(Radio Iowa) – The Democratic Party’s nominee for state ag secretary says the Iowa Department of Agriculture needs to represent both producers and consumers. “We have to have an eye on the world and where the world is going and maybe think about the secretary of agriculture as the secretary of food, land and water.” John Norwood is a business consultant and currently serving as a Soil and Water Commissioner in Polk County.

Norwood says Iowa’s ag industry is tremendously productive, but there’s an imbalance and the state’s voluntary approach to reducing farm chemical run-off isn’t working. “We send a billion pounds of nitrates down our Mississippi and Missouri River systems and into our reservoirs like Saylorville Lake here and that creates major drinking water issues, water recreation issues, access to water issues,” Norwood says. “Over half of our state waters are impaired.”

Norwood’s first job out of college was at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority which handled drinking water and wastewater. Norwood has not proposed specific limits on nitrogen and phosphorus application on cropland. He says innovative thinking is needed to improve Iowa’s water quality AND reduce top soil loss. “We have among the richest soils in the world here in Iowa and in some cases we’ve lost a third of the top soil, ten times the rate of loss that we make in any particular year,” Norwood says. “That’s unsustainable.”

Norwood says if Iowa is to weather more frequent floods and droughts, it needs healthy soil — and more acres planted with cover crops like oats, barley, rye and hay. “That might mean bringing more livestock, outdoor livestock which are important to soil health,” Norwood says. Norwood says Iowa needs to dedicate more ag land to crops that aren’t corn and soybeans. “We should be thinking about how do we feed 3.2 million Iowans and the 80 million people who live within a day’s drive Iowa,” Norwood says, “because places like California, which supply more than half of our fruits and vegetables is facing…drought.”

Norwood worked with cattle ranchers, nut growers and other farmers in California before settling in Iowa in 2002. Norwood made his comments on the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. Current Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig (NEGG, rhymes with “egg”), a Republican, has been in office since the spring of 2018 and in this year’s election he’s seeking a second full term.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Republican party held a special nominating convention, Monday (Aug. 15), to nominate the Republican candidate on the November ballot for the position of Cass County Auditor, as required by the State of Iowa. Kathy Somers, of Atlantic, was elected as the party’s candidate to be placed on the ballot for the November election.

Somers has local government experience, having served on the Atlantic City Council for 12 years.  She has served on the Atlantic Personnel & Finance Committee, the Landfill Board, and the Cass County Public Safety Commission. She has experience with human resources, labor laws, payroll, employee benefits, and insurance.  She has been an active volunteer in the community and the Republican party.

Somers has been employed as the HR & EEO Officer/Safety Coordinator at A.M. Cohron & Son, Inc. for 13 years. In April, 2022, the Cass County Board of Supervisors appointed Sara Harris to the post, following the resignation of long-time Auditor Dale Sunderman.

Harris’ term expires at the end of the year.

(Radio Iowa) – While parts of Iowa saw up to two inches of rain on Monday, it may be too little, too late for many of the crops that have been critically damaged by the long string of hot, dry days. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, says there are big differences in corn crop conditions across the region, especially compared to areas in northwest Iowa that are in extreme drought.

“We really have done the damage already and things are looking pretty bleak in some places,” Todey says. “We have some places that we could maybe still help limp through a little bit, but it’s interesting because in contrast, you go up to northeast South Dakota or eastern Iowa, parts of Minnesota, conditions are pretty good.” While any more rain that falls on Iowa this week may green up our lawns a bit, Todey says precipitation at this stage on the calendar will be of limited help to farmers.

“There are still some chances for some rainfall, some hit-and-miss rainfalls, that could help some soybeans still, but we’re late enough now, the chances of being able to help much are not great,” Todey says. “Then the overall outlooks, they’re not terribly optimistic for great improvement.” The latest map from the U-S Drought Monitor shows moderate drought now stretches all the way from Iowa’s eastern border to the western border and that about 64 of the state’s 99 counties are in some form of drought.

“The other thing we’re concerned about now is starting to look towards fall soil moisture recharge,” Todey says. “We’re going to need some rainfalls in the fall to get some moisture back in the soils.” The climate outlooks show above-normal temperatures and below-normal rain for most of the region through much of September.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Department of Education says 900 Iowans with remaining federal student loans from the defunct I-T-T Technical Institute will get the balances deleted. Iowa borrowers owed almost 16-million dollars to the chain of schools, which closed in 2016. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller joined his counterparts across the country in seeking to get the loans forgiven. He says I-T-T was involved in significant fraud, including job placement.

