Lakes and rivers were busy during the Independence Day holiday and that is expected to continue throughout the summer — with many people trying their hand at kayaking. D-N-R river programs outreach coordinator, Todd Robertson, says you shouldn’t head out onto rivers without doing a little preparation.

He said learning and working on some basic paddling strokes can be very beneficial.

He says you have to be prepared for both ends of the spectrum from swollen lakes, to ones that are down.

Robertson says kayaks have been flying off the shelves the last couple of years.

Robertson says. He says the D-N-R has a kayak and canoe school you can access on their website on how to paddle. They also offer classes and Robertson says some retailers that sell boats that actually give short lessons. Robertson recommends before you buy a kayak or canoe that you rent one and they’ll give you some quick instruction. He says there are also a lot of online videos that can be helpful in learning about paddling.

The Cass County Conservation Board has partnered with the Atlantic Public Library for a Cass County #PlantWildflowers BioBlitz Informational Presentation. Lora Kanning, the Cass County Conservation Naturalist will be explaining how to participate in the upcoming Cass County #PlantWildflowers BioBlitz. Learn how to participate in this day long biological census. A BioBlitz aims to promote and improve local natural spaces by empowering citizens to better understand and protect biodiversity. It is a Citizen Science program similar to tagging Monarch butterflies and the Backyard Bird Count. This presentation will focus on how to use the applications from a smartphone or tablet and submit the users’ observations. The presentation will be held at the Atlantic Public Library Community Room on Wednesday July 13th 6 PM. Kanning will also be available for troubleshooting during the BioBlitz at the Atlantic Public Library Community Room Saturday July 16th 12 PM-2PM. We hope you will join us for this great public program.

#PlantWildflowers BioBlitz is a daylong biological census. The public can use an application called iNaturalist to submit their Cass County Observations anytime throughout the day on July 16th. A BioBlitz aims to promote and improve local natural spaces by empowering citizens to better understand and protect biodiversity.

These programs are made possible through a grant from the #Plantwildflowers Initiative with PBS Nature and HHMI Tangled Studios that the Atlantic Public Library applied for.

Cass County Extension is set to host Food Preservation 101. which is a two-hour overview of general food preservation principles. The class includes current recommendations for canning, freezing and drying, display of equipment and utensils and sources for safe and tested food preservation information.  The program will be held on Thursday, July 14 from 6 to 8 pm at the Cass County Extension office, 805 W. 10^th Street in Atlantic. There is a $10 fee for the program, but scholarships are available upon request. To ensure adequate materials are available for all participants, pre-registration is required by Wednesday July 13^th.

Call 712-243-1132 for more information and to register for the class, or visit https://go.iastate.edu/5NFQDZ to register online. A full list of all food preservation resources and upcoming classes can also be found online at the Preserve the Taste of Summer Home Page- https://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/preserve-taste-summer.

ISU Extension offers a library of publications with recipes and instructions for preserving a wide variety of foods, from fruits and vegetables to pickles and meats. These publications are available as free downloads on the ISU Extension Store at https://store.extension.iastate.edu/, or can be picked up at your local ISU Extension Office.

Information will also be shared at this program about ISU Extension’s more in-depth food preservation workshop series; Preserve the Taste of Summer. This series of hands-on food preservation workshops is a great opportunity for those who want to go beyond the basics, according to Fuller. The cost of each workshop is $40 and Cass County Extension is planning to host a session Salsa Making on Saturday, August 13^th – Scholarships are also available for this class upon request.  Additional topics, including jams, pickles, and dehydrating will be offered at locations around Iowa throughout the summer.

In addition to learning the basics of food safety, Extension staff remind home canners that dial gauge pressure canners should be tested annually for accuracy. Dial gauges will be tested at the end of the program on July 14 free of charge, or lids can be dropped off at the Cass County Extension office at any time for free testing.

Home food preserves can also get answers to food preservation questions by calling ISU Extension and Outreach’s toll-free AnswerLine. Experts answer questions Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and from 1– 4 p.m. In Iowa: 1-800-262-3804; Relay Iowa phone linkage for deaf/hard-of-hearing individuals, 1-800-735-2942

Questions can also be emailed to answer@iastate.edu .  Frequently asked questions and other resources are available at the AnswerLine website, www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/answerline.

All of these resources and more will be showcased at the Food Preservation 101 Workshop July 14th, so be sure to call or go online to pre-register today!

