The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.0MB)
Subscribe: RSS
If you are interested in, or have a need to plant a tree on your property, Atlantic Trees Forever has just the deal for you. Spokesperson Dolly Bergmann said Spring tree vouchers are now available. The vouchers are worth $30 off the cost of a tree, and can be obtained at Pymosa Farms (50979 Buck Creek Road), north of Atlantic.
Bergmann said there are a limited number of vouchers available. She said also, Pymosa Farms can help you determine what kind of tree would work best in the location you would like to plant a tree. Call Pymosa Farms owner Tim Reavis at 402-659-1213, before you head out to the farm, to ensure someone is available to help you.
Officials with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association report the Euken-Myers family from Cass County, have been selected as the 2020 Environmental Stewardship Program Award Winners. The ICA chooses an outstanding cattle operation to nominate for the regional award each year. The regional winners for the national award will be announced in late July. The Eukens and Myerses will compete against nominees from Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Euken-Myers families from Cass County (Photo courtesy ICA)
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Environmental Stewardship Awards Program (ESAP) began 28 years ago, long before sustainability was a buzz word. The ESAP program was meant to highlight conservation efforts and recognize outstanding beef farmers who care for the land with as much dedication as they care for their livestock. Six regional winners are recognized at the national level, while one of those is selected as the winner.
Beef production has been a life-long learning opportunity, passion and revenue stream for the Euken-Myers family. Randy and Jill Euken grew up with cattle on family farms and showed cattle as 4-H’ers. Their own farming operation was launched in 1978 when Randy started his farming career and purchased half of the cow herd from his landlord. Over the past 40 years, they have continued to grow and improve their cattle herd by carefully selecting replacement heifers and bulls, keeping and utilizing an extensive set of records, implementing the best practices for environmental stewardship and carefully tending to beef nutrition and herd health. These efforts have resulted in continued improvement in the performance and ROI for their operation and their reputations as good stewards of natural resources, life-long learners and good neighbors.
Now, the family has put in place a farm transition plan that is transferring management and operation of the beef and farming enterprises to their daughter and son-in-law. Over the past three years, Michelle (Euken) Myers and Steve Myers have purchased and improved their own farm and purchased half of the Eukens’ cow herd. They are retaining ownership of their calves in the family feedyard and are carrying on the legacy of environmental stewardship in their farming and cattle enterprises. Located in southwest Iowa, the farm has a long history of row-crop and cattle production. Jill’s great grandfather and his sons bought the home farm in 1912, and it has remained in the family ever since. Now, more than 100 years later, the Myerses are the 5th generation in the family to earn a living from the farm. Throughout that time, the farm has included both row-crops and cattle. The land is utilized with erosion and water quality in mind, with the highly erodible ground growing pasture or hay. The Eukens and Myerses currently have approximately 165 cows and 30 head of replacement heifers. They also feed out their own calves and others in a 400 head feedlot, and purchase feeder cattle that are custom fed elsewhere. The family manages pasture and hay ground in addition to row-crops. The row-crop acres are farmed with an extended rotation including alfalfa hay.
In the past few years, there has been an increased focus on climate change by politicians, academicians, and activists. Many of the practices the Eukens and Myerses employ on their farm mitigate climate change in one of two ways: reducing emissions and sequestering carbon. Reducing emissions has become front and center for the agriculture industry today. Efficiencies in production and equipment have been the most visible change in emission reduction. Farmers and cattle producers have been tasked for years to be more efficient and produce more to feed the world. Livestock producers have become the most diverse of all farmers as they utilize their crops to feed their animals, manure to feed their crops, and cover crops to sequester carbon/nutrients and also feed their livestock. The Eukens and Myerses utilize many practices on their row-crop operation to reduce emissions, including improvements to their grain-drying systems and reduced tillage. Increased yields over the years have also reduced emissions on a per acre or per unit level.
Sequestering carbon may not have as much of a direct influence on a farmer’s bottom line, but it is another way that the Eukens and Myerses have improved their impact on climate change. The land has an incredible ability to store and utilize carbon, but certain farming practices can increase or decrease carbon sequestration. Through cover crops, minimum tillage and application of manure, the Eukens and Myerses have been able to increase soil organic matter. This increase in organic matter has made their land more profitable and healthy, and has increased its ability to store carbon.