“And then there were claims about the quality of education that just didn’t bear out. One of the real problems was that ITT’s quality of education was just not very good- they represented it as much better than that,” he says. Miller says students should consider a community college instead of for profit schools – – which he says can be less expensive and provide a higher quality of education.

(reporting By Tony Sarabia, Iowa Public Radio)

DES MOINES, IA – A man from Des Moines was sentenced Tuesday (Today) to 12 1/2-years in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says in addition to his sentence, 56-year-old David Alan Callison must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

In April 2019, Callison was the sole back seat passenger of a car stopped by law enforcement. In a bag next to Callison, law enforcement found over 600 grams of methamphetamine, more than $13,000, and a digital scale. The investigation revealed that Callison repeatedly obtained large quantities of methamphetamine for redistribution. Callison was on parole for a state of Iowa drug conviction when he committed this offense.

Last year, Callison’s co-defendants were sentenced. Angel Luis Toledo Castillo, age 37 of Des Moines, received a 162-month sentence, after he was found guilty by a jury in November 2019 of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Demetrio Cortes Montano, age 46 of Des Moines, received a 139-month sentence for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Gustavo Martinez, age 30 of Des Moines, received a 120-month sentence for conspiracy distribute methamphetamine.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Des Moines Police Department investigated the case, assisted by the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

ATLANTIC, IA – Market Manager Brigham Hoege reports Produce in the Park will welcome two new food trucks to the park this Thursday, August 18. Reyes Tamales and Soulshine are both much anticipated food vendors. Soulshine operates with the motto, “If we don’t think our food will make your soul shine, we won’t serve it.” On August 18, Soulshine will be selling a variety of gourmet hot dogs and BBQ-inspired foods, such as mac and cheese topped with smoked pulled pork, chili dogs, and hot dogs topped with BBQ and mac and cheese, in addition to traditional smoked pulled pork sandwiches and hot dog kids’ meals.

Reyes Tamales will be selling their homemade tamales in pork, chicken, and veggie (a customer favorite), along with refreshing cold drinks made with fresh produce (cucumber and pineapple are expected). While tamales will make
for a delicious meal Thursday evening, Arturo also sells them wrapped up and ready for the freezer (tamales freeze well and are easy to re-heat weeks later).

Family business Reyes Tamales will be selling tamales and refreshing drinks at Produce in the Park on August 18

In addition to fabulous food vendors, this week Produce in the Park offers a free concert in the park by Jason Reed, and Guest Chef LaVon Eblen will be providing free samples of Caprese Salad on a Stick. Caprese Salad is a simple, delicious salad made with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. The salad will be served on a stick in celebration of State Fair time.

Fresh, local produce at park this week includes tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, garlic, eggplant, peppers, and more. Vendors will also be selling local meat (chicken, beef, pork, and lamb), honey, farmfresh eggs, popcorn, fresh-squeezed lemonade, pastries and desserts, and a variety of crafts, plants, and jewelry. Activities at the park this week include a park scavenger hunt, yard games, and water games.

Details for Produce in the Park August 18
Time: 4:30-6:30 PM
Location: Atlantic City Park (10 W. 7th St. Atlantic, IA 50022)
Live Music: Jason Reed
Food Trucks: Reyes Tamales, Soulshine Food Truck
Activities: Yard games and more with Atlantic Parks and Recreation, Scavenger hunt with Produce in the Park
Fresh local produce: Tomatoes, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Onions, Garlic, and more!
Guest Chef: LaVon Eblen will be serving Caprese Salad on a Stick
Fresh Produce: Tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, garlic, Meats: Beef, pork, lamb, chicken
Staples: Honey, farm-fresh eggs, granola
Treats: Kringle, pastries, fresh-squeezed lemonade, popcorn
Crafts and More: Jewelry, candles and melts, bath salts, art prints, plants
Free drawing for Mums (donated by Sue’s Country Garden) and farm-fresh eggs (sponsored by the Cass
County Local Food Policy Council)

Payment methods accepted: All vendors accept cash. Many accept credit cards, Venmo, and Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Senior and WIC checks. All qualifying food vendors accept SNAP/EBT (also known as food stamps). All fresh produce vendors both accept and distribute Double Up Food Bucks (coupons given for SNAP/EBT purchases of fresh produce).

