(Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the City of Atlantic’s Parks Advisory Commission gathered this (Wednesday) afternoon at the Parks and Recreation Department office, to discuss several matters. The Commission received first, an update from Frank Saddlemire, of Atlantic, with regard to new signs for the Sunnyside Park Disc Golf Course. Saddlemire reminded the Commission he had applied for a grant in January of 2023 to create the new signs.

J&J Custom Graphics & Design took the time and custom built the signs, which will be installed as his time allows. Saddlemire  was instrumental in bringing the sport of Disc Golf to Atlantic. Since it’s inception, it’s been used for numerous tournaments and area residents alike.

Frank Saddlemire shows one of the new Disc Golf course signs by J&J Graphics and Design

The Board received an update also, from Parks and Rec Coordinator Jeff Christensen, who said the person who was hired to install the “Pour and Play” playground safety material, will be in Atlantic this week to lay and level the rock base. If it holds up…keeping the weather in-mind…the people who will install the rubberized fall material should be in this Friday. “By Saturday, that playground should done.” Earlier this week, the playground equipment was installed.

Christensen mentioned also, the sand container apparatus for the pump at Sunnyside Pool was emptied. The equipment he said, had been “Duct-taped together. It hasn’t been filtering the water correctly for years,” apparently. New sand was installed for the filter, some gutting that was decayed. “So our pool is right now full of water. It went from looking like you could take a drink, to a farm pond brown, to a very yellowish color right now.” But it’s nearly filtered. The pool is running off of the old pump, he said, “We’re waiting for a strainer to come in with the new pump (That’s been ordered). And then when the new pump comes in, they’ll install it.”

Nishna Valley YMCA Director Dan Haynes said Vanessa Proehl has been hired as Manager for the Sunnyside Pool. Additional information with regard to the pool is expected to be released soon. In other business, the Parks Commission discussed wood chips for the Schildberg Playground equipment, the planting of various types of trees in the area of the Schildberg RV park. Volunteers with the assistance of Parks Department staff, will plant 32 trees as part of commitment to the Trees Forever organization. Local Trees Forever representative Dolly Bergmann said they would like more people to help with the project. Bring your shovels and a pair of gloves.

If you’d like to volunteer, call Dolly Bergmann at 712-249-9275.

(Radio Iowa) – All the recent rain in northeast Iowa is tightening the planting deadlines for farmers and already-planted crops are being threatened. Parts of the region have gotten more than six-inches of rain since Tuesday morning, flooding many cornfields and making planting impossible. Iowa State University field agronomist Terry Basol says if the rainfall continues, farmers may have to ask some tough questions.

“We’re getting close to the end of May, and so the next question is: How late is too late to plant corn to make sure we can be able to get it to the end of season?” Corn planting is already behind the state’s five-year average, and the deadline is around the end of the month. More heavy rain is expected Thursday night and into the weekend. Basol says concerns are mounting as far as corn that’s already in the ground.

“For that that has been planted, in that scenario, what’s the case for that as far as longevity and survivability with the storms that we’ve had so far.”

Monthly rainfall totals for northeast Iowa already exceed ten inches. Basol says farmers will need four days after flooding recedes to check on corn health.

(Radio Iowa) – The State Environmental Protection Commission voted today (Wednesday) to refer the case of the New Cooperative fertilizer spill on the East Nishnabotna River near Red Oak to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. Bradley Adams, the attorney for the E-P-C, told commissioners the referral is justified after 265-thousand gallons of fertilizer got into the river. “A 50 mile stretch of the river became uninhabitable for aquatic life,” he says. He says frogs, snakes, mussels and fish died due to the contamination.

“D-N-R’s fishery staff estimated that in excess of 749-thousand fish were killed in Iowa’s portion of the East Nish. The kill extended into Missouri and only ended once the river met at the confluence with the Missouri River,” Adams says. Adams says the D-N-R penalty for this would be capped at ten-thousand dollars and that is why he recommends referral to the attorney general.

“A fish kill of this size equates to a high dollar restitution total, the state must ensure full financial recovery to mitigate the harm that was caused to East Nish,” Adams says. “Ongoing needs also include monitoring and sampling which the Attorney General’s Office can secure on more favorable terms the Department. In short, a higher amount of leverage is required to ensure that efforts to mitigate the release and restore the East Nishnabotna progresses at a satisfactory rate.”

New Cooperative spill

The valve was left open and that was not noticed as the hose was clogged, but the material came out after the clog broke. New Coop general manager Dan Dix spoke to the Commission before the vote. “Our company has always operated under the philosophy we strive to do the right thing, for the customer, the employee, and they want you to know that this is the first time in 50 years company has been in existence that we’ve dealt with this type of issue. Unfortunately, it was simply due to a mistake,” he says. Dix says the Fort Dodge-based company did everything it could to mitigate the damage after discovering the issue.

“We take this matter very seriously and hope that our actions during the cleanup show everyone our dedication to doing the right thing,” Dix says. Michael Schmidt of the Iowa Environmental Council also spoke. “We believe this is the type of case that should be referred for elevated enforcement action through the agency’s office because the Department of Natural Resources administrative cap of 10-thousand dollars in penalties has not changed since 1992, and that level of penalty would not reflect the seriousness of this case,” he says.

DES MOINES – Following days of heavy rainfall, flash flooding and Tuesday’s severe storms, multiple Iowa wastewater treatment plants have reported discharging untreated or partially treated wastewater.
These discharges can result from heavy precipitation, power outages and storm damage, among other things.
Since April 1, the Iowa DNR has received reports of 131 discharges at wastewater treatment facilities due to heavy precipitation, with 44 of those being reported in the last five days. Heavy rain can overload wastewater collection systems, which are underground sewer pipes that carry sewage to a treatment plant. Aging or poorly maintained sanitary sewer systems are particularly vulnerable to influxes of storm water.
With sewage pipes overwhelmed, excess water has nowhere to go, and can back up into basements through floor drains. Bypassing can lower the water level in the collection system, keeping sewage from backing up into basements, which could present health risks.
DNR staff continue to monitor these situations and will provide assistance to impacted communities.
It is highly recommended people and pets avoid these areas and stay out of flooded and elevated waterways due to safety concerns.
For more information on wastewater discharges and flooding updates, contact your local DNR Environmental Field office. You can find the office for your region at: https://www.iowadnr.gov/fieldoffice

“Ultimately the enforcement action taken by the A-Gs office must reflect the grave impact of the fertilizer spill and the effects on the East Nishnabotna River,” Schmidt says. The E-P-C voted unanimously to refer the case to the Attorney General.