The Iowa Lottery saw the rare occurrence Wednesday of the deadline running out and a one million dollar prize went unclaimed. Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, says they waited right up to the end of the business day to see if the unknown winner would show.

The winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at an Ames convenience store one year ago. Neubauer says they did get a few calls before the deadline from people hoping they might be the winner.

She says the fate of the one million-dollar ticket may never be known. And says it’s rare that such a large prize goes unclaimed.

The unclaimed money goes back into the prize pool and Neubauer says the Lottery is working on a plan to give it away.

Neubauer says they are working on the details of the holiday promotion and will announce them once they are finalized.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports that on July 22nd, just after 9:00 am deputies were called to the 3000 block of 185th Street, for a report of an unconscious male in a vehicle.  The male later identified as 38 year old Joshua Dean Cooney of Braddyville was transported to the hospital by Sidney Rescue.  A search warrant was conducted on the vehicle and deputies discovered approximately 28 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and personal use amounts of controlled substances.

A warrant was issued and Cooney was arrested by the Page County Sheriff’s Office.

Cooney was charged with Possession with Intent to distribute more than 5 grams of Methamphetamine, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Possession of controlled substance 3rd Offense (Meth) and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp.

Cooney is being held on a $100,000 bond as well as an active Mills County Warrant.

The 41st Annual Carstens Farm Days is this Saturday and Sunday, September 9th and 10th.  The Carstens 1880 Farmstead provides a look back in time to life on the farm in the late 1800’s.

Each year, the show focuses on a different tractor manufacturer.  Board member Terry Torneten say’s this year it’s Farmall.

All tractor colors are welcome.  Torneten says there will be lots of steam and gas demonstrations, crafts, a quilt show and of course plenty of food.  But, he says the highlight is the daily parade.

Breakfast is available each morning and they have a healthy crop of farm-grown potatoes for sale.  Admission is $10 per day for those nine years old and up.  And, the farm is easy to find.

All proceeds help to maintain the farmstead project.

The Shelby County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a pair of resolutions this week designed to give them time to study wind and solar energy project impacts.

The resolutions placed a 180-day moratorium on the siting, construction, and operation of commercial wind energy and solar energy systems in unincorporated areas of Shelby County for the purpose of drafting and adopting an ordinance regulating commercial wind and solar energy systems.

Currently, the county has no ordinances regarding wind and solar energy and they are interested in protecting the county’s infrastructure, natural resources and property rights.  The Board states that they will require substantial time to gather information and coordinate with multiple agencies to review, update or create ordinances, policies and procedures relative to commercial wind and solar energy systems.

It’s been hot and dry for weeks and many Iowans who haven’t mowed their grass in a while are finding little patches of what looks like white cotton candy strewn around their yards. Ginny Mitchell, an entomologist at Iowa State University, says those are the webs of grass spiders and there are easily hundreds of species of the tiny arachnids. Don’t fear an invasion, as Mitchell emphasizes, they’re good bugs.

Mitchell, who’s the Education Program Coordinator of I-S-U’s Insect Zoo, explains why there are so many webs in our yards, perhaps dozens.

Eventually, we’ll have to mow again, which will ruin all of those carefully crafted webs, but that’s the cycle of life. Mitchell says don’t feel sorry for the spiders, as they will feel the vibrations of the approaching lawn mower long before it reaches their sticky lairs.

As fall arrives and the weather cools, some of those grass spiders may try to find a way into your house. Mitchell says to let them be, as they’re gobbling up -other- unwanted pests. The rest of the spiders will stay in the yard and many will make it through the frigid months ahead.

The grass spider webs are typically strung between the tips of grass blades, and you may spy a small funnel or entrance hole in the web. Mitchell notes there’s a fungus that can grow on grass, called dollar spot, which may look similar to the webs, but the fungus will also be down towards the roots.

An archival photography project at the University of Northern Iowa has landed a federal grant to help its users see the big picture. The Fortepan (FORT-ah-pon) Project will use the grant to develop an augmented reality app called Mainstreet 360. It will let users interact with the archive’s 160 years of photographs as if standing where they were taken. Fortepan founder Bettina Fabos (FAH-bose), a U-N-I professor of Interactive Digital Studies, says the app will help Iowans engage with their local history and become a part of its telling.

Fabos says that the goal of the app, and Fortepan, is to unite Iowans through engaging with their shared local histories.

