The Cass County 4-H program hosted their annual 4-H County Convention awards program on Sunday, November 11 at the Cass County Community Center. The event, which recognized achievements from the 2017-2018 4-H year, was organized by the 4-H Youth Council and Youth Action Committee. At County Convention, members and leaders of thirteen 4-H clubs in Cass County were present on stage to receive recognition. Record book project awards were announced and recognition was given to members who did outstanding project work throughout the year. Local club leaders were recognized for their service to the 4-H program. Leaders receiving 5 year awards include: Dana McConnell, Jan Steffen, Tarah Anderson, Jeff Anderson, Eva Jensen, Windy Smith, Chris Schroder, Laura Freund and Christy Casey.

Special recognition was given to the Benton Franklin 4-H Club for their exceptional community service projects, and Bear Grove Blazers 4-H Club for their promotional activities during National 4-H Week. Many clubs were also recognized for herdsmanship at fair, clubs who contributed to the Endowment Fund, and club officers were also recognized for their excellent work. “This was a great event for 4-Hers to receive recognition for their accomplishments,” stated Shelby Van Horn, Cass County Youth Coordinator.

Every year Cass County 4-H gives out three special awards. This year’s distinguished service award went to Oathoudt Farm Supply. Receiving an Honorary Member award was Marcy Dorsey and receiving the 4-H Alumni award was Shane Smith. We appreciate what these supporters have done and will continue to do for the Cass County 4-H Program. “This year 21 Clover Kids who have completed 3rd Grade and moved into 4-H. A Clover Kids Graduation ceremony to recognize those members, and help them transition into the 4-H program. This is our second year of this event taking place and we are thrilled to have so many young members excited about 4-H!” said Van Horn.

The program ended with the installation of the 2018-2019 Cass County Youth Council. 4-Her’s serving on the council include: Claire Smith, Katie York, Eric Plagman, Mitchell Williamson, Nathan Behrends, Aly Brockob, Grace Clay, Craig Alan Becker, Carli Henderson, Emily Plagman, Haley Becker, and Jacob Rattenborg. Following the celebration, treats were provided for the parents, relatives, friends and 4-H supporters who attended this celebration and recognition event for Cass County 4-H members and leaders.

(Radio Iowa) — The fees for hunting, fishing and trapping licenses in Iowa will soon increase. A legislative committee has given final approval to the license fee increases, which were proposed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources staff. Bruce Trautman, the acting director of the Department of Natural Resources, says “Generally speaking, it’s about a 17 percent in those fees, so it’s a modest increase that is certainly going to cover some of our critical needs we have within the wildlife bureau, the fisheries bureau and also our conservation officers.”

It’s been 15 years since the state license fee for fishing was raised, as Republican lawmakers have vowed NOT to raise state taxes OR fees. So…Iowa legislators recently handed over authority to D-N-R staff to set hunting, fishing and trapping license fees. The fees go into the state’s Fish and Wildlife Fund and are used on staff salaries and to do things like improve wildlife habitat and run the state’s fish hatcheries. Trautman says the new fees won’t take effect until next year. “If we don’t have any reductions in the number of licenses — when you raise something, you take a bit of a risk (and) there might be a few folks dropping out — we’re anticipating about a $4.5 million increase,” Trautman says.

There’s been a growing reliance on FEES to run the D-N-R. The amount of GENERAL state tax dollars budgeted for the agency is less than half of what it was a decade ago. Sporting groups lobbied for the increase in hunting, fishing and trapping license fees for several years.

(Radio Iowa) — A delegation of Iowa pork producers and industry officials is now in Korea after spending several days in Japan on what’s being called a “meat mission.” Pat McGonegle, C-E-O of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, spoke with Iowa reporters from Seoul and says they’ve kept a tight schedule of face-to-face talks with supermarket officials, packers and even an ambassador. McGonegle says, “We’ve been meeting with some retailers, certainly a lot of importers, food service users of our U.S. pork product here in both countries.”  Japan is the top importer of Iowa pork products and South Korea is the number-two importer. McGonegle is among nine Iowans on the trade trip and he says their message is being well received. “U.S. product is viewed as a very high quality product,” McGonegle says. “We’re a reliable supplier and that’s been important to us but we’re also in a very competitive market. Other countries are friendly competitors, they’re taking opportunities to be as aggressive as they can be.”

