w/ Dr. Keith Leonard

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w/ Denny Heflin

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The Adams County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) reports a free screening of the movie “Dirt!” will be held in May, in Corning. The movie, which was inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, “Dirt!,” The Movie, takes a humorous and substantial look into the history and current state of the living organic matter that we come from and will later return to. It takes place at 7:30-p.m. May 3rd, in the Corning Opera House (800 Davis Ave, Corning, IA).

According to SWCD Technician Blake Anderson, the movie will be held in celebration of Soil & Water Conservation Week, and is hosted by the Adams County Soil and Water Conservation District along with the Adams County Rural Development Committee, Conservation Districts of Iowa, and the Southern Iowa Forage and Livestock Committee.

Concessions will be available.  If you need accommodation, please contact Blake Anderson, by calling 641-322-3116.

The Iowa DNR says the annual “Prairie Chicken Festival” will be held at Grand River Grasslands Bird Conservation Area, two miles west and one mile south of Kellerton, in Ringgold County, on April 6th. Viewing will begin before dawn and last until the birds diminish their courtship dancing and booming, around 9:30 a.m.

Prairie Chickens have been reintroduced to the area and each spring their courtship dances occur where their booming calls resonate across southern Iowa hills and valleys. The site provides a wildlife viewing platform, and spotting scopes and binoculars will be available.

“It is really quite a show and something that was lost to the Iowa landscape during the 1950s,” said Pat Schlarbaum, with the DNR’s Wildlife Diversity Program. Coffee and light breakfast foods will be available.

For more information, contact Ringgold County Conservation Board Director Kate Zimmerman at 641-464-2787.

w/ Kate Olson

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A new report shows the amount of biodiesel blended into diesel fuel in Iowa has more than tripled over the last two years and the renewable fuel made from vegetable oil or animal fat is now blended in more than 42 percent of all diesel fuel sold in the state.   A report released Monday by the Iowa Department of Revenue shows 23.3 million gallons of biodiesel was mixed with diesel fuel last year, up from 7.4 million gallons in 2010.

Ethanol, which is made mostly from corn and mixed with gasoline, was in about 81.7 percent of all gasoline sold down slightly from 82.5 percent in 2010.  Iowa has 12 biodiesel plants and 41 ethanol refineries, more than any other state.

Representatives with the Cumberland Volunteer Fire Department and the Atlantic Food Pantry received ceremonial checks for $2,500 each over the weekend, as part of a seed company’s contest.

Ruth Steffen (Center, pink jacket) hold a ceremonial $2,500 check for the Cumberland VFD. Representatives with the Dept., including Chief Sean South (on the far left), and the Atlantic Food Pantry along with Bob Sloss (Far right) also appear in the picture. (Ric Hanson/photo)

The checks were presented to CFD Fire Chief Sean South and a representative with the Atlantic Food Pantry’s by Bob Sloss, District Sales Manager for Kruger Seeds, a division of the Monsanto Seed Company, during an event held Saturday evening at the Cumberland Fire Department. Sloss said for the past three-years, Monsanto has sponsored a program called “America’s Farmers Grow Communities.” He said it’s the company’s way of giving back to those communities, whose farmers purchase their products.

In years past, according to Sloss, the company has given one award per county to farmers who have entered their names in a contest. No purchase was necessary. The winners choose a non-profit organization of their choice to receive a check for $2,500. This year, awards are being presented to 1,271 counties in 39 states, and there’s a twist to the monetary amounts being donated. He says because Cass County was in a USDA declared disaster area due to the drought of 2012, the donation doubled to $5,000. Ruth Steffen was the winner in Cass County, and she won the right to choose the recipients of the funds.

Ruth selected the Cumberland Fire Department and Atlantic Food Pantry, each of which received checks for $2,500. Steffen says she selected the Cumberland Volunteer Fire Department because she has had to call them several times over the years, and their assistance has been invaluable. CFD Chief Sean South said they would use their funds to help with the purchase of a new grass rig, which is used to fight grass and other small fires. The truck is currently under construction, and should arrive later this Spring.

He said the 2013 Chevrolet will replace a 1979 Ford grass fire fighting truck that has 124,000 miles on it. That vehicle was purchased used, one-year after it came out of the factory, and was owned by a farmer. The department took sealed bids on their used truck Saturday night, during their Pork Chop Supper, which is their biggest fundraiser of the year. They will continue to receive bids until the new unit arrives. The new truck cost $45,000, and will be equipped with some pieces of equipment from the old truck.  South said they already have the necessary funds to purchase the new truck, and the money raised from Saturday’s supper will help to replenish the funds used from Certificates of Deposit (CD’s) to help pay for the new truck. He said donations such as the one from Ruth Steffen and Monsanto, as well as others, are greatly appreciated.

The Atlantic Food Pantry will use their $2,500 donation to buy basic necessities to help families in need.

Officials with the Shelby County Conservation Board say weather permitting, the public will be invited to a prairie burn next week. The event takes place at dusk on Thursday,April 4^th, at Dinesen Prairie (4 miles NE of Harlan).  The controlled burn will be conducted by the Kirkman and Harlan Fire Departments. Controlled burns help to stimulate native grasses and wildflowers while suppressing brome and other invasive plants.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports enforcement actions have been taken against two entities in Harrison and Pottawattamie Counties. Administrative orders call for Kenneth Kline, of Missouri Valley, to install facility improvements and abide by other restrictions on facility operations, in addition to paying a $10,000 fine. The order contends that Kline, who owns and operates a cattle open feedlot, violated standards concerning solid manure runoff into an unnamed Euclid Creek tributary, and failed to comply with the discharge and reporting requirements set forth in his NPDES permit.

And, Anderson Excavating Company, Inc., of Pottawattamie County, has been ordered to resolve compliance issues at the company’s construction and demolition landfill. They were also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.The order was with regard to a leachate lagoon and related treatment measures, along with failing to hold financial surety bond.

Both companies have 30 days to appeal the orders, and both have indicated they will file an appeal.

(Details on the incidents and enforcement actions taken by the DNR can be found at www.iowadnr.gov/InsideDNR/AboutDNR/EnforcementActions.aspx. )