Officials with PRIDE (Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise) in Atlantic, remind Cass County residents that the final pre-legislative session coffee will be Saturday, November 17^th, at the Marne Community Center. The event, which begins at 10-a.m., is expected to feature Senator Hubert Houser.

Representatives Jack Drake and Clel Baudler, both of whom earned re-election, are also invited. There will be an additional three or four coffees held around Cass County during the 2013 Iowa Legislative Session, usually on the second Saturday of the month. During the last pre-session coffee on Oct. 27^th, Cass County Education was on the minds of citizens who attended. Education reform dominated most of the 90-minute session.

The coffees’ sponsor, P.R.I.D.E., is the economic development organization that works on behalf of the cities of Cumberland, Griswold, Lewis, and Marne for Cass County development, plus numerous individual members and businesses in Southwest Iowa.

For additional information, or to join P.R.I.D.E., please contact Kenner Baxter, president, at kennermc@metc.net, or Clarke Gerlock, vice-president, at 712-774-5476.

The Farm Bureau’s annual Thanksgiving Day dinner survey finds the cost for a bird and all the extras has gone up one percent compared to last year. Iowa Farm Bureau research director, Dave Miller, says you can expect to shell out an average of 49-dollars and 48 cents to feed 10 people. “That includes a 16-pound turkey, a dozen rolls, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, peas, a very good basic Thanksgiving feast,” according to Miller. “The biggest cost increase this year came in the cost of the turkey, it was up about 66 cents compared to a year ago. The biggest decrease actually came in dairy products. Whipped cream and milk were down from a year ago.”

Miller says the price of corn and soybeans impacted the feed costs for turkey. He says the widespread drought had corn prices about 25-percent higher and soybean meal was up about 20-percent. “Those costs are beginning to be felt by turkey producers and they started adjusting production downward. That has resulted in a very slight increase in the cost of turkey,” Miller says. “A couple of months ago we were actually producing slightly more turkey than a year ago, and prices were actually slightly less than a year ago.”

Miller says when it comes to the people who grow the products for the meal, turkey producers probably receive between 50 and 60-percent of the cost paid by the consumer for the bird. “The milk also, probably in the 50 to 60-percent of the (cost) of that gallon of milk will end up at the farm level. When you move to something like the rolls — you are probably talking less than 10-percent of the value ends up at the farmer,” Miller explains. “The closer the product is to the way it left the farm, the more that is likely to have a higher value going to the farmer.”

The final impact of the drought on food prices isn’t yet known, and Miller says it could impact future Thanksgiving dinners. “If we looked ahead to next year’s Thanksgiving, the key question may be ‘what is the corn price expectation in July or August next year?’, ie:if we have a very good crop, then livestock people will start increasing production again. And it might show up in turkey by Thanksgiving time. It probably won’t show up until 2015 for pork and 2015 for beef production.” Miller says the five-dollars a person cost for the Thanksgiving dinner is still a very good bargain for the consumer.

Some 150 volunteer shoppers from 35 states, representing every region in the nation, participated in the annual Thanksgiving price shopping survey. The cost of the dinner has gone up steadily in recent years. Here are some of the recent costs: 2008, 44-dollars-61 cent($44.610; 2009, 42-dollars-91-cents($42.91); 2010, 43-dollars and 47-cents ($43.47) and 2011, 49-dollars and 20 cents ($49.20).

(Radio Iowa)

The former Fire Chief in Denison intends to plead guilty to a theft charge associated with funds missing from the City of Denison. The Omaha World Herald had reported in its Friday edition, that Michael McKinnon, a native of Clarinda, pled guilty to 1^st degree theft. However, according to the Crawford County District Clerk’s office, McKinnon’s attorney, F. Montgomery Brown, submitted to the Court a “Notice of intent to plead guilty“.

The notice said McKinnon would plead guilty to a felony Theft in the First Degree charge and pay $9,265, the amount Crawford County incurred for the audit report, in exchange for the State dropping the second felony count of Misconduct. His appearance before a 3rd District Court Judge is set to take place January 7th. At that time McKinnon can follow-through by pleading according to the terms presented in the intent letter, or make a different plea.

As we reported last year, McKinnon left his employment as fire chief amid questionable purchases made by him and questionable payments made to him for training and equipment. A complaint was filed in Crawford County charging McKinnon with Theft in the First Degree, a Class C Felony, and Felonious Misconduct in Office, a Class D Felony. A report by the State Auditor’s Office last year, said questionable expenditures were made by McKinnon while he served as the Denison Fire Chief from 1999 to 2010. The 20 month investigation was prompted by the concern of local officials, and focused on the period from 2005 to 2010.

The questionable expenditures amounted to nearly $96,000. The audit identified a number of purchases that were improper or did not have proper documentation, including webcams, GPS units, a television, a riding lawnmower and snowblade and clothing. The audit also found thousands of dollars paid to businesses owned by McKinnon and included invoices with addresses for post office boxes in Des Moines that did not exist.

McKinnon is currently employed as a fire science program instructor at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico.