Des Moines, Iowa – Gov. Kim Reynolds, Wednesday, signed a proclamation declaring the week of October 22^nd through October 29^th, Blue Ribbon Week and calling upon Iowans to observe this moment of solidarity by wearing blue ribbons in support of Israel. 

In advance of Blue Ribbon Week, the Iowa State Capitol Building will be illuminated in blue in support of Israel beginning October 18^th through the evening of October 22^nd. 

You can read the full proclamation here.  

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture is trying a new approach called “batch and build” to address runoff that impacts water quality. Ag Secretary Mike Naig says it involves doing several water quality projects together. “It’s an innovative approach to really grouping together and installing practices more efficiently,” he says. Naig says it brings more people in to get more done. “Historically, we might have built one or two at a time and worked with individual landowners or farmers to do that,” Naig says. “What we’re doing is working with counties and other partners to group those together, you might do 20, 30,40 or 50 at one time.” He says there is more efficiency in the work.

“Contract with one land improvement contractor, you pay the bills, once it’s very efficient, you can group them together and get them built. And so this is all part of our effort to scale up and really accelerate the adoption of practices like bio reactors and saturated buffers in the state of Iowa,” Naig says. “And really an innovative program that’s not really being done anywhere else. We’ve created it here in the state of Iowa, very proud of that, and really proud of the partners who are working together on that.”

The bioreactors and buffers at the edge of fields help remove nitrates from the water that comes off tile lines. The Ag Department is working with the Wright County Soil and Water Conservation District on the first phase of the Boone River watershed project with a goal of installing more than 25 edge of field conservation projects. Other similar projects are in Calhoun, Jasper and Boone County.

(Radio Iowa) – About five-percent of all Americans have the lung condition known as C-O-P-D, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but new research shows the rate in Iowa is higher than the national average at about six-point-six percent. Pulmonologist Dr. Bobby Mahajan, at the American Lung Association, says about 15-percent of Iowans smoke, and that’s one of the leading causes of C-O-P-D. “Unfortunately, Iowa still has a grade of a ‘D’ in smoking cessation services,” Mahajan says. “The best way to reduce the incidence of COPD is to diagnose it, but once we’ve diagnosed it, we want a way to stop that smoking and smoking cessation is an important part of that where Iowa could do better.”

C-O-P-D, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is a long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe, though some people try to ignore the symptoms. “Most individuals will say, ‘Yeah, well, I’m just getting older and that’s why I get more short of breath,’ but in many cases, they need to be able to get checked out by their primary care physician, because that might not just be deconditioning or getting older,” he says. “It might be COPD.” The latest figures show about 161-thousand Iowans have been diagnosed with C-O-P-D, while about 16-hundred die from it each year. Diagnosis comes through specialized lung tests.

“Typical symptoms that we see are shortness of breath at rest, or on exertion and doing daily activities, like walking to the bathroom, going to the grocery store, getting dressed,” Mahajan says. “Additionally, people can sometimes have chronic bronchitis associated their COPD where they cough a lot and produce a lot of sputum.” The American Lung Association report shows the annual cost of treating C-O-P-D in Iowa is 391-million dollars, while Iowans lose more than 235-thousand work days to the disease each year. There is no cure, but once identified, C-O-P-D patients do have several courses of action which can improve their lives.

“They can be treated with a number of different options,” Mahajan says. “Sometimes, medications like inhalers can improve their functionality and their breathing significantly. Other things like pulmonary rehabilitation, where we actually strengthen the breathing muscles, is associated with not only improvement in symptoms but it improves survival as well.” Learn more at lung.org.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks says she’s received credible death threats after she switched her vote for House speaker.

Miller-Meeks voted for Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan for House Speaker on Tuesday, but she said her “initial concerns” about “threatening tactics” from other Republicans in congress and Jordan supporters elsewhere increased. Miller-Meeks supported the chair of the House Appropriations Committee during today’s second round of voting. Miller-Meeks, in a written statement issued early this evening, said her office is cooperating with “the proper authorities” after she received a barrage of threatening calls and death threats following that vote. Miller-Meeks said she will “not bend to bullies” and is looking to support a “consensus candidate” for speaker.

Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who has voted for Jordan twice, issued a video statement late Wednesday, calling the eight Republicans who engineered the ouster of Kevin McCarthy “chaos agents” who “should be ashamed of themselves.” Hinson said it’s time to end to “drama and infighting” among House Republicans.

(Radio Iowa) – Experts say many Iowa trees are showing some brilliant colors right now due to recent cool temperatures. Mark Runkel is a forest health technician with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He says you don’t have to venture far to see nature’s autumn show. “Drive around your neighborhood. You can drive around your city parks. You can walk around some hiking trails,” Runkel says. “There are a lot of opportunities right near everybody’s home to just see some of these amazing color changes.”

For tree experts like Runkel, the colors of the leaves are a clue to what type of tree it is. “You can definitely tell which species based on what colors you’d be seeing,” Runkel says. “It can get a little bit challenging in a forest, if you’re looking at a forest from a distance, and just seeing all these vibrant colors,” Runkel says. Sugar maples, for example, often turn orange in the fall.

“I’m particular to the hard maples. I think that’s a really cool color,” Runkel says. “A lot of the oak species, as well, they kind of play off one another. Especially if you’re looking at a bluff full of trees, you can really see the differences between them really quickly.” Oak trees in Iowa are the last to show their fall color. The timing of this year’s show of fall foliage in Iowa is pretty typical, according to Runkel.

“We’re pretty much seeing it act normally as it would in year’s past,” Runkel says. “The drought conditions that we’ve had can sometimes really impact the fall color, but this year we haven’t really seen any significant impacts.”

