Atlantic, Iowa – This year, local community non-profits are more in need of support than in any other time in the recent years’ past. Now shoppers can give back to the local community and help to reduce single-use plastics by purchasing a special reusable bag at Hy-Vee. Kate Olson, Cass County Relay for Life member, reports the American Cancer Society, and the Relay For Life of Cass County has been selected by local Hy-Vee store leadership as the benefiting non-profit in the Hy-Vee Reusable Bag Program for the month of January!

The Hy-Vee Reusable Bag Program is designed to give back to the local community with every reusable bag purchased. Every $2.50 reusable Red “My Heart” Bag sold supports a non-profit local to the store in which it was purchased. This program offers a way for shoppers to give back as part of the regular weekly routine.

Every month, at every Hy-Vee location, a different local non-profit is selected to benefit from the sale of these special reusable Red “My Heart” Bags, The American Cancer Society and Relay For Life of Cass County was selected as the January beneficiary by local store leadership at the Atlantic Hy-Vee store located at 1630 East 7th St. Atlantic, IA. The American Cancer Society and the Relay For Life of Cass County will receive a $1 donation for every $2.50 reusable Red “My Heart” Bag purchased at this location in January.

“The last few years have brought so many changes and difficulties for non-profits at the local level,” said Suzie Mages, Senior Community Development Manager for the American Cancer Society. “We are thrilled to be participating in this innovative program that makes it possible for shoppers to give back to local non-profits while reducing single-use plastic in the environment. We appreciate the community support in this important initiative to make a difference.”

The American Cancer Society is a non-profit based in communities across the country. The American Cancer Society focuses on “Every Cancer. Every Life”. as the leading cancer-fighting organization with a vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. We are improving the lives of people with cancer and their families as the only organization combating cancer through Advocacy, Research, and patient support, to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. Learn more about The American Cancer Society by visiting cancer.org.

For more information about the Hy-Vee Reusable Bag Program, please visit hy-vee.bags4mycause.com.

(Radio Iowa) – The four Iowa Republicans serving in the U.S. House have voted to create a new committee focused on China. Second district Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion notes it passed with the support of all Republicans and nearly 70 percent of the Democrats in the House.  “The beginning of our efforts to hold China accountable for their wide range of malicious activity and, of course, to protect our national security,” Hinson says. “These are efforts that I believe will continue to be bipartisan this congress.”

Hinson says the House Select Committee on China should move to forbid Chinese citizens and companies from buying American farmland. Iowa law forbids foreign ownership of agricultural land, but according to the U-S-D-A, China owns about 190-thousand acres of farm ground in the United States. “China poses the largest threat our national and global security,” Hinson says, “from posturing against Taiwan to buying up U.S. farmland at alarming rates.”

The governor of North Dakota has asked federal officials to review a Chinese food company’s recent purchase of 300 acres of land in his state. The property is about 12 miles from the Grand Forks U.S. Air Force Base. Hinson says the federal government needs to track the purchase of land around U.S. military installations and other key infrastructure. “We don’t want to completely block international land ownership. That’s not what we want to see happen,” Hinson says. “We have a lot of international investment in Iowa, in our district, but we need to be very clear that the Chinese Communist Party is the greatest threat to this country and we cannot allow them to buy another acre.”

Hinson made her comments this (Thursday) morning during a telephone news conference with Iowa reporters. She expressed reservations about G-O-P colleague George Santos, the New York congressman who admits he has lied about his past, including where he’s worked and his family background. “I am very troubled by the allegations against Mr. Santos,” Hinson said. “I do think we need to let the ethics investigation play out.”

Two Democratic congressmen from New York filed an ethics complaint against Santos this week, questioning whether he lied on the financial disclosures he filed with the House.

(Radio Iowa) – Cow manure from local dairy farms will be run through digesters to generate natural gas that will run through a pipeline to the northwest Iowa town of Sioux Center. Aaron Maassen owns one of the three dairy farms involved in the project. He says it will not only expand the town’s capacity for natural gas, it will also capture methane emissions from livestock waste. “Capturing value out of it that would have been lost as a greenhouse gas,” Maassen says. “So, it allows us to capture that without changing the value of the resource that we have for our own operation, and add value to just our local community.”

Maassen says the greenhouse gas emissions eliminated will be equivalent to around 88-hundred cars. Sioux Center utilities assistant manager Adam Fedders says the community needs more natural gas capacity. “For a growing community, like Sioux Center, taking advantage of opportunities to receive additional capacity and other locations is something that’s advantageous,” Fedders says, “and then to find an opportunity right in your backyard is even greater.”

The farm digesters are expected to bring in around 350 M-M-B-T-Us a day, or around a third of the natural gas typically used in Sioux Center on a summer day. Construction on the pipeline is expected to begin as early as April.

(reporting by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Adair County, Friday, are expecting to receive FY 2024 Budget requests from five County Department heads:

• Sheriff Jeff Vandewater will present his request at 9-a.m., and discuss Office Cleaning.
• Adair County Attorney Melissa Larson is scheduled to present her request for funding, at 9:30-a.m.
• Conservation Director Dominic Johnson will make his FY 24 Budget request at 9:50-a.m., Friday,
• and at 10:20-a.m., the Supervisors will hear from Mindy Norwood, with the DHS, and County Auditor Mandy Berg, with regard to their respective FY 24 Budget requests.