The Adams County Fair gets rolling today in Corning. The fair kicked off with the Horse Show that started at 9:00 a.m. The Shooting Sports Exhibition is schedule at 3:00 p.m. at the Gun Club at Lake Binder. Then at 5:00 p.m. they will have the Extension Kick-Off BBQ followed by the Adams County Queen Coronation and Little Mr. and Miss crowning. The first day will wrap up with a concert by Logan Mize with special guest Steven Bankey and the Flatlanders at 7:00 p.m.

The Adams County Fair runs through July 12th. We’ll have live video coverage on KJANTV of the Swine Show on Monday and the Beef Show on Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa) Iowa State University Extension is hosting a series of seminars across the state about renting or owning farmland. The first two will be held in Mitchell and Mahaska Counties on July 26th. Gary Wright is a farm management specialist with I-S-U Extension who’s based in Spirit Lake.

More than half of Iowa cropland is rented. Under state law, September 1st is the date by which a tenant or landlord has to notify the other party if they want to terminate a lease or rental agreement. Wright says at each seminar I-S-U Extension staff review market prices and the factors influencing 2023 cash rental rates for farmland.

Many farmland rental agreements have a flat, per acre rate. Flexible leases calculate the rental rate based on the costs of inputs like seeds, diesel and fertilizer as well as yields and the actual price for the crop once it’s sold.

Find a link at www.radioiowa.com for the seminar in your county. Registration is required. A survey of farmers, landowners, realtors, bankers and professional farm managers found cash RENT for high quality corn and soybean ground in Iowa averaged in the range of 250 dollars per acre for the CURRENT growing season. An average acre of Iowa farmland was valued at about 98-hundred dollars last fall. In May, a farm in Plymouth County sold for 25-thousand dollars an acre.

Jim Field visits with Patricia Kimle.  Patty and her husband, Kevin, will appear at the Hitchcock House in Lewis Sunday at 2:00 pm to present, “Missives of the Civil War.”  They authored the book, “The Last Free Road,” an historical fiction novel about the Underground Railroad.

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• KJAN, Atlantic  .27″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .08″
• Elk Horn  .05″
• Massena  1.27″
• Audubon  1.8″
• Oakland  .2″
• Bridgewater  1″
• Corning  .23″
• Manning  1.33″
• Irwin  2.45″
• Carroll  .46″
• Creston  .37″
• Red Oak  .65″
• Shenandoah 1.23″

(Des Moines, IA) Effective immediately, the beach at Lake of Three Fires in Taylor County will be closed temporarily for swimming. The closure is a precautionary response to a confirmed infection of Naegleria fowleri in a Missouri resident with recent potential exposure while swimming at the beach at Lake of Three Fires State Park.

Testing to confirm the presence of Naegleria fowleri in Lake of Three Fires is being conducted in conjunction with the CDC and could take several days to complete. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is working closely with the Department of Natural Resources to share information about this rare infection and will provide additional updates as test results become available.

Naegleria fowleri is a microscopic single-celled free-living ameba that can cause a rare life-threatening infection of the brain called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The ameba is commonly found in warm freshwater such as lakes, rivers, and ponds; however, PAM is extremely rare. Since 1962, only 154 known cases have been identified in the United States. No additional suspected cases of PAM are currently being investigated in Missouri or Iowa.

While Naegleria fowleri can be present in any body of warm freshwater across the United States, infections as a result remain rare. Infection by Naegleria fowleri can occur if water containing the ameba enters the body through the nose. The Naegleria fowleri ameba then travels up the nose to the brain where it destroys the brain tissue. This infection cannot be spread from one person to another, and it cannot be contracted by swallowing contaminated water.

People can take actions to reduce the risk of infection by limiting the amount of water going up the nose. These actions could include:

• Hold your nose shut, use nose clips, or keep your head above water when taking part in water-related activities in bodies of warm freshwater.
• Avoid water-related activities in warm freshwater during periods of high-water temperature.
• Avoid digging in, or stirring up, the sediment while taking part in water-related activities in shallow, warm freshwater areas.

(These recommendations are best practices but not based on scientific testing since the low numbers of infections make it difficult to show effectiveness.)

Jim Field visits with new Cass County Youth Coordinator Katie Bateman.

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• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• dash pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped tomato
• 1 green onion, chopped

In a small bowl, whisk eggs, water salt and pepper until blended.  In a large non-stick skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat.  Pour in egg mixture.  Mixture should set immediately at edge.  As the eggs set, push cooked portions toward the center, letting uncooked eggs flow underneath.

When the eggs are thickened and no liquid egg remains, add the cheese, tomato and green onion to one side.  Fold omelet in half and cut into two portions and slide onto plates.