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has a webpage that offers daily updates on the best viewing for fall colors in Iowa. Find a link at https://www.iowadnr.gov/Conservation/Forestry/Fall-Color

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue, Wednesday night, announced to the Atlantic City Council, that the department applied for and was awarded a maximum $200,000 flow-through grant from the U-S Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Act as part of the law enforcement for mental health and wellness, with a sub-category for program implementation, to facilitate an Officer Mental Health and Resiliency program.

A similar, free three-day program was held last year in Atlantic, for area law enforcement and some from throughout the State. The success of that program spurred the concept of offering the class for law enforcement from all across the State. Chief Hogue and Officer Tony Snyder poured over the 61-page of instructions and requirements to apply for the grant.

There are two phases to the program, including End-user training, and adding facilitators from across the State so the program can grow. Chief Hogue said there was $9-million dollars awarded total to 60 agencies throughout the nation. Only one other city in Iowa, Muscatine, was awarded a grant for southeast Iowa.

Chief Hogue said Officer Snyder was instrumental in securing the Federal Grant, thanks to his diligence in looking to fine details of the application.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation (CADCO) Executive Director Jennifer McEntaffer, Wednesday evening, said despite the news late last month the MAHLE was laying-off a good percentage of their workforce by 2025, the news isn’t all bad. Speaking before the Atlantic City Council, Jennifer said she met with MAHLE employees, who explained the company is offering “Some very good retention bonuses if they’ll stay on.” There are also severance packages being offered to those who are close to retirement.

McEntaffer said “Many many organizations in  Cass County and Atlantic specifically are hiring, I don’t feel like were going to lose any population…”   She said also, she discussed with Iowa Western Community College in Atlantic, which is phasing out its Industrial Design program, and are moving ahead with offering a CDL program, which will benefit large manufacturers looking to locate in Atlantic and the area.

McEntaffer mentioned CADCO has a solid prospect in the form of a large manufacturing business that’s looking to expand into southwest Iowa, and that they love the idea Cass County being a hub for their business. The only issue is they need an 18,000-square foot building, which is currently not available. Along that note, she said, CADCO is looking partnerships with a local investment group, to construct a “spec” building to offer prospective businesses.

Other, local businesses, are looking to expand their footprint in the community, and two individuals are looking at downtown locations. And, Zeigler in Atlantic, she said, offers a paid apprenticeship program for persons looking to enter the trade industry, which  would benefit what the company does for its customers once those persons are trained and retained.

McEntaffer said the biggest struggle CADCO faces, is finding a place to put new business, especially commercial operations.

CRESTON, Iowa – Oct. 18, 2023 – Work is now complete on the project to replace the bridge on Iowa 92 between Lyman and Griswold. You may now travel over the new bridge.

Help keep everyone on the road safer. Drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, you should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

(Radio Iowa) – A stubborn retail environment is blamed for a dip in revenue at Winnebago Industries. The outdoor lifestyle products manufacturer, with Iowa recreational vehicle factory locations in Forest City, Lake Mills, Charles City and Waverly, reports revenue for the fourth quarter was 771-million dollars. That’s down nearly 35-percent compared to the same period a year ago. Winnebago C-E-O Michael Happe says the recreational consumer market continues to be challenging.

Happe says, “The tumultuous consumer outdoor market which characterized Fiscal Year 2023 for our company continued as expected into the fourth quarter, as lower dealer deliveries and modest retail demands persisted across the RV and marine industries.” Fiscal 2023 revenues of three-point-five billion dollars dropped almost 30-percent compared to Fiscal 2022, primarily due to lower unit sales related to retail market conditions and higher discounts and allowances compared to the prior year. Happe says the company continues to see the benefits of a diversified portfolio.

“Our results reflect a resilient profitability of our diversified business model in a challenging demand environment,” Happy says. “Despite a softening in unit sales, the towable RV and marine segments in particular continued their track record of profitability and margin performance.” Happe says the addition of the Newmar and Grand Design recreational vehicle brands, as well as the Chris-Craft and Barletta boat companies during his tenure as CEO, have been positive for the company, despite the drop in revenue for the fiscal year.

“I am incredibly pleased that the foundation of the transformed company we have built over the last seven years can produce the results we just completed in a difficult market environment,” Happe says. “We’ve remained committed to the continuous improvement of our bottom line, with a focus on operational excellence, further work on productivity, cost containment, and fix overhead rationalization.” Happe says R-V retail market share performance declined slightly in the fourth quarter but there were some positive signs toward the end of the quarter.

“This trend has been anticipated, and we were recently pleased to see August RV market share results be much steadier than in past months, a good sign of things to come,” he says. “Grand Design, Winnebago towables and Newmar all gained share in the standalone August month.” Fourth quarter profit for the company was nearly 44-million dollars, with profit for the fiscal year of almost 216 million.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks has joined the group of House Republicans opposing Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan’s bid for House Speaker. In the second round of voting for House speaker, Miller-Meeks cast her vote for Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger. Granger is chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Miller-Meeks voted for Jordan yesterday (Tuesday) in the first round of voting on his nomination for House speaker, but afterwards Miller-Meeks told reporters in the U-S Capitol she would not vote for Jordan again.

Miller-Meeks will be seeking a third term in the U-S House next November and will likely face a rematch with Democrat Christina Bohannan. In 2020, Miller-Meeks won her seat in the U-S House by just six votes and then finished nearly seven points ahead of Bohannan last year. This month’s voter registration report shows there are about seven-thousand more Republicans than Democrats in the first congressional district.

The other Iowa Republicans serving in the U-S House — Ashley Hinson of Marion, Zach Nunn of Bondurant and Randy Feenstra of Hull — all voted for Jordan on today’s second round of voting for House speaker.