AMES, Iowa — Times have changed since great grandma was canning for her family. Today’s recipes have been scientifically tested to ensure a safe product. So before trying any of those old family canning recipes, call AnswerLine, the home and family hotline at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

“If great grandma’s recipe isn’t safe, AnswerLine will tell you,” said hotline coordinator Elizabeth Meimann.

“Callers sometimes are a bit frustrated with us when we answer canning questions. We often have to tell a caller that the old family recipe for a canned product is not safe. We must advise our callers that oven canning, canning low acid vegetables in a water bath canner and using ‘any old recipe’ for pickles are not safe practices,” Meimann said.

“We aren’t the ‘canning police.’ Our main goal is to help you keep your family safe for years to come,” Meimann said.

AnswerLine has become a highly trusted resource for the people of Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota, providing information and resources on home and family questions regarding everything from child development to cleaning to food safety, nutrition, laundry and much more.

At this time of year many people contact AnswerLine to get answers to canning questions or tested recipes they can try at home, said Barb Fuller, MA, RD, LD a human sciences specialist in nutrition and wellness with ISU Extension and Outreach.

AnswerLine uses a number of research-based resources, Fuller said, including ISU Extension and Outreach’s “Preserve the Taste of Summer” series of recipes. The AnswerLine specialists also consult the University of Georgia’s National Center for Home Food Preservation and the USDA Home Canning Guide.

“The recipes and procedures in these books have been scientifically tested in a laboratory to ensure the coldest part of a canning jar gets hot enough long enough to kill the botulism bacteria if present. We don’t want you to cut corners and put your family at risk,” Fuller said.

“Botulism can be a deadly disease and those at the greatest risk are those who are often most dear to our hearts; the elderly and the very young. Pregnant women and people with a compromised immune system also are at great risk,” Fuller said.

AnswerLine, 800-262-3804 in Iowa, is open 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. AnswerLine also has a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, as well as a twice-weekly blog at http://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/answerline/. Barb Fuller can be reached at 641 202 1843 or bfuller@iastate.edu

w/ Max Dirks

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PANORA, Iowa (AP) – Officials say they’re investigating the cause of a wastewater discharge that entered Lake Panorama in central Iowa.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says it’s unclear what caused a pump to fail Saturday night at a lift station managed by the South Panorama Sanitary District. Officials reported the problem Sunday morning, around the time officials believe the discharge ended.

DNR officials say it wasn’t clear to the agency that there was a wastewater discharge until Monday night. The sanitary district believes it was likely a small discharge.

It’s unclear what caused a pump to fail, since all pumps at the lift station appear to be functional.

Officials for the sanitary district are considering the construction of a new lift station, where discharges would be less likely to reach the lake.

w/ Kate Olson

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Rainfall in the Des Moines area delayed the Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pulls at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand on Wednesday but a local couple are glad they waited it out.  Dean and Cheryl Christensen of Cumberland along with their son Nick travel around the Midwest competing in Outlaw events and Dean came away with a top prize this year.

Dean Christensen rode his 1988 Ford Ranger “Red Hot” to a first place prize in the Modified 4-wheel division.  He pulled a distance of 328.3 outdistancing the next place finisher at 327.27.

KJAN news spoke with Cheryl Christensen and she was thrilled with the win and talked about the history of the truck which used to belong to a driver out of Omaha.  Their son Nick also ran Dean’s old truck “Nuttin Honey” in the event.

This is the third time the Christensens have won at the state fair.

w/ Denny Heflin

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Montgomery County Youth take Static Exhibits to the Iowa State Fair

The 2015 Iowa State Fair Static and Awardrobe Results are out! Additional contests and livestock results will be released throughout the State Fair Week. Congrats Exhibitors!

2015 4-H Static Exhibits
Katie Carlson, Communications Posters, Seal of Excellence
Nick Carlson, Mechanics, Blue
Savanna Clark-Moffett, Clothing & Fashion, Blue
Hannah Elwood, Photography, Blue
Hannah Elwood, Photography, Blue
Tannah Halvin, Photography, Blue
Tannah Halvin, Photography, Blue
Caleb Johnson, Visual Arts, Red
Mariah Lombard, Photography, Red
Mariah Lombard, Self-Determined, Red
Luke Mellott, Science, Engineering & Technology, Red
Delaina Olson, Photography, Blue
Isabelle Perkins, Food & Nutrition, Red
Isabelle Perkins, Home Improvement, Blue
Tyler Rines, Environment & Sustainability, Red
Kendra Top, Photography, Blue
Heidi Vanderholm, Sewing & Needle Arts, Red
Scott Vanderhoof, Home Improvement, Red
Hannah Vial, Communications Posters, Seal of Excellence
Hannah Vial, Photography, Blue
Rob Vial, Photography, Blue
Cassie Vrabel, Child Development, Blue
Cassie Vrabel, Food & Nutrition, Blue
Cassie Vrabel, Food & Nutrition, Red
Corbin Wolfe, Food & Nutrition, Blue
Corbin Wolfe, Horticulture, Blue
Corbin Wolfe, Photography, Blue
Tristan Wolfe, Other Agriculture and Natural Resources, Blue
Tristan Wolfe, Food & Nutrition, Red
Tristan Wolfe, Other Family & Consumer Science, Blue
Mallorie Wookey, Photography, Red
Mallorie Wookey, Photography, Blue
Mallorie Wookey, Photography, Blue
Anna Young, Visual Arts, White

Awardrobe Clothing Event
Cassie Vrabel, Clothing Selection, Top 10%, $25 Gift Card

Oven Canning- UNSAFE!

