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Residents of the Omaha-Council Bluffs area who have breathing troubles like asthma may find it particularly difficult to be outside for very long during the day this week. Greg Youell, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, says there are higher concentrations of ground-level ozone, thanks to the steamy weather and pollution. “Ground level ozone is formed when you have the combination of emissions and sunlight and hot temperatures,” Youell says. “Our ozone season typically tracks with baseball season. It’s in the hotter months and these hot summer days is when the ozone could be really high.”
Health officials say readings in Omaha-Council Bluffs will be in the upper end of the moderate range of the Federal Air Quality Index. Despite the ozone issues, Youell says the air quality is usually quite good though the levels are now “teetering on the edge” of the limits. “We don’t want to go into what’s called non-attainment,” he says. “If we did that, it could end up being a big burden on our entire area. It could mean having to do inspections for our vehicles which can lead to more costly repairs for our cars. Also, it limits the ability to some of our businesses to expand and attract new businesses in the area.”
Youell says there are small things residents can do to help reduce the ozone levels. “Limit trips as you’re driving around,” he says. “Carpool or take the bus, walk and bike. Moving the lawn is one thing you want to avoid or at least do it during the cooler hours of the day. The same with refueling your vehicle. If you can do that at dusk or nighttime, that helps to reduce the amount of fuel that’s lost through evaporation.”
Other suggestions include: shutting off your car if you plan to idle it for longer than 30 seconds and sealing all containers that contain paint, cleansers, solvents and other chemicals.
(Radio Iowa)
The Cass County Conservation Board is holding a “Dutch Oven Cooking Workshop”, July 16th The free public program will be held at the Campground Shelter at Cold Springs Park in Lewis, from 9-a.m. until Noon. 
During the workshop, you’ll learn how to make a breakfast, lunch entrée, and dessert in a dutch oven. You’re asked to bring your own place setting for samples. A Free will donation for supplies will be accepted. You DO NOT have to be a registered camper to attend the program.
ISU Extension and Outreach in Cass County will host and event for farmers and retailers at Armstrong Memorial Research and Demonstration Farm. Farmers and retailers are encouraged to attend the second annual Weeds Week program on July 19th at the Armstrong Memorial Research and Demonstration Farm near Lewis. The one-day, educational program, hosted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, will focus on herbicide resistance and weed management.
Aaron Saeugling, field agronomist at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, says “Sessions have been developed to provide tools that help farmers and agribusinesses work together to develop long-term weed management plans that identify sites of action, promote timely application of herbicides and avoid the expenses of dealing with herbicide resistance.”
Each session will include presentations, hands-on weed management planning, small group discussion and plot tours presented by extension field agronomists. Attendees will learn how to select herbicides from the herbicide effectiveness table, identify which herbicides to apply and develop their four-year weed management plans for their operation or for customers.
The Armstrong Memorial Research and Demonstration Farm is located at 53020 Hitchcock Avenue. Check-in will begin at 9:30 a.m. The program will begin at 10 a.m. and conclude at 3 p.m., with lunch served at noon. The pre-registration deadline for the Lewis location is July 14 at midnight. Attendees are asked to pre-register to assist with facility and meal planning. The $25 registration fee includes lunch, refreshments, and course materials and publications.
To register online, visit www.aep.iastate.edu/weeds. For more information, contact field agronomist host Aaron Saeugling, 712-769-2650, clonz5@iastate.edu.
A North Carolina company announced this morning it will build a large pork processing plant in north-central Iowa’s Wright County. Prestage Foods is heading to Wright County for its new, state of the art pork processing facility. Wright County Economic Development Director Bryce Davis says the county is excited to work with the company in constructing the $240 million pork processing plant, saying it will be a $43 million boost to the payroll of Wright County, and will have economic benefits to the surrounding counties as well.
Davis says agriculture is important to Wright County and they welcome the more than 900 new jobs to the area. Prestage has been looking at sites ever since the City Council in Mason City failed to approve a development agreement with the company.
Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, pending the finalization of county and state approvals, with first-shift operations starting in the middle of 2018. Prestage hopes to slaughter up to 10-thousand animals per day once the plant is fully operational.
(Radio Iowa)
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources turned 30 on July 1st, and one of the issues that has generated a lot of controversy has been large-scale animal confinement operations. D-N-R director Chuck Gipp says one of the things that’s brought the issue to the forefront is the change in the number of people involved in raising livestock.
“Part of it is the demographics that are living out in the countryside. Used to be as a kid when I was growing up, that the vast majority of people living out in the country in the unincorporated areas were people involved in agriculture. Today that is not the case,” according to Gipp.
He says people who are not involved in agriculture are more likely to raise concerns about farm smells, the operation of grain dryers and other things that come with an ag operation. There’s also been a change in how animals are raised, as he says in the 1990s there were mostly open feed lots where animals were raised and the manure was out on the ground. “Most of that was runoff, because there was no machinery there was not equipment and there were no facilities to capture all of the manure, including the liquid portion of it,” Gipp says. “And rain was your friend. It took that off, so it was runoff.”
