ATLANTIC, IA – Produce in the Park in Atlantic is all about fall fun this Thursday, September 22. Market Manager Brigham Hoege says kids will be delighted to hear that the bounce house will be back, but there will also be pumpkin painting, face painting, and bracelet making. There will be lots of fall products at the park this week, including pumpkin bars, salted caramel
cupcakes, and caramel apple crisp cups from Frosting Inc., fall candles and soaps from Smudge in scents Pumpkin Spice and Salted Caramel, pumpkin kringle from Kringleman Pastries, and fall candles from Midwest Candles by Brit in Cashmere Cedar, Orange Spice, and Pumpkin Chai.

Hoege says September is a fabulous time for fresh produce at farmers markets, and this week market shoppers will find local fruits including grapes, watermelon, and elderberries, as well as vegetables including green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, a wide variety of peppers, onions, and eggplant. September is National Recovery Month, and as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration explains, Recovery Month is a national observance held to “promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the nation’s strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and communities who make recovery in all its forms possible.”

Produce in the Park always hosts at least one community organization at the park every week, and this week the market is proud to celebrate Recovery Month by welcoming a number of local recovery supporting organizations. Many people are living in mental health or addiction recovery or know or love someone living in recovery. Visiting organizations at the park this week will include Zion Integrated Behavioral Health Services, National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwest Iowa (NAMI), Cass Health Senior Life Solutions, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Anonymous, Cass County Public Health, and more. These organizations will share resources as well as many of the fun fall activities mentioned above.

DETAILS: Produce in the Park September 22
Time: 4:30-6:30 PM
Location: Atlantic City Park (10 W. 7th St. Atlantic, IA 50022)

• Food Truck: Zemog’s Cocina Taco Truck
• Fresh local produce: Grapes, Watermelon, Sweet Potatoes, Peppers (bell peppers, snack peppers, hot peppers, sweet peppers), Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Green Beans, Aronia Berries, Elderberries, Onions, Eggplant, Garlic, Potatoes, Kale, and more!
• Farm Favorites: Fresh-cut flowers, local meat (beef, pork, lamb, chicken), farm-fresh eggs, honey, granola
• Desserts: Pumpkin Bars, Apple Crisps, Cupcakes, Cookies, Danish pastries, kringle, Sweet Breads (banana and banana nut bread, chocolate chip bread), and more
• Crafts: fall-scented candles, bath and body products, art prints, jewelry, and more
• Live Music: Sarah Selders!
• Activities: Bounce house, yard games, pumpkin painting, face painting, bracelet making, recovery card writing, and more!
• Recovery Month Celebration: September is Recovery Month, and we’re celebrating at Produce in the Park! We believe recovery is possible for Every Person. Every Family. Every Community. We are going to have a number of organizations at the park (including Zion Integrated Behavioral Health Services, NAMI Southwest Iowa, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Anonymous, Cass County Public Health/Parents as Teachers, and Senior Life Solutions) with helpful information and fun activities. Additional Visiting Organizations: Cass County Master Gardeners, RSVP Volunteer Network.
• Free drawing for a dozen eggs (sponsored by the Cass County Local Food Policy Council). Anyone age 18+ can enter for free. Winner will be drawn after the market ends and pick up at the market the following week.
• Payment methods accepted: All vendors accept cash. Many accept credit cards, Venmo, and Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Senior and WIC checks. All qualifying food vendors accept SNAP/EBT (also known as food stamps). All fresh produce vendors both accept and distribute Double Up Food Bucks (coupons given for SNAP/EBT purchases of fresh produce).
• Produce in the Park September 2022 farmers markets are sponsored by the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission, Cass Health, Cass County Tourism, First Whitney Bank and Trust, the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and Deter Motor Co.
• For updates on Produce in the Park, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark) or Instagram
  (www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/), or visit the Produce in the Park website to sign up for the e-newsletter at www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com. For information on vending at the park, contact Market Manager Brigham Hoegh at produceintheparkatlanticiowa@gmail.com or 712-249-5870.

Iowa cattle producer and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) member Shayne Wiese, today (Tuesday) testified before the House Agriculture Committee regarding implementation of the conservation title of the 2018 Farm Bill. Weise said the “USDA’s voluntary conservation programs have been a great asset to cattle producers, and it is important that these programs are implemented in a practical, producer friendly, and voluntary manner for years to come to ensure that cattle producers will continue to have the ability to do what we do best: produce the world’s safest, most nutritious, abundant, and affordable protein while operating in the most environmentally friendly way possible.”

