(Radio Iowa) – An animal shelter in northeast Iowa is seeing an unusual spike in its year-end number of animals. The Cedar Bend Humane Society, based in Waterloo, is caring for nearly 500 cats, dogs, and smaller animals. Felicia Arias, the shelter’s volunteer and outreach coordinator, says that number is startlingly high, across the board. “We’re already seeing more than what we’d typically see within a year,” Arias says, “more animals coming in stray or lost, more animals coming in through Animal Control, more medical cases.”

Arias says part of the strangely high number may be related to the so-called return to normalcy, following the COVID-19 pandemic. “It might have something to do with folks going back to work from COVID, animals over that period of time not being as socialized as they normally would when folks were allowed to go out,” she says, “so the quarantine period may have had something to do with it.”

Arias says about half of the shelter’s animals are available for adoption.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa [KETV] — Council Bluffs police identified a man who died after being struck by a car early Sunday morning. Authorities  say 74-year-old Juan Avalos died during the accident that happened around 3:20 a.m. near the intersection of Poplar Drive and Birch Street. Avalos was near a vehicle on the street when he was struck. Authorities said the female driver of the car was not injured.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – 2024 Republican presidential candidate and political outsider Vivek Ramaswamy back on the campaign trail after the Christmas holiday with another 33 planned stops in four days across the Hawkeye State as he nears the historic “Double Grassley” milestone. In southwest Iowa, his stops on Thursday include: Council Bluffs; Missouri Valley: Harlan; Audubon, Atlantic, Greenfield and Stuart.

Other western Iowa appearances Thursday, include Jefferson and Rockwell City. For more information or to obtain tickets, visit the candidate’s website.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports 24-year-old Dean William Mongar, of Creston, was arrested today (Wednesday), at around 12:36-a.m.  Mongar was taken into custody in the 500 block of Levy Street on a charge of Public Intoxication. His bond was set at $300.

A resident of Creston living in the 800 block of W. Adams Street reported to police on Sunday, that someone had entered his home during the night and taken his medications. The loss was estimated at a little more than $31.

(Lewis, Iowa) – You’re invited to join the Southwest Iowa Soil Health (SWISH) group for the second meeting of their winter meeting series. The meeting in Atlantic on Jan. 3, 2024 will feature T.J. Kartes with Saddle Butte Ag. T.J. will be talking about how cover crops can fit into every operation. He will discuss how to get started, how to move forward, and when and how to adapt the plan. Come prepared with all your cover crop questions. The event takes place at the Wallace Learning Center at the Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm near Lewis (53020 Hitchcock Ave.), from 10-a.m. until Noon on Jan. 3rd.

The meeting is free and open to everyone, so feel free to bring guests. Reservations are not required to attend (note that lunch is not provided but light snacks may be available). If you have questions about the SWISH group, please reach out to Aaron Saeugling, ISU Extension and Outreach Field Agronomist for Southwest Iowa, at 712-243-1132 (or e-mail clonz5@iastate.edu) .

DES MOINES, Iowa – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director in Iowa Theresa Greenfield has announced that the Agency is hiring two Climate Change Fellows in Iowa to help with the record number of applications from farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses seeking funding for clean energy projects under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). USDA is hiring a total of 40 Climate Change Fellows nationwide.

Greenfield says “Iowa ag producers and small business owners are investing in clean energy systems through the REAP program. Their investments are climate smart and will lower their energy costs. These non-partisan positions will help handle the renewable energy portfolio within Rural Development. The Biden-Harris Administration is working to lower energy costs for Iowans.”

The new positions are being funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, and they are part of the USDA Climate Change Fellows Program, which hires new staff with a range of skills to carry out USDA’s activities to address climate change and find solutions to agricultural challenges, enhance economic growth and create new streams of income for farmers, ranchers and producers.

Three of the new positions will report to USDA Rural Development’s national office. To apply, visit this USA Jobs posting.

Initial appointments may be for up to two years. Additional one-year extensions may be made up to four years. Most states will receive additional funds, announced at a later date, to provide REAP technical assistance in addition to these staffing positions.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A Crop Advantage meeting to provide a solid foundation of current, research-based crop production information, will be held Jan. 18, 2024, in Atlantic. The meeting at the Cass County Community Building (805 W. 10th St.) is designed to help crop producers make smart, informed decisions for their farming operation. The event is hosted by ISU Extension and Outreach. Topics are selected for each meeting site pertaining to field and growing conditions in those areas. Visit www.cropadvantage.org for more information and to register.$75 early registration ends at midnight, Jan. 11th. Late, or on-site registration is $100.

Crop Advantage is supported in-part, by an Iowa Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Professional Development Program mini-grant. Other sponsors include the Iowa Corn and Soybean Associations.