The family has been able to utilize these healthy soils to more sustainably grow crops, feed cattle, and help keep the carbon in the soil and out of our atmosphere. Cover crops have become a big part of no-till, organic, and livestock production the last couple of years. A big part of this reason is due to the efficiencies and unique tools that cover crops provide. Feed, bedding, tillage, and increased organic matter are just a few of the examples of what cover crops provide, including various ways for a farmer to be more sustainable.
Cattlemen are often considered the original stewards of the land. And with progressive, responsible cattle producers like the Eukens and Myerses, it’s easy to see why.
(Radio Iowa) — Two long-time members of the State Racing and Gaming Commission are retiring from the board when their current terms expire at the end of this (April) month. Carl Heinrich of Council Bluffs and Jeff Lamberti of Ankeny each have served nine years on the body that regulates gambling in the state. Racing and Gaming Commission administrator Brian Ohorilko spoke about the two during the recent commission meeting. “Their patience, vision, and integrity, perspective, fairness, and impeccable judgment have resulted in sound, thoughtful, and consistent decisions — which have generated universal respect — no matter the outcome,” Ohorilko says.
Heinrich was the former president of Iowa Western Community College. “It has been an extreme pleasure to serve on this commission,” Heinrich says. “I have to admit when I was first appointed I was a bit apprehensive — because I really did not know the industry well.” He served during a time when the I-R-G-C dealt with many important issues. “I had to learn what was expected of me and to make decisions that I never thought I would make,” Heinrich says.
Lamberti is an attorney and businessman who served in the Iowa Legislature before joining the commission. “It’s been a very interesting experience, I am glad I had the opportunity to serve. Nine years is a very lengthy time. I think turnover is good,” Lamberti says. He says his time on the commission was eventful. “During the nine years I think I got to do just about everything…in terms of people seeking expansion to basically putting a license up for bid in Sioux City — to now sports gaming,” according to Lamberti.
Many of the issues were controversial — and he says none was tougher than deciding on new gambling license applications. “By far that’s the most difficult decision we have to make. Because it is not only the time and the work and the studies, the communities are very passionate about this, they invest of a lot of their time, their effort, their money,” according to Lamberti. “And we take it very seriously You may not like how we vote — or you may like how we vote — but rest assured, we put our time in.”
Lamberti says he thought he had seen everything he could when he decided to step down from the commission. And now says he knows that is true after watching the coronavirus pandemic force the closing of all 19 of the state-licensed casinos. Last week’s meeting was their last on the I-R-G-C. A recognition of the two is planned at the July meeting if commissioners are again able to meet in person.
(Radio Iowa) — Pork producers from across Iowa are donating several thousand pounds of meat to the state’s five main food banks. Trish Cook, a member of the Iowa Pork Producers Association board, says it’s a win-win since there’s a surplus of pork due to plant closures and an increase in demand at food banks because of the pandemic. “Pork producers decided to do what they can,” Cook says. “There’s a lot of people out there who have lost their jobs. They wanted to help out by donating ground pork to food banks in Iowa. They have 8,500 pounds of ground pork that they are distributing to food banks around state.”
Cook says its simple to cook pork and it helps to meet consumers’ protein needs. “It’s easy to prepare, it can be used in so many different ways,” Cook says. “It’s just a versatile item that people can quickly cook up and use in their day-to-day meal preparation.” With many restaurants closed and so many people staying home from work and school, Cook says the pandemic has radically changed what and how we eat. “There’s people probably cooking things they never thought they would ever cook before just because we’re such a society — about half of our food budget is dining out,” Cook says. “It’s a really different scenario for everybody these days.”
Each food bank is getting 17-hundred pounds of pork divided into one-pound packages. The food banks receiving the donations include: The Food Bank for the Heartland serving 93 counties in Nebraska and western Iowa, as well as the food banks in Des Moines, Sioux City, Hiawatha and Waterloo.
BETTY MAXINE STUHR, 94, of Shelby, died Tue., April 21st, in Harlan. Services for BETTY STUHR will be held at a later date. Burmeister-Johannsen Funeral Home has the arrangements.
