Day number two of the 2013 Cass County Fair in Atlantic is packed with activities for the whole family. It begins with the beef weigh-in at 8-a.m.  The Rabbit Show and Horse shows gets underway at 9. In addition to having an opportunity to peruse the 4-H exhibits in the Community Center, persons attending the fair have the chance to visit with various vendors in the Commercial Exhibits building. Both begin at 10-a.m.

The Livestock Judging Contest gets underway at 3-p.m., with teams of 4-H and F-F-A members competing in three contests simultaneously. The big event for this evening, is the annual “Bull-O-Rama” and Bull Ride at 7:30, along with a donkey half-time show.

As always, there is NO Charge to attend the Cass County Fair, but your purchase of meals at the food stand are very much appreciated, to help support the Fair and continue to make it a unique, free event each year.

View the fair schedule at: www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/sites/www.extension.iastate.edu/files/cass/2013%20Schedule_Cass%20County%20Fair%20Updated.pdf

A great crowd gathered Thursday (7/25) night at the grandstand at the Audubon County Fairgrounds for the crowning ceremony of the 2013 Audubon County Fair Queen. Nine candidates were vying for the crown including: Teagan Albright, Jan Asberry, Maddie Christensen, Megan Deist, Chansea Nelson, Jayce Nelson, Courtney Rudolph, Amanda Steffes, and Mary Wede.

The candidates attended a meal and interview event on Wednesday, July 17th at the Audubon County Extension Office to determine the winners.  The 2013 Audubon County Fair Queen is Jan Asberry, Daughter of John and Denise Asberry of Exira.  The first runner-up was Chansea Nelson, Daughter of Dave and Trudy Nelson of Exira.  The second runner-up was Maddie Christensen, Daughter of Tom and Teresa Christensen of Audubon.

The royalty were crowned by 2012 Queen Katelyn Asmus and now Jan Asberry will get to compete at the Iowa State Fair Queen Pageant August 6th-10th.  The Audubon County Fair continues through Tuesday, July 30th.

The Cass County Fair King and Queen contest took place on Thursday, July 25th at the Cass County Fairgrounds.  A large crowd waited out some rain at the end of the contest to find out the winners.   The 2013 Cass County Fair King was Tanner Potter of the Griswold Clubsters, son of Brent and Amy Potter.  The Prince was Blake Miller of the Grant Guys and Gals and CAM FFA, son of Gary and Shelly Miller.  Mr. Congeniality went to Clint Hansen of the Grove HOT and Atlantic FFA, son of Mike and Becky Dreager.

The 2013 Cass County Fair Queen title was awarded to Larissa Backhaus of the Griswold Clubsters and Griswold FFA, daughter of Bill and Jenny Backhaus.  Princess was Mikayla Somers of the Bear Grove Blazers, daughter of Guy and Kathy Somers.  Miss Congeniality went to Emily Jacobsen of the Bear Grove Blazers and Atlantic FFA. Emily is  the daughter of Mike Jacobsen and Darla Jacobsen.

Another award handed out was the KJAN/Brownfield Ag News Network Ag Youth Award.  That honor was given to Emily Jacobsen of Atlantic.  The Brownfield Ag News Network and KJAN partner in this award each year to honor outstanding youth and acknowledge their contribution to agriculture in the area.

The Cass County Fair continues through Tuesday, July 30.

Andrea Farrior and Chris Parks discuss the latest info on animals available at the Atlantic Animal Shelter.

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The first full day of the 2013 Cass County begins today, in Atlantic. Activities later today include the Food Sale at the Community Center on the fairgrounds, beginning at 10-a.m. All 4-H baked goods will be for sale, with a sample of every item kept for exhibit purposes, and displayed in the club booth, and recipes of each baked item will be available. Baked products selected for the State Fair will not be offered for sale, however. Proceeds from the sale are used to help support the 4-H program in Cass County.

Entertainment this evening begins at 7, with music from the “Blue Tones,” followed by the Cass County Fair King and Queen contest on the north garden of the Community Center at 8, and Senior Recognition at 9.

This year’s Queen candidates include Emily Jacobsen, Amber Stender, Hannah Ankenbauer, Larissa Backhaus, Tierney Sothman, Diana Perkins, Heather Reyna, Valerie Watson, and Mikayla Somers. King candidates include: Tanner Potter, Clint Hansen, Justin Somers, Blake Miller, and Luke Frisbie.

