t be redirected by politicians to less important needs.

The levy would not exceed 75-cents per $1,000 assessed property evaluation in Cass County, plus a 1% surtax upon the State individual income tax. Supporters say passage of the measure in November would allow cities, the hospital and county to reduce their respective tax levies, since they would no longer be funding EMS through their budgets, as is currently the case. The fund would pay for 24/7 paramedic service, and help to fund all the volunteer EMS departments in the County, with regard to operational expenses, training and equipment. The Cass County EMS Association, which is made up of EMS members from every town in the County, will set a budget and distribute funding.

The Cass County Supervisors will also discuss remaining ARPA request priorities, and hear reports from County Conservation Director Micah Lee (Quarterly report), as well as a monthly report from Cass County Community Services Director & Mental Health Advocate, Debbie Schuler. Engineer Trent Wolken will present his regular report to the Board, also.

See the full agenda below:

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County will hold their regular, weekly session on Tuesday (Aug. 6) beginning at 8:30-a.m.  On their agenda is action on approving the designation of Snyder and Associates, Inc., to serve as Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline inspector during construction of the carbon transport pipeline.

The full agenda is shown below:

(Radio Iowa) – Looking for fresh-picked sweet corn or ripe strawberries right out of the patch? Iowa has more than 220 certified farmers markets and many of us know they’re a great place to find a wide variety of produce, to interact with local growers, and to support the community. U-S-D-A Undersecretary Jenny Lester Moffitt says farmers markets offer Iowa’s small producers what’s known as a low-barrier entry point, where it’s affordable to sell directly to consumers. “It’s really important because when we have direct sales, right now in mainstream supply chains, anywhere from 14 to 15 cents of that consumer dollar, our food dollar, goes directly to farmers,” Moffitt says, “but at farmer’s markets, that price is seven times that.”

This is National Farmers Market Week and Moffitt says communities in Iowa and across the country are celebrating the role farmers markets play in supporting local agriculture. “Farmers are able to capture and keep a lot more money of the consumer dollars in their own pockets, which means they’re reinvesting in their farms, they’re reinvesting in local jobs in their communities,” Moffitt says. “Really importantly, they’re able to get healthy food that’s grown in their region to the members in their communities as well.” She says Iowans who are on SNAP or other nutritional programs can use their benefits at many farmers markets. The markets are also known for offerings like local honey, giant heirloom tomatoes, and fresh-baked pies and pastries.

Farmers Market (USDA photo)

“What’s really great is you can find products that you normally can’t find on store shelves, whether that is locally-grown produce or other types of grains,” Moffitt says. “Also, it’s a really great opportunity to be able to buy things from other local producers, whether that is jams and jellies, and other value-added products, or craft products as well.” Even in an agricultural state like Iowa, people can forget where their food comes from, so farmers markets are a perfect way to rediscover our roots.  “It’s also just a really great place to engage with farmers, to talk about how the food is grown, to be able to have that personal connection,” Moffitt says. “I know we all really love and thrive when we’re talking with producers that are growing the food that we’re enjoying.”

You can find a farmers market near you by visiting the USDA’s Local Food Directory (https://www.usdalocalfoodportal.com). Before entering the government sector, Moffitt raised organic walnuts on a family farm in California. She’s now the U-S-D-A’s Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, the first woman to hold the post.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Lottery is hosting game show on the opening day of the Iowa State Fair. Lottery spokeswoman, Mary Neubauer says the game show is part of their first ever scratch ticket is linked to the Fair. “Just a different way for people to win rather than just having a traditional drawing and so there will be 20 contestants out there who will be competing for prizes,” Nuebauer says. Some 67-thousand people who didn’t win a prize on a State Fair scratch ticket entered them to be chosen as one of the 20 who are competing on the game show. “Anybody who is on that stage will win at least 10-thosuand dollars, and the finalist has a chance to win up to five million dollars, which my goodness to find a time when the Lottery has given away a prize of that size, you have to go back to the very earliest days of the Iowa Lottery,” Nuebauer says.

She says they will also have prizes for people watching the game show. “Specifically for the people who are in the audience that day, so we’re going to have prizes for audience members,” she says. The live game show is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p-m on the Grand Concourse of the Iowa State Fairgrounds on opening day (Aug 8th). The contestants will gradually be eliminated through a series of games until just one remains. The last time the lottery held a live game show was in 2012 on the final day of the Iowa State Fair, and the top prize was one million dollars.

The Iowa Lottery last held a contest at the Iowa State Fair in 2012. (IA Lottery photo)

The 20 people chosen to be in this year’s game show are: Craig Bergman, Cedar Rapids; Jolene Murray, Cedar Rapids; Michelle Cerwinske, Nashua; Mary Olin, Des Moines; Margo Fox, Johnston; Dawn Petersen, Colfax; Kristine Frye, Des Moines; Timothy Roberts, Ottumwa; Nicole Gulick, Des Moines; Scott Stewart, Waterloo; Ryan Habeger, Algona; Steven Stout, Indianola; Gerald Johnson, Iowa City; Christine Tatman, Orange City; Gerald Kennicker, Dubuque; Rodney Tucker, Des Moines; Tamara McMahon, Council Bluffs; Jeff Weiland, Dubuque; Steven Moore, Urbandale; David Wesley, Des Moines.

NEWTON, Iowa — [KCCI] – Gates Corporation, a fluid power and power transmission solutions manufacturer, has announced it’s laying off 41 workers at its Newton location later this year. The closure was posted on the Iowa Workforce Development’s WARN notification list. Frank Liebl, the executive director of the Newton Development Corporation, told KCCI  it wasn’t that big of a shock considering John Deere is one of the company’s primary partners.

Liebl said the Gates Corporation has been a John Deere supplier since the business first came to Newton in 2017. He says for those who are left jobless, the city will work hard to find them new positions. Liebl also said that every business comes with its own highs and lows. And that while it’s difficult to know exactly what’s coming for John Deere, he sees a brighter future ahead.

According to the posting, all of the workers will officially be laid off in November.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (KCRG) – A coal train derailed just outside of Marshalltown Sunday afternoon. Around 5:30 roughly 38 Union Pacific rail cars transporting coal derailed about two miles east of Marshalltown. That’s near Quarry Road.

Union Pacific said no one was injured in the accident and cleanup was underway Sunday evening.  The derailment is currently under investigation.