(Atlantic) – The recent rains and the more moderate temperatures make this fall a great time for gardening projects. And, if you’re looking for late-season additions to your yard and garden, the Cass County Master Gardeners have just the event for you!  Their second annual Fall Plant Sale will be held Saturday, October 10th, at the Cass County Community Center, (805 W 10th Street, on the Cass County Fairgrounds).  The sale begins at 8 AM, and will be held in the front parking lot of the Community Center. Interested gardeners are encouraged to arrive early for best plant selection, as the annual spring and fall sales occasionally sell out before 10 AM.

The sale will be open to the public to purchase divided perennials suitable for fall planting. Plants already confirmed to be on the sale include hosta, spring-flowering bulbs, daylilies, perennial geranium, sedum, ornamental grasses, and Naked Lady bulbs. Additional plants will continue to be added to the sale, as well as possibly some garden tools and decor.

The Master Gardeners were unable to hold their annual Spring Plant Sale this year due to the COVID pandemic, so a large selection is anticipated as this will be the only opportunity to purchase from the group this year.  Due to the pandemic, several safety measures will be in place for this sale, including recommending the use of masks, spreading out sale items to allow for social distancing, a one-way traffic flow for shoppers and, if necessary, limiting the number of people shopping at any given time.  Hand sanitizer stations and options for drive-through pickup will also be available.

The Master Gardeners appreciate the great response to the group’s Bulb Sale, consisting of pre-orders for tulip and narcissus (daffodil) bulbs. As of the latest report, all of the tulip bulbs have been sold, while roughly half of the narcissus (daffodil) bulbs are still available.  Order forms and photos of the variety colors can be found at the Cass County Extension Office or on the Extension website at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.  All pre-ordered bulbs will be available for pickup at the plant sale, and any remaining bulbs will be available for purchase that day. Bulbs will be sold in bags of 5 mixed colors for $5/bag. Pre-orders are still being taken, and are encouraged to guarantee availability of bulbs.

Cass County Master Gardeners will be bringing a variety of plants from their own gardens, as well as plants dug from gardens around the community, for this sale.  Community members are also welcome to donate plants to this event, and members may even help you dig! Please call in advance and make arrangements to drop off donated plants before the date of the plant sale.

For more information about these events and about Master Gardener activities in Cass County, please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu.  In addition, you are invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG to keep up with local events and tips for gardening!

• KJAN, Atlantic  .06″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .04″
• Massena  .26″
• Anita  .13″
• Audubon  .02″
• Oakland  .09″
• Red Oak  .26″
• Bridgewater  .35″
• Clarinda  .2″
• Shenandoah  .16″
• Creston  .24″

The Cass County Conservation Board is holding their 6th Biennial Lighted Halloween Campground on Oct. 24th. The until then, the Board is looking for people, groups, or organizations to sign-up for a site in the campground to decorate (non-Scary) with Halloween decorations.

Prizes will be for the top three voted sites, and for some special categories. Deadline for decorating a site sign up is October 16th, and the groups will have Saturday (Oct. 24th) from Noon-on, to decorate. You do get Saturday night camping for FREE. (if you choose to camp- not required) You DO NOT have to have a camper (Naturalist Lora Kanning says they’ve seen some great sites done with tents and easy-ups, etc.) Message, call, or email CCCB with your Name, email and Phone number.

The event will take place from 7-until 9-p.m. Oct. 24th, at Cold Springs State Park, in Lewis. It’ll be a great non-scary, Family Friendly, FREE drive into the night!  Call the Cass County Conservation Office to get involved @712-769-2372! The event will be cancelled if there is inclement weather.

For more information, follow Lighted Halloween Campground on Facebook.

(Radio Iowa) – The harvest is underway this year weeks ahead of last year and a safety expert says that’s important. Iowa State University professor Charles Schwab says rushing to get crops out of the fields creates more dangerous situations for farmers. He says we have a better window this year to get things done, but there could be some issues with downed corn this year. Millions of acres of corn were knocked down or bent over by the August 10th derecho.

Schwab says the earlier harvest gives more time to deal with that and other situation that arises.  Schwab says not rushing to get the crops in before the first snow is good — although he says you never know with the weather. Schwab says worrying about the timing of the harvest can take a toll. “I don’t think a lot of them realize the amount of stress that comes from that and how that stress impacts your body and how that impacting your body does things that put you at risk. It’s a key element,” Schwab says.

He says farmers need to eat right and get enough rest to stay healthy and not having such a tight window to get the crops in should allow them to do that.