He says the animal confinement operations led to more animals being raised, but also more control on the waste the animals produced. “In 1990 there were 14-point-one million hogs grown in the state and 2015 there’s 20 million hogs. Prior to confinement operations becoming the norm and way to do that, those 14-point-one million pigs were generating waste, a lot of which wasn’t captured and became runoff into the rivers and streams,” Gipp says. “Other than the odor issue there — other than the siting decisions made by some — actually the way we raise livestock today is much more environmentally friendly than it ever has been.”
Gipp says the D-N-R has to manage the issue without taking sides. “I think the biggest challenge is always going to be to find that middle ground to do what you need to do, regardless of who controls the legislature or anything like that, the department has a job and a responsibility to the people of Iowa to provide opportunities for the long run,” Gipp says.
Gipp says if everyone has to take a role in making things work in protecting the state’s natural resources. “We have to understand no matter who we are what we do. If the combined effort of somebody if they are rich or poor, rural or urban, or big and small. If they all work together to determine what happens on their particular piece of property, the combined effort of everybody doing a little bit, no matter what their condition is, is going to be immense. Rather than waiting for the other guy to be the solution — let’s just determine what we can do,” Gipp says.
He says getting everyone on board is not always easy. “Having that type of thinking process, how all of us individually can impact our surroundings, I think our the biggest challenge that we face,” Gipp says, “not only in the department, but across government in general.”
The D-N-R was created by combining four agencies in 1986. Gipp has led the department for the last five years.
(Radio Iowa)
The time most Iowans are spending outside has increased dramatically as we moved into summer. Iowa Department of Public Health Medical Director Patricia Quinlisk says with so many activities going on, it can be easy to remember to protect yourself from mosquitoes. Doctor Quinlisk says make it easy to remember the bug spray by keeping it along with the other items you take outside. It’s something she does for one of her favorite back yard activities.
“I just put my can of insect repellent right next to my gardening gloves, to make sure that when I go out to start gardening that I don’t forget,” Quinlisk explains. “Because it is easy to forget, but it is important because West Nile is around that they use insect repellent.” West Nile is spread by mosquito bites and in the most serious cases can lead to death.
Quinlisk says they have not had any cases of West Nile virus confirmed yet, but she says it is a little early. She says it first starts showing up in mosquitoes that are being monitored and in horses. Quinlisk says you may not have been bothered by mosquitoes yet while out in the yard, but she says it just takes a little bit of water to get them to become active and seeking out someone to bite.
“These mosquitoes don’t fly a long ways, so one of the best ways of protecting yourself from mosquito bites and the diseases they may carry is to make sure that they are not breeding anywhere in your yard. So that means getting rid of all the little puddles that may be in your yard,” Quinlisk explains. “And that may be things as simple as your children’s toys that our left out in the back yard, or the dog’s dish. In my case I have bird baths.”
Doctor Quinlisk says you can make sure mosquitoes are not breeding in the bird bath by periodically changing the water. You can find a lot of different products with insect repellents in them on the store shelf. Quinlisk has this advice to make a good choice. She says there are only three repellents that have been shown to work well, and the Department of Public Health recommends the one called DEET. Quinlisk says the DEET has the added advantage of being able to repel ticks, so you get a two-for-one benefit when you spray it on. DEET can also be used on infants starting at three months of age. You should carefully read the label and any restrictions.
“There’s one called oil of lemon eucalyptus — which sounds very natural — but it cannot be used in children less than three years of age. So that would not be the one to buy if you’ve got young children,” Quinlisk explains. She suggests you check with your doctor if you have questions about the best products for children.
(Radio Iowa)
You might see a sign posted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources at your favorite state park beach this summer. Testing coordinator Mary Skopec says they will post of sign if their weekly tests show issues with blue-green algae and bacteria. “And if it is a bacterial impairment, normally what I have been telling people is very young children so babies, small toddlers, people with compromised immune systems — people who are on chemotherapy drugs for example — should really avoid being in that water,” Skopec says.
Even if you are healthy, you should take some precautions if the beach is posted for a high level of bacteria. She says anyone with an open cut should avoid the water and everyone should avoid swallowing the water. The recommendation involving algae is stronger. “When that advisory is due to the blue-green toxin, really people should stay out of that water because even contact with it for a healthy person can cause a pretty nasty skin rash,” Skopec says. “We can’t tell for sure always if everyone is going to get sick. The levels of toxin vary quite rapidly from day-to-day.”
She says the blue-green algae can also cause pets to get sick. Skopec says with the toxin advisory for the algae they recommend that people stay out of the water until it is clear and the advisory goes away. You can go online to see the results of the weekly testing. Go to www.iowadnr.gov/beaches to find the advisories. You can also call the hotline at: 515-725-3434.
Skopec says the levels of bacteria can change quickly if there is rain. The blue-green algae tend to flourish when it is sunny and hot.
(Radio Iowa)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowans are being warned to watch out for those plants on the side of the road with lacy yellow flowers. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that large patches of wild parsnip are growing now across the state. Also known as poison parsnip, the plant looks like a dill plant or Queen Anne’s lace. It is yellow and grows about four feet tall.
The plant is native to Eurasia and related to the carrot family. It has a sap that contains chemicals that can cause rashes, blisters, burning and itching when exposed to sunlight. The rash can hurt for weeks and scars may remain for many years.
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