He shared his experiences utilizing the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Additionally, Wiese highlighted his concerns with the staffing shortage at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that has led to agency delays, additional paperwork burdens, and less time for local officials to meet with the agricultural producers they serve. “NCBA communicates with members of Congress and their staff every day but hearing directly from a cattle producer outside of Washington is extremely beneficial,” said NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane. “We hope Congress carefully considers Shayne’s testimony as they evaluate the last Farm Bill and begin crafting the next one.”

Shayne Wiese is a fifth-generation cattle producer, currently operating Wiese & Sons: Good Doin’ Bulls along with his older brother in West Central Iowa. Wiese & Sons are advocates for conservation and utilize cover crops, CRP, water filtration buffers, and erosion reduction practices as part of their comprehensive commitment to environmental stewardship. In addition to being a member of NCBA, Wiese is involved with the American Hereford Association, Iowa Beef Industry Council, Iowa Beef Breed’s Council, and Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.

“Producer feedback is vital to improving conservation programs outlined in the Farm Bill, and we appreciate Shayne for sharing his personal experiences,” said Bob Noble, president of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association. “Livestock producers take pride in being stewards of the land and natural resources and would benefit from additional support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We seek to maximize the impact of programs like the Conservation Reserve Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program to further achieve our conservation goals and solidify cattle as climate-smart solutions.”

(Atlantic, Iowa)  – The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors, Monday evening, selected a person to fill a vacancy on the Board, created by the resignation in August, of Ashley Hayes, who accepted a job with SWIPCO, in Atlantic. Parks Board Chair Jolene Smith said there were two applicants for the job.

The Board’s recommendation will be submitted to the City Council for their consideration and action, this Wednesday evening. Assuming the Council has no objections, Mayor Grace Garrett will swear-in Butler, along with Parks Board member Shirley Jensen, whose Oath of Office was done incorrectly, according to Smith.

Atlantic Parks and Rec Director Bryant Rassmussen & Assistant Jeff Christensen at the Parks Board mtg., 9/19/22

In other business, the Parks and Rec Board discussed the Healthiest State Walk, which Parks Director Bryant Rasmussen said will be held 9:30-a.m. on October 5th, beginning in the north parking lot of the Nishna Valley YMCA. From there it will proceed to Harl Holt Park via the Bull Creek Pathway, and then back to the YMCA.

Ramussen spoke also, about the placement of a memorial flag pole on the ridge near the Rotary Shelter side, of the Schildberg Recreation Area. He said the request came from a woman whose husband has passed, and would be in honor of him. There is no cost to the Parks Department. The Kiwanis will install the flag pole and required lighting (for night-time illumination).

Rasmussen said the next Parks and Rec event, is the “Tour de Parks,” sponsored in conjunction with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. Tour de Parks on October 2^nd at 2-p.m., is a free bicycle tour of Atlantic parks.

The ride will start and end at the Kiddie Korral at Sunny Side Park (1300 Sunnyside Lane). The Atlantic Kiwanis will be providing a free meal for riders when they finish the ride, and participating organizations and supporters will be giving away free prizes. The ride will be on both trails and streets to highlight area trails and the bike-ability of Atlantic. The ride and following celebration is expected to last until approximately 5:30.

For questions or to borrow a bike or helmet for the ride, contact Atlantic Parks & Recreation at 712-243-3542. Additional information will be forthcoming also, on a Scarecrow Contest. Follow Atlantic Parks and Recreation on Facebook, to see the latest.

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters say Iowa will ride another weather rollercoaster this week with high temperatures tomorrow (Tuesday) climbing into the low to mid-90s, but then a cool front will arrive and knock highs by Thursday into the 60s, with lows in the 40s. Meteorologist Darren Clabo, who moderated the regional climate update for the National Weather Service, predicts another warm-up will soon follow with lesser chances of rain.

“Above-average temperatures are really expected over the next one to two weeks, combined with below-average precipitation,” Clabo says. “Kind of expecting more or less an upper level ridge to stick around, which should bring us warmer-than-average and drier-than-average conditions, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing going into the harvest season, folks will be able to get out in the fields.” He says that same pattern may continue right into October.