Online condolences may be left at www.burmeisterjohannsen.com.
Memorials may be directed to the Shelby Volunteer Fire Dept., and/or Avoca Public Library.
BETTY MAXINE STUHR is survived by:
Her daughters – Linda (Dix) Scranton, of Norfolk, NE; Merry Jo Stuhr, of Gray, ME; Nancy (Don) Foringer, of Overland Park, KS.
Her son – Richard (Kae) Stuhr, of Shelby.
Her Sisters – Dorothy Adkinson, of Central City, NE., & Joann Hauptman, of Neligh, NE.
A Number of Grandchildren, Step-Grandchildren, & Step-Great-Grandchildren, Other Relatives & Friends
Today: Partly cloudy w/isolated showers possible. High 74. SW @ 10-15.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 46. NW @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High near 70. Variable winds at 5-10mph.
Friday: Mo. Cldy w/showers. High 61.
Saturday: Mo. Cldy w/a chance of morning showers; Becoming P/Cldy. High 64.
Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 70. Our Low was 30. Last year on this date, the High was 68 and the Low was 45. The Record High for April 22 in Atlantic, was 90 in 1980. The Record Low was 20 in 1936.
Police in Red Oak report a man wanted on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Escape from Custody, was arrested at around 10:45-p.m. Tuesday, following a routine traffic stop in Red Oak. Authorities say 32-year old Jessie Bruce Fitzwater, of Council Bluffs, was also arrested on a State of Iowa Felony warrant for Possession, with the Intent to Deliver. Fitzwater was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted Red Oak Police in conducting the arrest.
Fire crews from Harlan and several other nearby departments responded to a large structure fire Tuesday night, at 1916 900th Street, just off County Road M-47, north of Prairie Rose State Park. The blaze occurred at around 10:15-p.m. Water was reportedly pumped from Prairie Rose Lake to help replenish the supply of available firefighting water.
Photo courtesy our sister station KNOD (photo by Michele McConnell Andersen)
Other departments assisting at the scene included Avoca, Elk Horn, Irwin, Kimballton, Kirkman and Walnut. Additional details are currently not available.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Restaurant closures due to the coronavirus have contributed to an estimated $5 billion in losses this year for the U.S. pork industry, and almost overnight millions of hogs stacking up on farms now have little value. Some farmers have resorted to killing piglets because plunging sales mean there is no room to hold additional animals in increasingly cramped conditions. After extended trade disputes and worker shortages, this was supposed to finally be the year hog farmers hit it big with prices expected to climb amid soaring domestic and foreign demand. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is promising to send cash and buy stored pork but industry leaders say it might not be enough to stem devastating losses.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has launched a $26 million program to dramatically increase the state’s lagging capacity to test for the coronavirus. Under the TestIowa plan announced by Gov. Kim Reynolds Tuesday, the state’s 3.2 million residents will be asked to complete an online health assessment. Those who have symptoms or who have been exposed to the coronavirus will be eligible for free tests at drive-thru sites. The state will alert the contacts of those who test positive. Reynolds says Iowa has signed a contract to purchase 540,000 tests over the next six months, increasing the state’s testing capability by 3,000 tests per day.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — One Iowa pork plant at the center of a major coronavirus outbreak is reopening as another began testing all employees to learn the scope of their infections. Tyson Foods resumed limited operations at its pork processing plant in Columbus Junction, where more than 200 workers have become infected and at least two have died. The plant, which has about 1,400 employees, had been shut down for two weeks after reporting the outbreak. In northern Iowa, Wright County officials reported that 16 employees at a pork processing facility run by Prestage Foods of Iowa have tested positive. Mass testing at the plant began Monday.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police allege a man intentionally ran over and killed a Des Moines college instructor. Police also allege in newly released court documents that 49-year-old Jason Sassman was using meth on April 5 when he hit 38-year-old Lauren Rice as she walked her dog, which also died. Rice was an instructor at Des Moines Area Community. The Des Moines Register reports that police say Sassman believed Rice was a criminal about to kill someone. Sassman is charged with first-degree murder and animal neglect. He is being held at Polk County Jail on a $1 million bond.