The schedule for the Crop Advantage session in Atlantic is as follows:

8:30 Registration opens
8:55 Welcome – Aaron Saeugling, extension field agronomist
9:00 Grain bags in western Iowa: Bagging profit or storing problems? – Tony
Mensing, extension field agricultural engineer (CM)
10:00 Windbreak School: Establishment, management, and renovation – Billy
Beck, extension forestry specialist (SW)
10:50 Break
11:00 Soybean gall midge – Ashley Dean, extension education specialist,
Entomology (PM)
12:00 Lunch (provided)
12:50 Impacts of cereal rye on nitrogen cycling and crop production: Benefits,
challenges, and potential solutions and opportunities – Richard Roth,
extension nitrogen science specialist (NM)
1:50 Growing season 2024: Current conditions, a final 2023 summary, El Niño
implications and climatological outlooks – Justin Glisan, State Climatologist
of Iowa (CM)
2:50 Break
3:00 Crop markets in 2024: Can we get back to normal? – Chad Hart, extension
crop marketing specialist (CM)
4:00 Iowa Private Pesticide Applicator Continuing Instruction Course.
Additional fee applies. Applicators must attend the entire meeting
to receive recertification credit. – Aaron Saeugling, extension field
agronomist
5:00 Meeting adjourns

(Radio Iowa) – Sixteen rural Iowa projects are getting funds from the U-S-D-A’s Rural Development Program. Rural Development State Director Theresa Greenfield says the projects vary from linking up medical professionals, to improving water systems. “For a long time, for too long, in my opinion, these communities have felt the loss of the consolidation of farming, the loss of families lost a lot of businesses, we all know grocery stores have closed that kind of thing,” she says “And, and some of that comes from, you know, the get big or get out kind of economy. ”

There’s more than one million dollars ( $1,084,171) going into the projects. “The mission of U-S-D-A Rural Development is to be there to support our rural communities, particularly those that are 20-thousand in population or under. And many of these are even smaller yet, 500 or less,” Greenfield says.

A 50-thousand dollar grant is going to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital to help rural residents in the county.  “All that equipment is going to go to the little town of Villisca, their medical clinic there. And having grown up in that little town of 500, my parents still have to drive almost 30 miles to get health care,” she says, “I know how important it is to make those investments.”

Other grants help cities with facilities and equipment, as Gilbertville is receiving 500-thousand dollars to help build an emergency services building, and Griswold and Lennox are getting grants to help purchase equipment for their fire departments. “Some of these communities may have already received these funds, and some might be still working through and finishing up the paperwork to get these funds,” Greenfield says. “But all 16 of these grants are a great example of communities reaching out to U-S-D-A, telling us what they need to be prosperous, what they need to meet the needs of the community and us working with them to get the support them with those kinds of financial resources.”

The funding comes from various sources, include the U-S-D-A’s Rural Development Program’s budget, the American Rescue plan, and the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Here’s more info on the grants:
-Knierim received a $22,000 grant to help create a water facility plan developed by engineers. This project will assist with the costs of planning for construction and will promote water quality for residents of this rural Calhoun County community.
-Murray received a $22,500 grant to help complete a wastewater system plan. The project will supply a plan created by engineers with alternatives and recommendations to address rehabilitation of the city’s wastewater infrastructure.
–Pisgah received a $22,000 grant to create a water facility plan developed by engineers. This project will address water system conditions and performance and will include alternatives and recommendations to meet the rehabilitation needs of the entire water system.
-Gilbertville received a $500,000 grant to help build an emergency services building to provide essential public services. Anamosa received a $21,000 grant to help purchase fingerprinting scanners, tables, chairs, cabinets, and animal kennels to facilitate law enforcement operations.
–Griswold received a $7,100 grant to help purchase communications equipment for the city’s fire department.
-Lenox received a $43,000 grant to help purchase equipment for the fire department.
-Volga Community in Clayton County received a $44,600 grant to help purchase a utility truck for city road maintenance and snow removal operations.
-Clarke County Public Hospital received a $43,000 grant to help purchase an ambulance. This project will provide a more reliable and comfortable unit with a power lift and ultraviolet disinfection.
–Blockton received a $50,000 grant to help purchase a tanker truck for the city’s volunteer fire department to increase water capacity in fire-fighting operations.
–Montgomery County Memorial Hospital received a $50,000 grant to help purchase medical imaging equipment for Villisca Medical Clinic. This project will provide an X-ray machine to make more accurate diagnosis and to save patient travel time to distant hospitals.
–Corning received a $49,000 grant to help remodel city hall. This project will renovate and update the shingles, concrete, and lighting on the building.
–Anita received a $50,000 grant to help purchase an ambulance. Albia received a $24,100 grant to help purchase a utility vehicle.
-Varina received a $13,500 grant to help purchase 12 sets of essential equipment for the fire department.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a 14-year-old juvenile was arrested Tuesday night, for Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault – 1st offense. The teen was taken into custody at 10:24-p.m, cited into juvenile court, and then released to a guardian. The youth’s name and additional information, was not released.

(Radio Iowa) – Some Iowa families have a tradition of taking down the Christmas tree on Sunday, the last day of the year, in order to start the new year out fresh on Monday. Horticulturist and extension educator John Fech says don’t just toss the tree to the curb, but find a way to repurpose it.

“Recycling it, reusing it, thinking of it again as a resource or an asset,” Fech says. If you’re crafty, trim the branches to make a fragrant sachet, wreath, or garland to enjoy in the weeks ahead. You could also cut up pieces of the evergreen to toss in a nearby lake or pond to provide a habitat for fish. Fech says mulching is another option.

“Do that yourself with a hatchet or you could have it run through a chipper,” Fech says. “Many of the cities do that for their parks and then they use that for trail cover around city parks and hospitals and places like that.” Another idea is to return the tree to the great outdoors for wildlife to use as shelter. He likes to call it tree-cycling.

“Also, it could just be songbird habitat,” Fech says. “Set it near the bird feeder so birds have a place to get out of the wind and have a little bit of refuge from predator birds.” If mulching the entire tree is too much work, just using the needles can be an effective mulch on perennial plants, in your garden, and to keep weeds in check.