“There are some pretty strong signals that warmer-than-average conditions will persist over the central part of the United States combined with below-average precipitation,” Clabo says. “October is a drier month so below-average precipitation on a normally average to dryish month to begin with doesn’t bode well for filling stock ponds and allowing our stream flow to increase.”

Clabo says the climate outlooks show the La Nina pattern hanging on into winter, for the third year in a row, which -could- mean a warmer-than-normal winter ahead for Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – Officials with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers will cut short the navigation season on the Missouri River this fall due to the continued drought. John Remus, chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Office, says they’ve been conserving water for months. “We restrict our releases from Gavins Point, we start cutting service to navigation,” Remus says. “When that both is a lesser service during the flow support season and then if it gets worse, we will make that flow support season shorter.”

Clear signs of the drought first began to emerge in July of 2020, and Remus says one priority is to keep a reserve of water in the upstream reservoirs. “If it gets real bad, if we reach a certain level of storage in the system, we don’t support navigation at all for that year,” Remus says, “and if we ever reach that, and we never have, we could maintain that lower level of service to all the other purposes, even if we get what we call lower decile run offs which are very, very dry years.”

The Corps has cut back releases, dropping Missouri River levels by a full foot, which will impact boat traffic and could affect municipal water supplies and other utilities that rely on the river. Navigation continues on the Missouri, though barges will have to lighten their loads to float. Remus says the navigation season will end November 28th, which is three days early.

(Radio Iowa) – This is Tractor Safety Day, the first day of National Farm Safety Week, and one of the biggest dangers involving farm tractors is a lack of rollover protection. A program offers Iowa tractor owners a rebate to install rollover protective structures, or ROPS. Jackie Curnick, program coordinator at the University of Iowa’s Environmental Health Sciences Research Center, says the rebate saves money — and rollbars save lives. Curnick says, “We can provide up to $500 in funding for a retrofitted rollbar and typically that’s about half of the price of the retrofit.” The program often has a lengthy national wait list but Curnick says Iowans have a special “in” and should apply for the rebate.

“Iowa is lucky because we do have some funds available, so we do say, ‘Yes get on the list,'” Curnick says. “In the last couple of years we’ve retrofitted about 30 tractors because we have that funding through the Iowa Center for Agricultural Safety and Health.” Studies find ROPS are 99% effective in preventing injury or death in the event of a rollover when used with a seatbelt, and 70% effective when used without a seatbelt.

“Half of U.S. tractors don’t have rollover protection. They are the leading cause of death on a farm, and 80% of deaths caused by tractor rollovers happen to farmers,” Curnick says. “The most frequent cause of them are going from the side or rear turnovers and that’s about 96 deaths per year.” She says virtually any tractor can be retrofitted with a ROPS. Learn more about the rebate program at www.i-cash.org.

Chris Parks and Cass/Adair County Conservation Officer Grant Gelly talk about all things outdoors. This week they discuss fall migration, deer tag sales, youth and archery deer seasons getting started, and much more.

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(Radio Iowa) – The chief of Iowa’s Parks, Forests and Preserves Bureau is asking Iowans to mark Saturday, September 24th on their calendars to lend a hand with sprucing up our state parks. It’s the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ sixth annual Statewide Volunteer Day and Sherry Arntzen is encouraging everyone who loves and uses our park system to sign up. “We have a number of different volunteer projects in some of the parks,” Arntzen says. “It could be putting together picnic tables, painting picnic tables, picking up trash, helping with some invasive species removal, planting trees, or staining other buildings that we have.”

There are projects planned all across the state at about one in every four of Iowa’s state parks. “So we have 71 state parks and forests. Right now, we have 18 parks that have scheduled events on the 24th,” Arntzen says, “but if people are interested in learning about other volunteer opportunities at some of our parks, we encourage them to reach out to the park offices direct.” Arntzen says Iowa’s state parks are “beloved places for many Iowans,” and the D-N-R staff greatly appreciates the help volunteers provide.   “We’re down a little bit this year on the number of scheduled projects especially since COVID,” Arntzen says. “We have a large increase in our number of guests that we serve in our parks, so we have been quite busy this year with just our day-to-day operations.”

Some of the projects can be tackled rain or shine, but if the weather looks inclement, volunteers should contact the individual park office in case of changes to the date, time or meeting location. To sign up, log on to: www.iowadnr.gov/volunteer