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Heartbeat Today 12-7-2023

Heartbeat Today, Podcasts

December 7th, 2023 by Jim Field

Jim Field visits with Brittany Seely, Marketing Director for Nami of Southwest Iowa.  The National Allianace on Mental Illness is developing a program called “ReConnect” to help people and families affected by mental illness.

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Farmland values weather economic storm

Ag/Outdoor, News

December 7th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A report on national farmland values shows prices are holding their own despite several down economic issues. Peoples Company president Steve Bruere says 2023 has been a transitional year for farmland after seeing so many transactions in 2022. “As the interest rates have started to move up in 2023, there’s a lot of folks I think, anticipated that farmland values would soften a little bit in the higher interest rate environment. And what’s happened as farmland is performed really well over the last year,” Brewer says.

He says their report is not a survey, but reviews all types of sales information and other factors. Iowa’s cropland has held its own along with the rest of the country. “Iowa values were relatively flat to stable and 2023. But I’ll tell you the last two or three weeks, there’s been over one-thousand acres that have sold in Iowa that have brought over 20-thousand (dollars) an acre,” he says. “So there’s plenty of ammunition out there and there’s still some really big numbers floating around.” The report shows Iowa cropland values overall up eight percent this year. Bruere says the value of cropland can’t just be viewed based on the return you get from farming the ground.

“I think that’s one of the misnomers on farmland is a lot of times people look at farm in Iowa and say, well, that’s a two or three percent return. Well, the last 20 years Iowa farmland has averaged about seven percent appreciation. And so what this report does is aggregate those two returns,” he says. Bruere says the ups and downs of corn and bean prices are only a part of figuring the value of farmland. “It’s much more than just interest rates and commodity prices. I think that’s what shocked people about this year, if you were looking solely at commodity prices and solid interest rates, you might think that land values are softened a little bit,” he says. “But when you when you start to understand what’s happening in the renewable space with wind and solar and carbon, and what you’re seeing with advances and yields and whatnot, that long term vision for farmland is pretty bullish.”

And there’s a limited number of acres to buy as he says only about one percent of all farmland in the country hits the open market on an annual basis. “There’s very little of it for sale, it’s a generational asset. So when it comes time to buy, something, you are really buying the future revenue stream,” he says.

You can find out more about their land value report at the Peoples Company website.

SHIRLEY MAE JUHL, 88, of Exira (Svcs. 12/8/23)

Obituaries

December 7th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

SHIRLEY MAE JUHL, 88, of Exira, died Dec. 1, 2023, at Jennie Edmundson Hospital, in Council Bluffs. Funeral services for SHIRLEY JUHL will be held 2-p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, at the Exira Lutheran Church. Kessler Funeral Home in Exira has the arrangements.

The family will meet with friends at the funeral home on Thursday, Dec. 7th, from 5-until 7-p.m.

Burial is in the Exira Cemetery.

SHIRLEY MAE JUHL is survived by:

Her daughters – Sharon Juhl, of Fayetteville, TN; and Karen (Allan) Ruch, of Dayton, OH.

Her son – William (Marie) Juhl of Lexington, SC.

10 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, other relatives and many friends.

ELIZABETH “Liz” K. SCHMIDT, 89, of Audubon (Celebration of Life 12/9/23)

Obituaries

December 7th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

ELIZABETH “Liz” K. SCHMIDT, 89, of Audubon, died Nov. 22, 2023 at the Friendship Home in Audubon. A Celebration of Life for LIZ SCHMIDT will be held 11-a.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Audubon. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

A family visitation will be held at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church on Saturday, from 9:30-a.m. Until the time of service.

Burial is in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon.

ELIZABETH “Liz” SCHMIDT is survived by:

Her sons – Craig (Cathy) Schmidt, of Reed’s Spring, MO/ Omaha, NE, and Brian Schmidt (and Connie McPherson), of Audubon.

6 grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren, her sister-in-law ; other relatives and friends.

