(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa sheriff asked farmers to temporarily halt the harvest, fearing high winds would carry sparks from combines and set off fires. Several grass and field fires were reported Tuesday afternoon in Sioux County while under a ‘red flag’ warning that was issued from the National Weather Services. County resources were stretched thin fighting the fires as they spread quickly in the dry and windy conditions. As a result, county authorities issued a request, asking farmers to refrain from harvesting until conditions improved. The same is expected today as the National Weather Service has issued another red flag warning for portions of northwest Iowa from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m.

A corn field fire was reported late this (Wednesday) morning north of Massena, but dispatch reports indicated there were no structures nearby that were in danger of being consumed by the flames.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has rejected a request that would have let some Iowa grocery stores quit accepting empty bottles and cans and repaying the deposit fee. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that the Iowa Grocery Industry Association asked the D-N-R to write a new rule for administering the state’s “bottle bill.” It’s the 41-year-old anti-littering law that’s set up to let consumers go to grocery stores to redeem their nickle deposits on empty cans and bottles. Grocers had asked the D-N-R director to let stores within a 15 mile drive of a redemption center to be excused from the requirement to accept empties and pay back deposits. D-N-R director Kayla Lyons says it’s prudent for the agency to wait on legislators to make a decision, since lawmakers have been discussing significant changes to the Bottle Bill.

Grocers have long complained about being required to accept empty bottles and cans in stores, arguing it’s unsanitary. Legislators for decades have DISCUSSED changes to the Bottle Bill, but have never come up with an acceptable alternative.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests. At around 2:18-a.m. today (Wednesday), 46-year old Sean Robert Collins Freeman, of Belle Plain, was arrested on two counts Possession of a Controlled Substance, and for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $2,300. And, at around 10:50-a.m. Monday, 36-year old Shane Michael Schumacher was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for Failure to Appear. His bond was set at $300.

(Radio Iowa) – Shoppers looking for their favorite cuts of meat should soon see plenty of them. Beef and pork production are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels after disruptions this spring when outbreaks of COVID-19 sent workers home and meat plants cut production. Farmers and feedlots had to leave animals on site longer than expected, but livestock economist Derrell Peel says now very few beef cattle remain backed-up. “It’s taken the rest of the summer and here into the fall to sort of catch up,” Peel says. “I think we are largely caught up at this point, the indications are that we have largely addressed the backlog.”

Most backlogged pigs have also made it to market. Despite estimates claiming millions of market-weight hogs might be euthanized and not reach the food supply, the actual numbers were much lower. Farmer Mike Paustian of Walcott, president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, didn’t lose any of his hogs. “There were some big numbers getting thrown around about what potentially, how many pigs might have to be euthanized,” Paustian says, “and when it was all said and done, that ended up being far, far fewer pigs than what a lot of people were expecting.”

Paustian says he bought extra barns so he could house big pigs longer. He and others also changed the animals’ diets so they could eat without gaining weight. About 65-thousand market-weight pigs were killed on farms in Iowa. Reports say two-thirds of those belonged to one company.

(Reporting by Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) -A COVID-19 outbreak is reported at the Webster County Jail in Fort Dodge.  Webster County Sheriff Jim Stubbs said that all 68 inmates and staff were tested last Friday. Eight inmates and seven staff members all tested positive for the coronavirus. Stubbs said that those who have tested positive are being separated from those who are negative in the jail which is already at full capacity.

The jail was originally built to hold 29 inmates but as of earlier this week, the inmate count was at 61. As mass testing was conducted last week, the count was at 56 inmates.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The murder trial for a Cedar Rapids man accused of killing another man over a pack of cigarettes has been moved to 2021. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that the first-degree murder trial for 37-year-old Jermaine Walker was originally scheduled for November 2. A judge agreed to reset the trial to Jan. 25 at the request of Walker’s lawyer. Walker is accused of fatally shooting 31-year-old Wayne Jones of Cedar Rapids on Nov. 2, 2019.

Authorities say Walker was at a party smoking other peoples’ cigarettes when Jones called him out for being “cheap,” prompting the shooting.

MARION, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa park will be renamed to honor a Keskwaki activist, removing a derogatory term that has long been part of the park’s name. The Linn County Conservation Board on Monday said the name of Squaw Creek Park will change to Wanatee Park. The park in Marion was originally named in 1964.

The conservation board says in a news release that because the word “squaw” is offensive, it decided to remove its use in public buildings and spaces. The new name honors Jean Adeline Morgan Wanatee, who died in 1996. She was was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.

Two men were arrested Tuesday night on separate charges, in Creston. Authorities say at around 11-p.m., 37-year old Steven Lamer, of Carter Lake, was arrested in the 500 block of S. Walnut Street in Creston. Lamer was arrested on a charge of Trespass/1st offense. He was later released on a $300 bond. And, at around 10:15-p.m., 28-year old Ocie Martinez, of Creston, was arrested at his residence for Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault. Martinez was being held in the Union County Jail, while awaiting a bond hearing.

Creston Police said also, Creston Automotive reported Tuesday afternoon, that sometime between 3-p.m. Monday and 1:30-p.m. Tuesday, a vehicle located in the business’ parking lot, was shot and damaged by what appeared to be a pellet or B-B gun. The damage was estimated at $1,000.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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