Preserving food by canning in the oven has been a hot topic this summer. It seems everyone is looking for a shortcut to preserve food at home.

Oven canning is NOT a safe shortcut, Barb Fuller, Nutrition and Wellness Specialist and a Master Food Safety Advisor for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, says, “Many individuals have shared they have tried, or have heard about, oven canning. Just because a jar is sealed doesn’t mean the food inside is safe to eat. I’ve had people say to me- ‘I haven’t gotten sick from it.’ I tell them they are probably very lucky! Botulism is a big concern.”

Very often, a trusted and well-meaning friend or relative has shared information about canning in the oven as a simple way to can food. Others have found information off the internet promoting it as a “quick and easy” method.
Food “processed” in the oven will not necessarily be heated hot enough or long enough to produce a safe product! Oven regulators may not be very accurate and the hot air in the oven may not circulate efficiently enough to heat the food in the jars. In addition, dry heat penetrates jars very slowly. Canning jars are not designed for dry heating either. Who would want to clean up that mess if they exploded?

In addition, think of the wasted resources when finding out your food may not be safe to eat. Fuller adds, “People spend a great deal of money, time, and energy canning food. It is disheartening to tell someone their (improperly) canned food could make someone they love very sick.”

Do not put your families’ health and the quality of your food at risk for the sake of a shortcut- like oven canning. Be sure to only use research-based methods and tested recipes for SAFE home food preservation. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is an excellent source of this information. Go to www.store.extension.iastate.edu for publications and recipes. In the Search box (upper right corner), enter the name or number of publication:
• Canning Fruits (PM 1043)
• Canning Vegetables (PM 1044)
• Canning Fruit Spreads (PM 1366)
• Canning Pickled Products (PM 1368)
• Canning and Freezing Tomatoes (PM 638)
• Canning Meats, Poultry, Wild Game, and Fish (PM 3021)
• Freezing Fruits and Vegetables (PM 1045)
• Canning Salsa (HS 0021)

For more information, contact the your County ISU Extension and Outreach Office or Barb Fuller at 641-202-1843or at bfuller@iastate.edu. You can also call ISU Extension and Outreach’s AnswerLine at (800) 262-3804 to talk directly with a Home Economist. AnswerLine hours are Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m.-noon and from 1:00-4:00 pm.

DES MOINES – The emerald ash borer (EAB), a destructive and invasive insect of ash trees has been discovered in central rural Montgomery County. Iowa’s growing number of counties with confirmed detection has now reached twenty-seven. Native to Asia, EAB has spread to 25 states since first being identified in Michigan back in 2002. This exotic pest is responsible for the death of tens of millions of ash trees.

EAB is a small, metallic-green beetle that is about ½ inch long. The larvae stage of this wood-boring insect tunnel under the bark of ash trees, disrupting the flow of water and nutrients, ultimately causing the tree to die. EAB infested ash trees include thinning or dying branches in the top of a tree, evidence of woodpecker activity, S-shaped feeding galleries under dead or splitting bark, D-shaped exit holes, and water sprouts (along the trunk and main branches).

“This find marks the westernmost site that we have found EAB in Iowa to date,” said Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship EAB and gypsy moth coordinator. “This just reinforces the importance of limiting human-assisted firewood movement to reduce the spread of EAB and other injurious tree pests.”

The Iowa EAB Team provides EAB diagnostic assistance to landowners and includes officials from Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service and the USDA Forest Service.

Since larvae of EAB can unknowingly be transported under the bark of a tree, the Iowa EAB Team strongly cautions Iowans not to transport firewood across county or state lines. The movement of firewood throughout Iowa or to other states poses the greatest threat to quickly spread EAB and other plant pests. A statewide quarantine remains in place, restricting the movement of hardwood firewood, ash logs, wood chips and ash tree nursery stock out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states.

At this calendar date, the treatment window for soil-applied preventive treatment measures (soil injection, soil drench, or granular application) and basal trunk sprays has ended. Trunk injection remains a viable EAB management option for the next two weeks, as this method can be done when the tree has a full canopy of leaves (now through the end of August), provided there is good ground moisture. If a landowner is interested in protecting a valuable and healthy ash tree within 15 miles of a known infestation, he or she should have landscape and tree service companies bid on work, review the bids, and treat during the recommended treatment time.

Please contact Iowa EAB Team members to have suspicious looking trees checked in counties not currently known to be infested. The State of Iowa will continue to track the movement of EAB on a county-by-county basis. Before a county can be officially recognized as infested, proof of a reproducing population is needed and an EAB must be collected and verified by USDA entomologists.