DARLENE VERGENE LAYLAND, 95, of Exira (Celebration of Life 12/9/23)

Obituaries

December 7th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

DARLENE VERGENE LAYLAND, 95, of Exira, died Nov. 21, 2023, at the Exira Care Center. A Celebration of Life Memorial service for DARLENE LAYLAND will be held 1-p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, at the Exira Lutheran Church. Kessler Funeral Home in Exira has the arrangements.

Inurnment will take place at at later date in the Exira Cemetery.

DARLENE LAYLAND is survived by:

Her son – Charles Layland of Williamsburg, Iowa.

2 grandsons and her step-grandson, 2 step-great grandchildren; other relatives and many friends.

Check the labels before hanging holiday lights to avoid a fire

News

December 7th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The forecast calls for unseasonable warmth today (Thursday) in the 50s and possible low 60s, so many Iowans will get outside to polish off their holiday decorating duties. While adorning our homes with blinking L-E-Ds is a tradition for many, decking the halls isn’t without its risks. Andrea Vaspis, public education director for the National Fire Protection Association, says those colorful lights can be a beautiful accent to your house, but they can also pose a serious fire hazard. “When you’re going to be decorating outside, make sure the lights that you use are approved by a testing laboratory and that they’re rated for outdoor use,” Vaspis says. “That is really critical.”

Putting lights outside that are supposed to be only for indoor use could quickly lead to an electrical short — and a fire. If you’re trying to obtain a Clark Griswold-level of outdoor decoration perfection, she warns, it can be easy to overdo it. “A general rule of thumb is to not plug in more than three strands at a time, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations on the box,” Vaspis says. “If you’re opening your tub of old lights and trying to pull them out and see what you have and if anything is frayed or old, it’s time to get rid of it.” The newer L-E-Ds draw much less power and sometimes a few dozen strands can be linked and plugged into one outlet, but she cautions, read the directions carefully.

For many Iowans, it’s simply not the holidays if the fragrance of fresh pine isn’t wafting throughout the house. If you have a “real” tree, she says it’s important that your electric lights are safe. “For the indoor lighting, make sure that what you’re using is not overloaded in a circuit with a number of other items,” Vaspis says. “Make sure that if you’re putting those lights on a Christmas tree, that the Christmas tree is in good shape, that it’s watered so that the lighting doesn’t cause a fire.”

An association study finds electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in more than two of every five (44%) home Christmas tree fires.

Teenage extra in ‘Cold Turkey’ recalls Norman Lear’s time in Greenfield

News

December 7th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – An extra in the movie Norman Lear filmed in Iowa 54 years ago says it was a surreal experience. Lear — who wrote, directed and produced the movie “Cold Turkey” — died this week at the age of 101. Dan Dickinson was a teenager when Lear picked Greenfield to be the fictitious “Eagle Rock, Iowa.”

“The story is that Norman came to our town and he really liked our square,” Dickinson says. “It’s a quaint little square. It’s on the National Historic Register and it’s a Lancaster Square, which means it has openings in the middle of the block as well as the corners, so it’s pretty rare.” Some of the stars of “Cold Turkey” went on to have roles in Lear’s T-V sitcoms. Jean Stapleton, who starred as Edith Bunker in “All in the Family,” played a woman in the movie who ate pickles rather than smoke. “It was kind of a surreal experience because you might be walking around the square and you might be walking into a shot,” Dickinson says.

Norman Lear

While “Cold Turkey” was filmed in 1969, it was released in 1971 — the same year Lear’s “All in the Family” premiered on T-V. Dickinson was in the Greenfield high school band and the band was featured in “Cold Turkey.” The plan was to be done shooting by the time school started. “And that did not happen. Our scenes were night scenes and we would go to work at seven and get off at seven in the morning,” Dickinson says. “…Finally they allowed kids that were in the movie to come to school at noon.”