The Cass County Conservation Board will begin a paving project at Cold Springs Park on Monday September 28, 2020. The Board asks all campers, camping the weekend of September 26-27 to please vacate the park by 5:00pm on Sunday September 27. The park will be closed to traffic/use for a couple days, pending weather, to complete the project.

The CCCB says “We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but are excited to have the project completed to offer a better experience in the park. If you have any questions please call our office at 712-769-2372.”

(Radio Iowa) – The health of the ethanol industry has been a staple of Iowa campaigns for years and 2020 is no different. This month, the Trump Administration denied 54 waivers that would have exempted oil refineries from blending ethanol into gasoline. In addition, Trump himself announced the E-P-A will let states decide new pumps aren’t necessary and gasoline that’s 15 percent ethanol can be dispensed from existing E-10 pumps. “That saves tremendous amounts of money for the people in the ethanol industry,” Trump says.

During a recent conference call organized by Joe Biden’s campaign, former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack questioning the election year timing of these announcements. “I think farmers are justified in being suspicious and concerned about what may happen after an election,” Vilsack said. So, what’s the economic impact of these recent ethanol pronouncements? Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says 40 percent of U.S. ethanol plants were temporarily shut down this spring.

The pandemic was the main driver of that, but Goss says the administration’s dithering over ethanol waivers for the oil industry didn’t help. “I won’t say it’s too late, but it certainly should have been earlier,” Goss says of the waiver announcement for 2011 through 2018 waivers. Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart says getting retailers to sell a higher blend of ethanol seems to be the industry’s aim. “Originally it was E85, but a lot of the concentration now has been on E15 and getting that expanded nationwide,” Hart says.

President Trump announced a year ago that E-15 could be sold year-round. During a trip to Iowa last month, Trump’s ag secretary, Sonny Perdue, promised any future oil industry waivers would not reduce the federal ethanol production mandate of a net 15 billion gallons. “That’s an important consideration,” Perdue said. Iowa plants produce nearly a third of the U.S. ethanol supply.

The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board will meet 5:15-p.m. Monday, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. During their session, the Board will hear from Parks & Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen, with regard to:

• The Mascot Challenge
• Mollett Park (Walking path completed by the Atlantic Street Dept.)
  

  Mollet Park paved walking path (Atlantic Parks & Rec photos)

• The Walkability Maps
• Nishna Park washout
• Online Shelter Reservations, and…
• A Park Video.

In his regular report, Ramussen will update the Board on:

• The Schildberg Rec Area Campground – which is full
• Nesting Boxes
• Painting of playground equipment
  

  One of the many pieces of playground equipment has received a fresh coat of paint.

• Bandshell painting (Members of the Atlantic 1st Church of Christ worked on the project).
  

  Sunnyside Park Bandshell painted

• Bull Creek washout issues addressed
• Vandalism
• and Grants.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has relaxed the fishing regulations at Upper Decatur/Tieville Bend and Louisville Bend in Monona County. Low water levels in the Missouri River have trapped fish in these areas and water levels are continuing to drop.

Anglers with a valid sport fishing license may harvest all sizes and unlimited quantities of any species of fish from Upper Decatur/Tieville Bend and Louisville Bend, with the exception of Threatened or Endangered Species. Any number of fishing poles or jug fishing is allowed. Anglers must remain in sight of these lines at all times, and follow all other fishing regulations and area rules. Trot lines will be allowed (name and address must be attached), however lines may not be set across the entire water body.

Liberalized fishing regulations for Upper Decatur/Tieville Bend and Louisville Bend will be in effect through Oct. 31. Note: Blue Lake is not included in these liberalized regulations.

Dynamite, poison, electric shocking devices, or any stupefying substances are not allowed. It is illegal to sell fish or stock captured fish into public waters.

(Radio Iowa) – President Trump has announced another round of federal assistance to farmers who continue to see prices for commodities dip due to the pandemic. Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart says the spending was authorized by the so-called CARES Act that passed congress this spring. “This has been telegraphed for some time,” Hart says. “It’s about $13-14 billion dollars of support here…to help producers that are still suffering from price losses from earlier.” Producers of livestock, dairy and eggs as well as so-called fish farms are eligible to apply for these new payments. Farmers who raise corn, cotton, beans, wheat and specialty crops like fruits and nuts are eligible, too.

In August, the U-S-D-A estimated federal payments would account for 36 percent of farm income this year and these payments will push that share even higher. A recent report shows that in general, southern farmers are getting bigger checks from the U-S-D-A than Midwestern farmers. Hart says that’s because the payments are based on the Farm Bill.  “When you look back at previous Farm Bill packages, they tended to be more tilted to southern crops as well,” Hart says, “and so when we piggyback on previous programs, they tend to line up the same way.”

Hart made his comments this (Friday) morning during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S.