Preliminary judging of all candidates was held on July 15^th. As always, there is NO Charge to attend the Cass County Fair, but your purchase of meals at the food stand are very much appreciated, to help support the Fair and continue to make it a unique, free event each year.

View the complete Cass County Fair Schedule here: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/sites/www.extension.iastate.edu/files/cass/2013%20Schedule_Cass%20County%20Fair%20Updated.pdf

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the number of pheasants shot by hunters increased 45-percent in 2012 after a record low year in 2011. D-N-R spokesman, Willie Suchy, says they expected an increase based on the roadside survey last August. “We were very pleased last year to see a good nesting season and when we have good nesting seasons and good winters, the small game numbers like pheasants and quail respond. And we had an increase in harvest and an increase the number of hunters taking advantage of that,” Suchy says.

It’s estimated hunters shot 158-thousand pheasants in 2012. That compares to 109-thousand pheasants harvested in 2011 — which was the lowest number since the state began keeping track in 1962. Suchy says the pheasant population has seemed to be stuck in a bad cycle that hasn’t allowed the birds to recover. “We’ve had bad winters and bad springs in the past, but the thing that has really happened over the last five or six years is that we’ve had a string of them together. Usually after two or three bad ones you get a couple three good ones, and we just haven’t had that. Last year was the first year that we did,” Suchy says. “Unfortunately this year, we had a little bit snowier winter and then a wet spring, so we are not so optimistic going forward.”

Pheasants weren’t the only game hunters had success with as Bobwhite quail, mourning dove, cottontail and squirrel harvest estimates increased as well. “All small game kind so have the same sort of guiding things — habitat, weather — affect them,” Suchy says. He says better weather increases all their population numbers. Better animal numbers also led to a five-percent increase in the number of small game hunters last year. The impact of this year’s snowy winter and wet spring will become more clear next week when the D-N-R conducts its annual roadside pheasant survey.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Environmental groups are angered that federal and state officials held a private meeting in Des Moines to talk about the state’s enforcement of federal clean water regulations without them and with no public input.   EPA spokesman Kris Lancaster has confirmed to The Associated Press a meeting was held Tuesday but he declined to discuss it further.

Gov. Terry Branstad’s spokesman says it was a work session to discuss regulations the EPA is pushing the state to enforce and that Branstad’s staff attended to help EPA understand the impact on farmers. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, an activist group, says water quality enforcement must be transparent and holding a meeting in secret gives the appearance officials are about to run over the public interest in the service of a corporate agenda.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors are not happy with whomever is using their vehicles to traverse County Level B (dirt/mud roads) when they are wet, and in the process destroying the road, making it difficult if not impossible for farmers to move their equipment, livestock and crops, when the road dries out. Engineer Charles Marker says his Secondary Road crews normally stay off Level B Roads because of a lack of manpower and equipment to maintain Rock, Level B, and C-type roads.

Marker says they often receive requests to smooth Level B roads which have been damaged by 4-wheel drive vehicles, but those requests are typically not filled until Spring, due to the current work load. He says the only way to stop the destructive activity is if someone calls in a license plate number of the vehicle doing the damage after it rains. He added that the signs marking roads as Level B, say “Enter at your own risk removes the County’s liability if the person responsible for tearing-up the road has an accident, or if ruts that have not been fixed caused damage to other vehicles once the road dries up.

Supervisor Charles Rieken said it’s too bad people feel the need to tear-up the roads used by farmers to haul hay and for other, legitimate purposes. On top of that, the mud from their vehicles is brought into town and messes up city streets. Rieken says it’s not just young people who are behind the destruction. Some older people are just as irresponsible, according to Rieken.

Rieken says when it rains, rural residents should watch for vehicles that are causing the damage, take down a license plate and report it to the Sheriff’s Department. If you are willing to prove who caused the damage, the person responsible, he says, can be assessed the cost of repairs to the road.

The cost for fixing those roads doesn’t come cheaply, according to Marker. He says it could take several hours to fix a damaged road, at a cost of about $30 and hour to operate a grader, plus an average of $20 for the employee’s salary to run the machine and conduct the work.

Rieken said he’s used the roads when he farms, and the ruts caused by 4-wheel drive vehicles “Shakes the tar out of” planters, grain carts and combines. Marker said they’ve seen vehicles in the cities covered in mud, and they know how they got that way, but unless citizens step forward and prove where those vehicles were and when, the damage will continue to occur.