Dickinson, who was 14 at the time, earned 15 dollars for each of the 11 nights when his band was being filmed. “Big money back in 1969 for a kid (in his) freshman year in high school,” Dickinson says. Lear spent eight weeks in the summer of 1969 filming Cold Turkey in Iowa. He was named an honorary Iowan 30 years later.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023

Weather

December 7th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

Today: Sunny, with a high near 60. South wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 34. South wind 7 to 11 mph becoming west after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.
Friday: Increasing clouds, with a high near 54. West wind 6 to 9 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
Friday Night: A chance of rain before midnight, then a slight chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. West northwest wind 7 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 39. Breezy.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19. Blustery.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 38.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 53. The Low was 29. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 44 and the Low was 14. The Record High on December 7th in Atlantic, was 64 in 1894. The Record Low was -15 in 2005. Sunrise is at 7:32. Sunset at 4:50.

2 arrested Wednesday afternoon in Red Oak

News

December 7th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report two men were arrested on separate charges, Wednesday afternoon. 25-year-old Dawson Allen Squires, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 4:17-p.m.,  on a valid Page County warrant for Willful Contempt of Court. His cash-only bond was set at $1,500, pending transfer to Page County. And, at around 3-p.m., Wednesday, Red Oak Police arrested 25-year-old Logan Thomas Wright, of Red Oak, for Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault. Wright was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, pending a court appearance.

Iowa State falls short vs No. 4 Iowa, 67-58

Sports

December 6th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (4-4, 0-0 Big 12) dropped the game to No. 4 Iowa (9-1, 0-0 Big Ten) by a score of 67-58.  Both teams shot evenly from the field through the night, but after a tie midway through the final quarter Iowa used a late surge to retake the lead for good.

Iowa State outshot Iowa in the first half at 40.6-32.4 percent as the score stood even at 34-34 entering the second half. As Iowa State kept within three of Iowa headed into the final quarter, five lead changes followed including an Iowa State lead with 4:30 left to play, but ISU was unable to secure the upset.

Audi Crooks had her first career double-double with 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Crooks has now scored in double figures in seven of the Cyclones’ first eight games. Addy Brown had her second straight double-double, putting up 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

How it Happened

The Cyclones kept within three of the Hawkeyes with a score of 10-7 at the first media timeout. Right out of the timeout, Brown hit a 3-pointer to ignite the crowd and knot the score. Nyamer Diew was the next to hit a shot from deep to again tie the score at 13-13, while Crooks followed with a layup to give ISU its first lead with 2:32 to go in the first. After Iowa took a run of eight, Jalynn Bristow answered with a 3 at the buzzer to trim UI’s lead to three (21-18).

Lead changes continued as Iowa State took leads of 22-21 and 26-24 while the score stood at 26-26 midway through the second. Crooks then entered double figures after draining a triple to again tie things up at 29. Iowa State remained efficient from beyond the arc as Arianna Jackson became the fifth Cyclone to record a triple, putting ISU up at 32-31. With 1:33 left, Crooks sent in the jumper for another tie at 34-34, with the score holding as the first half came to an end.

Isnelle Natabou fought for her own rebound and followed to send in the layup to put ISU up 39-38, while Iowa then went up four (43-39) with 6:10 left in the third. Neither team scored for nearly two minutes of play before Diew ended the scoring drought with a layup, bringing the Cyclones back within two. As Iowa led by five with 30 seconds remaining in the quarter, Brown put in the layup to make it 48-45 headed into the final frame.

Iowa State called the early timeout after Iowa stretched a seven point lead of 52-45. With 6:26 left, ISU came alive hitting a streak of eight to retake the lead at 55-54 as Iowa called a timeout. The Hawkeyes responded to retake the advantage, going up by six (62-56) with one minute to go. Iowa would hold on to the lead, taking the win by a final of 67-58.

Top Performances

Audi Crooks put up her first double-double and had her sixth 10-plus point game, entering double figures in the second quarter. The freshman’s final line was 15 points, 10 rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes of play. Crooks had 12 points and eight rebounds in the first half.

Addy Brown had 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for her third double-double this season. Brown also had five assists, two steals and a block.

Up Next

Iowa State next hosts North Dakota State this Sunday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. CT.