(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Utilities Board has determined the Webster County Fairgrounds will be the site of the public hearing on the Summit Carbon Solutions request for a permit to build a carbon pipeline. The order sets the place for the hearing — but the date has not been set as I-U-B staff are continuing to review the information submitted with the permit request.

Webster County was chosen as the site for the hearing because it is at the middle of the proposed 681-mile pipeline. There was some discussion about using the Webster County Fairgrounds because the site is four-thousand yards outside the corporate limits of the county seat, which is Fort Dodge. But the I-U-B determined the site substantially complies with Iowa code hearing requirements.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Aug. 11, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Matt Russell, today (Thursday) announced that 39 Iowa Counties are now authorized for emergency haying or grazing use of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for fiscal year 2022. FSA’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

The 27 counties approved for emergency haying or grazing include: Adair, Adams, Cass, Clarke, Crawford, Harrison, Humboldt, Iowa, Jasper, Jefferson, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lucas, Mahaska, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Page, Polk, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Taylor, Union, Wapello, Warren, Washington.

With 12 Iowa Counties restricted under Emergency Haying Criteria Based on Livestock Forage Program (LFP) Triggers:

Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Ida, Monona, O’Brien, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Sioux, Sac, and Woodbury.

For more information and to request approval for emergency haying or grazing use of CRP acres, contact your local USDA Service Center.

The Iowa State Fair opened today (Thursday) the chair of the Fair board started things off.

“Find Your Fun” is the theme of the 11-day fair. State Fair C-E-O, Gary Slater, says there’s plenty to watch and do.

He says the State Fair is still recovering from the pandemic. Governor Kim Reynolds says she expects there will be good attendance this year as people look for some entertainment.

Reynolds is heading to Dyersville later today for the Field of Dreams Major League baseball game. It was announced that there won’t be a game next year. Reynolds says she’s confident the game will eventually return.

The governor this week announced more than 12 million dollars in funding for a permanent ballpark near the Field of Dreams site. She says it will help build on what they are doing there to draw in people.

Opponents of the governor question the spending — but she says the money has been spread out in a lot of areas.

Reynolds says there has been other money provided for roads and infrastructure as well.

Today (Thursday) is 8-1-1 awareness day to remind you to call that phone number if you plan on any digging on your property. Iowa Utilities Board spokesman, Don Tormey, says the observance happens now because it’s — August 11th — or 8-1-1.

He says any type of digging requires a call — it doesn’t have to be a major project with excavators.

Tormey says there are all types of lines buried across the state, from sewer lines to fiber optic lines that each pose problems if they are cut.

Not only do you face a potential danger from hitting something underground, you can face fines for not calling before digging. Get more information at iowaonecall.com

Last weekend’s showers dumped up to seven inches of rain on parts of Iowa, while many areas stayed dry, but even with the scattered downpours, drought conditions persist over wide sections of the state. Angie Rieck Hinz (REEK HINES) is an Iowa State University field agronomist and says that’s typical and it’s bringing a drastic variation in crop conditions statewide.

Rieck Hinz is touring parts of north-central Iowa to inspect crops and says the drought isn’t keeping insects away from the fields.

Soybean aphids are problematic for some growers, while soybean gall midges are being found for the first time this season in three more counties: Kossuth, Humboldt and Webster. Rieck Hinz says a few crop diseases are thriving in the heat.

A new report is expected later this (Thursday) morning from the U-S Drought Monitor. Last week’s map shows more than 60 of the state’s 99 counties in some form of drought, with 13 northwest Iowa counties in either severe or extreme drought conditions.

The Corning Center for the Fine Arts will be hosting a natural basket weaving demonstration with artist Sandy Maxa on Saturday, August 20th. The demonstration will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and admission is free.

Sandy Maxa will show off some of the baskets she has created using materials gathered right here in Southwest Iowa. She was demonstrate one of the techniques that she employs to make a basket.

The Corning Center for the Fine Arts is located at 706 Davis Avenue in Corning.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Atlantic, Iowa) – Learn all the basics of water bath canning and salsa making at a Food Preservation Workshop on Saturday, August 13, 2022, from 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM. The workshop, offered at the Cass County Fair Food Stand, is part of the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach program Preserve the Taste of Summer. Leah Brooke, human sciences specialist in food and health with ISU Extension and Outreach, will lead the workshop.

During the hands-on workshop, participants will: 

Learn the basics of water bath canning,
Hear the most up-to-date canning and salsa making recommendations,
Make and can salsa, and
Take home and enjoy a jar of salsa that they canned.

“These workshops are fun and helpful for beginning canners as well as experienced canners,” states Leah Brooke, workshop instructor. “We will provide the most up-to-date science and guidelines for water bath canning.”

The cost of this hands-on workshop is $40. Local scholarships are available- call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 for details. Participants can register for the workshop online at https://go.iastate.edu/UQNM5W.

Find a wide variety of recipes, resources and upcoming classes on food preservation at the Preserve the Taste of Summer home page:  https://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/preserve-taste-summer

(Radio Iowa) – A lush, green lawn is a source of pride for many Iowans and this prolonged drought is forcing many of us to quit worrying about having the best lawn on the block — and to let the grass go dormant. Adam Thoms, a horticulture professor at Iowa State University and a turfgrass extension specialist, says it’s stressful for grass to shake up the watering schedule, so he’s telling Iowans if their lawns are already turning brown, just let them go. “Putting them in and out of dormancy by watering and stopping and then restarting is really hard on the turf,” Toams says. “It’s okay to go into dormancy. The grass can last for 30 to 60 days with that straw-brown color and it won’t hurt it at all. It’ll come back out in the fall.”

Des Moines Water Works, which serves more than 600-thousand customers in 18 central Iowa communities, is asking residents to voluntarily conserve and cut back on watering. Toams predicts many folks in the metro area -will- cut back, as requested. “There’s some research out there that shows when they ask for those voluntary commitments that people do step up and follow those,” Toams says. “We always suggest that you don’t water every day anyway. It’s better to do a deep and infrequent watering. That forces the turf roots to go deeper to chase that water deep in the soil, so, that’s an okay thing.”

Some people turn on the sprinklers for hours at a time and let them saturate the grass, but Toams says most lawns don’t need more than an inch of water in a week’s time. If you’ve laid sod within the past year or are trying to grow new grass from seeds, you’re in for what could be an expensive, frustrating challenge. “Those are the ones that are going to get hurt by this drought. They’re the ones that need regular watering just because they don’t have a deep root system,” Toams says. “We do need to make sure that those get regular waterings. If you’re thinking about overseeding or adding seed to your yard, just wait. Right now is not the time. It’s too hot and it’s obviously too dry.”

If the dry weather lasts much longer and grass has been dormant up to six weeks, apply an inch or so of water in a single application. The grass won’t green up, but it’ll keep the roots alive. If the drought continues, water in that fashion every two weeks, but not enough to bring it out of dormancy. Toams suggests Iowans give their lawns a good dose of fertilizer this fall to help them recharge and ideally, come back strong next spring.