The Board will take the requests under consideration, but no action will be taken at this time on any of the requests.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report the arrest on Wednesday, of 50-year-old Allen Emert, from Glenwood. Emert was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense and Possession of a Controlled Substance. His cash or surety bond was set at $2,000.

(Massena, Iowa) – If you’ve ever wanted to explore the sport of ice fishing, but don’t have the knowledge or skills to give it a try, now’s your chance. The Cass County Conservation Board (CCCB) is hosting an “Intro to Ice Fishing” program, this weekend. Cass County Conservation Director Micah Lee says the program will be held beginning 10-a.m. Saturday (Jan. 14, 2023), at the CCCB’s Outdoor Classroom near Massena (76977 Tucson Road).

The program will focus on ice fishing basics, such as what’s needed to get out on the ice and enjoy the outdoors. Ice safety will be the first topic of discussion.

Basic equipment, clothing and shelter will also be part of the discussion.

The CCCB will have ice rods, bait and augers available for those who don’t have them. The forecast for this weekend is calling for temperatures near 50. If the conditions allow, those attending the program will get a chance to fish on the nearly two on and-half acre pond at the Outdoor Classroom, when the program concludes. There will also be a drawing for prizes, thanks to Cappel’s Ace Hardware, in Atlantic. Micah says the program is open to everyone.

For more information, call Conservation Director Micah Lee at 712-769-2372.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Board of Directors of the Atlantic Community School District will meet 4:45-p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, for the purpose of sharing Collective Bargaining Proposals with the District’s Non-Certified Staff Collective Bargaining Unit. The meeting takes place in the District’s Central Office (1406 SW 7th Street) inside the Achievement Center. The meeting is open to the public.

During the session, the Atlantic Employee Association, representing the Non-Certified Staff, will present its initial contract proposal between the Association and the Board of Education, for the 2023-24 school year. That will be followed by the Atlantic Board of Education presenting its initial contract proposal between the Employee Association and the Board of Education.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s largest school district plans to resume classes today (Thursday) after a cybersecurity attack on Monday forced the cancelling of school for 33-thousand students. Des Moines Public Schools Interim superintendent Matt Smith says the district is in the restoration-and-recovery phase and it’s still not known if students’ or families’ personal data was leaked.  “That’s what all of our diagnostics checks will actually let us know,” Smith says, “and so once we get those forensics back, we’ll have a lot more of a confident idea of anything that has or has not happened.” Smith says the district-wide computer system that was evidently hacked significantly impacts a wide range of student services.

“It impacts our routing system to make sure that we are picking up students at the right spot at the right time, that we know who’s on our bus and who’s not,” Smith says. “It impacts our food and nutrition system to make sure that we are supplying the meals necessary for all of our students.” Cedar Rapids schools were hit by a cyberattack last year and the state’s second-largest district paid an undisclosed sum in ransom after losing a week of summer school.

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – The Marketplace open enrollment period for people who don’t have health insurance ends this weekend. Regional Administrator Sharon Graham (Gram) says there’s still time to sign up. “It’s ending on January 15th. So that’s this Sunday, January 15th. And that will be the last time that people can enroll in quality, affordable health coverage for this year, with coverage effective on February 1st,” Graham says. She says a new law provides more help for those seeking insurance. “And they may find that they’re available for even more financial assistance than before. And when you go to our at healthcare.gov, it’s a really straightforward application. You’ll need some information that includes, for example, your family size and your tax records, because you’ll need to enter your income,” she says.

Graham says if you are not comfortable signing up online — you can call 800-318-8259. “That number is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and even has up to 200 different languages available for people. And then lastly, if people do want an option to meet with somebody face to face, we have counselors who are right there in the community called navigators and assisters,” according to Graham. “And you can find one right there in your community by going to healthcare.gov and selecting a button that says ‘Find Local Help’, and then you can find a navigator in your community to help you sign up too.”

She says the window to sign up closes Sunday. “After January 15th, it’s only with based on an exceptional circumstance. like perhaps if you move for example, or if you have a situation change in your family, that you might be able to sign up for health coverage,” she says.

She says you should go to healthcare.gov as soon as you can and review the options available before the deadline.

(Radio Iowa)  – State Treasurer Roby Smith recited his oath of office in a ceremony at the Iowa Capitol Wednesday afternoon. “As your state treasurer, I will advocate for the taxpayer, keep the money safe and stand up to any overreach by the federal government or the IRS,” Smith said. “It is an honor to be your state banker.” Smith’s term officially began January 1st.

“It’s like the movie ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,'” Smith said. “Mr. Smith goes to Des Moines to be your state treasurer.”Smith defeated Democrat Mike Fitzgerald, the nation’s longest serving state treasurer. “He served the State of Iowa for 40 years and I want to thank him and his staff,” Smith said. “They have been nothing but gracious in the transition and I wanted to thank him now.” Smith’s margin of victory was about two-and-a-half points. Smith credits Republican Governor Kim Reynolds for leading him and other statewide G-O-P candidates to victory.

“Thank you for winning by 19 points,” Smith said and the crowd laughed. “I think that helped everybody, including me.” Smith, who’s from Davenport, served a dozen years in the Iowa Senate. He’s the first Republican from Scott County to win statewide office in nearly 50 years. Former Scott County Supervisor Roger Jepsen was elected to one term in the U.S. Senate in 1978 and lost his 1984 race for reelection.