Tom Olsen, Iowa State University Extension Farm Management Specialist, spoke to a
crowd of 48 area landowners, tenants and agriculture professionals during the
Farmland Leasing Meeting on Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at the Guthrie Activity Center
in Guthrie Center. Olsen presented current leasing information including the latest
land value survey and cash rent survey. The program was organized and sponsored by
the Guthrie County Extension Office.

Iowa farmland values increased by at least 15 percent during 2010.  ISU Extension
research indicates that the average age of farmland owners continues to rise.
Fifty-five percent of Iowa's farmland is owned by people over the age of 65, while
28 percent of the land is owned by individuals over age 75. The research found that
children and surviving spouses of farmers are less likely to continue operating the
farm themselves. That's a major reason why farmland leasing continues to increase.

CRESTON, Iowa – Aug. 3, 2011 – Road construction work will reduce Iowa 2 to one lane
between Iowa 25 west of Benton and the east junction with U.S. 169 in Mount Ayr
beginning Monday, Aug. 8, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of
Transportation’s (DOT) Creston construction office.

A 16-foot lane width restriction will be in place in the open lane. Flaggers and a
pilot car will be used to control traffic during the closure. The roadway will
return to normal traffic patterns when workers are not present.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs man has been charged with bestiality and animal cruelty after police say he performed a sex act on a cat and then threw the cat out of seventh floor window, killing it.

29-year-old Gerardo Martinez was arrested Wednesday after witnesses reporting seeing him naked in an apartment window throwing the cat to the ground below.

Police say Martinez told officers he had recently used methamphetamine and admitted to performing a sex act on the cat.

He also was charged with indecent exposure.

Martinez is being held in the Pottawattamie County jail under $10,000 bond.

w/ Ric Hanson

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PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) – The remaining charge against a former Nebraska sheriff candidate has been dismissed. Donnie Brennan was arrested in October last year and spent more than three days in jail. He was charged with three felonies: filing a false candidate form, filing a false political financial statement and illegal voting.

The charges stemmed from accusations that Brennan was living in Council Bluffs, Iowa, when he filed to run for sheriff in Cass County, Neb. He also was accused of voting in a Plattsmouth election while living across the Missouri River in Iowa. A Cass County district judge ruled in April that Nebraska law requires that a sheriff be a resident of the county he’s serving only after taking office.

Court records say the voting charge remaining against Brennan was dismissed on Tuesday.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green is urging residents of the community to remove the keys from their vehicles and make sure they are locked at all times, when not in use.  Green says in recent days, a number of incidents have occurred, where vehicles have been entered, and items, including keys, have been removed.

One of the most recent incidents, according to Green, resulted in the vehicle being stolen a few days after the keys were found to be missing. In an earlier posting on our KJAN.com News page, and in a Facebook post, we mentioned a pickup was reported stolen this morning, out of Atlantic.

The vehicle was taken sometime between 11-p.m. Wednesday and 5:30-a.m. today.

w/ Ric Hanson

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AMES, IOWA –  The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association will hold its Southwest Regional meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at the Armstrong Research Farm in Lewis. The event starts at 10:30 a.m., and will include discussions of industry issues and policy proposals for ICA before adjourning at 3:30 p.m.  Key business issues will include the election for the regional representative to the ICA state nominating committee, and policy discussions that will be brought to the ICA Annual Meeting in December. 

The person currently up for election of regional representative is Roger Brummett of Bedford. His first two-year term is expiring, and he will be eligible for re-election. There will also be discussion about the new ICA Carcass Challenge program that is being shepherded by this year’s class in the Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program. 

Besides elections and policy issues at the business meeting, ICA’s new Chief Executive Officer, Matt Deppe, will be on hand to speak to cattle producers in the region.

Authorities in the immediate KJAN listening area are on the lookout for a pickup reported stolen from Atlantic. The vehicle, a black 2004 GMC Sierra pickup w/IA license plate 808 MCF was taken sometime between 11-p.m. Wednesday and 5:30-a.m. today, from the 600 block of East 8th Street, in Atlantic.

If you see this vehicle call 9-1-1 or your local law enforcement agency.

The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, voted unanimously to pass a resolution temporarily waiving the permit filing fees associated with building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, demolition and septic systems, for residents in the county whose homes have been damaged by flood waters.

County Planning Director Kay Mocha said that while the filing fees will be waived, the permits are still required, so residents will need to come in and go through the permitting process. Mocha said the fees will be waived only if the permits are filed before work begins. She says if county officials find someone building without a permit, that person would be subject to penalties and fees.

Mocha said the county has about 120 homes affected by floodwaters, plus 10 businesses and a number of agricultural buildings.