The app is expected to be rolled out by spring, with the grant’s second year devoted to outreach in libraries and schools in — and beyond — Iowa. The 149-thousand dollar grant is from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Fortepan is the name of a black-and-white negative film that was popular for decades during the last century.

Wednesday night, the Atlantic city council began the process of eliminating the Park & Recreation Board.

The council voted 6-1 passing the first reading of the ordinance that would dissolve the publicly-elected board and replace it with an advisory committee.

Fourth Ward council member Linda Hartkopf was the only “No” vote.  The measure will need to be approved two more times to make it official.

The council also unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance that would create the advisory Committee.

If the council follows through on the plan, a new five-person committee would be formed, with three of the members being Atlantic residents, two other being Cass County residents and a one high school student who would be a non-voting member.

Concerns about aging members of Congress and the president were raised again after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky froze while speaking to reporters last week. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says elected officials are expected to be able to handle the duties they were elected to carry out.

Ernst says McConnell was checked out no evidence of seizure, Parkinson’s or stroke was found.

Ernst says she met with McConnell Tuesday evening.

Ernst says the national media keeps focusing on McConnell, but not President Biden’s failures. It was the second time McConnell had frozen up while speaking in the past two months.

The harvest season will likely start in northern Iowa within a week to ten days, according to Angie Rieck Hinz (REEK HINES), a field agronomist at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. With the hot temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions we’ve had lately, she says the crops matured much more quickly than expected, and those dry conditions may lead to a much greater risk during the harvest.

As farmers prepare for the big job ahead, Rieck Hinz says they’d be wise to make a checklist, one that includes fire safety.

At least seven Iowa counties have active burn bans in place due to continued drought conditions: Buchanan, Delaware, Fayette, Greene, Grundy, Hancock and Worth.

Nearly 70 people have weighed in during a public hearing about a
proposal to streamline state licensing and either consolidate or eliminate about 100 state boards and commissions. West Virginia University economics professor Edwin Timmons told the panel considering the changes that Iowa requires a license or certification for too many professions and it limits job opportunities for low income Iowans.

Samantha Groark (GROH-ark), executive director of the Central Iowa Construction Trades Council, represents 15-thousand licensed tradesmen and women.

Elevator manufacturers and people who operate boiler systems that heat major facilities like public buildings and factories say proposed changes in the boards that oversee their professions threaten public safety. Pete Hird is secretary-treasurer of the Iowa Federation of Labor.

Iowans have until September 17th to submit written public comments about the proposed changes. A review committee set up by the government reorganization bill Governor Reynolds signed this year has until September 30th to draft a final set of recommendations. During Wednesday’s public hearing at the statehouse, licensed psychologists, social workers and chiropractors objected eliminating boards that oversee their professions and shifting that oversight to other boards. An advisory council created by bill that became law this summer may be on the chopping block. Bethany Gates of the Iowa Midwives Association says it’s a setback for midwives who planned to apply for a license.

Others warned elimination of the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service and revoking Iowa’s membership in a regional higher education board will cost the state millions in federal funding. Court reporters say the plan eliminates certification for their profession. Representatives of the state’s 11-hundred licensed athletic trainers say the plan eliminates their state licensing board and a different board may eliminate or downgrade the professional requirements for athletic trainers. Vic Miller, president of the Iowa Athletic Trainers Society, says any changes would greatly affect his ability to travel with the men’s basketball team at Iowa State University.

Andy Conlin, an Iowa based lobbyist who represents the Foundation for Public Accountability, says an overall review of state licensing requirements is long overdue.

The review committee is also considering repeal of the state law that requires boards and commissions at all levels of government to have as close to an equal number of men and women as possible. Laura D’Agostino (dag-uh-STEE-noh), an attorney with a California non-profit, says the committee and Governor Reynolds should ensure all Iowans are treated equally.

Iowans who testified at the hearing denounced the idea. Katherine Farris, the Iowa co-president of the American Federation of University Women, says in 1987, Iowa led the nation in passing a gender equity law applying to state boards and commissions and it was extended to local boards in 2009.

Iowa law lets state and local officials who’ve made a good faith effort for 90 days to ignore the gender balance requirement — and there’s gender balance on two-thirds of boards and commissions today. In January, Governor Reynolds told Radio Iowa the best people for government boards are those who have a passion for the work and she’s never felt good about the gender balance law. As a state senator, she voted against expanding the requirement to local government boards and commissions.