Produce in the Park August 2022 farmers markets are sponsored by the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission, Cass County Tourism, Cass Health, First Whitney Bank and Trust, the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and Deter Motor Co.
For updates on Produce in the Park, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark) or Instagram (www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/), or visit the Produce in the Park website to sign up for the e-newsletter at www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com.

For information on vending at the park, contact Market Manager Brigham Hoegh at produceintheparkatlanticiowa@gmail.com or 712-249-5870.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report the arrest on Tuesday (Today), of 27-year-old Corey Wentz. The man from Council Bluffs was arrested on a charge of Forgery. His bond was set at $5,000.

(Radio Iowa) – The Democrat running to be Iowa’s top election official says Governor Reynolds and her fellow Republicans in the legislature have made it far more difficult to vote by mail or vote early at a county auditor’s office. “When you’re delivering government services, it’s supposed to be about making things convenient,” Joel Miller said on the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. “It’s supposed to be making your product and service more accessible. That’s not what the 2021 laws did.” Miller has been Linn County’s Auditor for over 15 years.

“We used to have 40 days of early voting in 2016. Now we have 20,” Miller said. “It used to be the deadline to submit an absentee ballot request to a county auditor was three days before the election. Now it’s 15 days before the election.” Miller said 101 Linn County voters missed that deadline to vote early in the June Primary and half of them wound up not voting. Other county auditors saw a similar drop off according to Miller.

“That can have huge ramifications this fall,” Miller said. Miller is challenging Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate’s bid for reelection. Miller questions why Pate is spending office resources on his Iowa Businesses Against Trafficking initiative. “I am against human trafficking. I’m sure you’re against human trafficking, but there’s an office to combat human trafficking within the Department of Public Safety that’s been there almost 10 years,” Miller said at the Fair. “Go look up the duties of the Secretary of State. You will not find any duties related to human trafficking…Yes, he’s bringing visibility, but he’s wasting tax dollars.”

The Secretary of State’s office is where businesses in Iowa register their trade names and earlier this year Pate said he aims to build a statewide coalition of businesses who share the goal of ending human trafficking in Iowa. An Iowa Republican Party spokesman says Pate’s record of “safe ad secure elections speaks for itself,” as turnout has been increasing alongside new election integrity measures.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Utilities Board is about to close the file on their order seeking information on preparedness and handling of electric blackouts by utility companies in the state. I-U-B attorney, Jon Tack, told the board today (Tuesday) the action was taken in May after predictions by a couple of national groups about electricity availability. “We will not going to have sufficient generation available to meet peak load demands and that could result in load shedding, required temporary blackouts for Iowans,” Tack says citing the prediction. There have not been any widespread blackouts caused by lack of electricity. Tack says the I-U-B could end its oversight of the situation next month.

“We’re not quite through the peak demand season but we’re close and assuming that things go well and that we don’t have anything happened in the next few weeks — I would expect we could propose closing this docket in September,” Tack says.

The Georgia-based North American Electric Reliability Corp regulatory authority is one of the groups that had warned in the spring of the potential for the rolling blackouts, citing the increase in summer demand and drop in electricity production.

(Radio Iowa) – An engineer hired to evaluate a historic site in Arnolds Park is recommending major repairs to the Abbie Gardner cabin. It’s the site of what’s known as the Spirit Lake massacre of 1857. About three dozen Europeans were killed by members of the Dakota tribe who used the area for hunting. Thirteen-year-old Abbie Gardner was briefly taken hostage. Three decades later she bought her family’s cabin and gave tours. Anita Bomgaars is with the Abbie Gardner Cabin Friends group that asked for the evaluation. “The good news was that structurally the cabin is in pretty good structural shape,” Bomgaars says. “We really don’t need to worry about immediate roof collapse, but the other flip side of it is it needs a lot of work.”

The cabin needs to have the shingles and boards on the roof replaced, repair corners of the structure and install a handicapped accessible door. Bomgaars says her group hopes the roof gets replaced before winter. “We would like to say that would be our plan, but the cabin is owned by the State of Iowa and it’s part of the National Historic Register of landmark buildings in our country, so the onerous part it on them,” Bombaars says. “They need to get it done, but will provide, from our group, the impetus in a variety of ways to make sure that this occurs.”

Abbie Gardner cabin. (Iowa Conservation Commission photo)

The cabin was one of Iowa’s first tourist attractions and Gardner operated it herself until her death in 1921. Her son sold the property to the Iowa Conservation Commission in 1941.