That marketplace aggression is expected and it’s healthy, he says. “It’s in our nature in agriculture, when somebody competes with us, we’re going to become more competitive,” McGonegle says. “We’re being more aggressive because our competitors are being more aggressive.” Lee Schulz, a livestock economist with the Iowa State University Extension, calls South Korea the “star market” for U-S pork, given the direction tariffs have taken trade in many areas of the world. “We’ve seen a loss of export share to some of our major exporting destinations, being Mexico and to some degree, China, especially when you look at pork variety meats,” Schulz says. “South Korea has absorbed a lot of that additional production that’s available.”

McGonegle says there’s much support in South Korea for the new trade agreement, while in Japan there’s an urgency for reaching a new accord with the U-S for free trade. At day’s end, he says, “the image, the quality and the reliability of U-S pork helps keep us in first place.”

w/Denny Heflin.

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(Radio Iowa) — They called it a “harvest bee” as friends and neighbors brought their equipment to the fields of a Plymouth County farmer Tuesday, who suffered the loss of his son in an airplane crash. Thirty-six-year old Patrick Kellen was one of four people to die when the plane crashed Friday, on the way to a hunting trip. Marty Pippett helped organized the harvest bee for Kellen’s father Del.  On Tuesday, he said they were running with six 12-row combines, six grains carts, and 16 semis running grain back and forth.

Pippett says it only took some phone calls to line up farmers to help out. “Obviously with the tragedy that occurred over the weekend — everybody wants to do what they can to help out the Kellen family and let them have the time that they need with their family,” Pippett says. “There was an outpouring of support from everyone in the farming community. We started making some phone calls yesterday, and without hesitation, everyone stepped up to the plate.”

He was not surprised by the response. “Just another example of how this community is pretty special and everybody will do what they can to help each other out,” Pippett says. The farmers all converged on a cornfield in the southeast area of Plymouth to harvest the remaining 600 acres of corn left in the fields. Pippett says the goal was to finish the harvest before the Kellen wake scheduled for Thursday and the funeral which is scheduled for Friday.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) — Friends and neighbors are pitching in to harvest the crops of a northwest Iowa farmer who was killed in a plane crash last Friday night.  Four people lost their lives when the plane went down in Guthrie County, after the pilot suffered a heart attack. One of them was 36-year-old Patrick Kellen. Del Kellen farms in Plymouth County and is the father of Patrick Kellen. A harvesting bee has been organized for today, consisting of at least six combines, six grain carts and 16 semi trucks and trailers.

They will converge on a cornfield in the southeast area of Plymouth County helping the Kellen family harvest the remaining 600 acres of corn left in the fields. A friend of the family says they hope to finish the harvest before the wake service scheduled for Thursday and the funeral which is scheduled for Friday.

(Radio Iowa) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency says U.S. drivers WILL have access to E15 gasoline next summer. Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is trying to alleviate concerns about the timeline his agency has proposed for moving to year-round sales of E15. “We will be able to go to year-round E15 by next summer. This is a commitment by President Trump,” Wheeler said.

The published agenda by the EPA shows E15 rule making will begin in February. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and other ethanol supporters say that timeline would make it difficult to deliver E15 for the 2019 summer driving season. Wheeler insists the normal rulemaking process will be completed in time. “So, that does take a little bit of time but our people are already working on it and we’ll be putting out the proposal and getting those comments and then finalizing it before the driving season,” Wheeler said.

The Renewable Fuels Association has said the EPA should expedite the rulemaking process so drivers and the industry have the assurance of next summer’s E15 availability. According to Wheeler, all deadlines will be met for it to be available.

JASPER COUNTY, Iowa – The Iowa DNR says a man setting up hunting blinds for a Veteran’s Deer Hunt, was run over by a UTV Saturday afternoon, in rural Jasper County. 58-year old James Whitson, was run over at around 1:30-p.m. by a Polaris Ranger at the Reichelt Unit Area.

Authorities say the incident happened, as 72-year old David Drew was backing the Polaris Ranger up to a trailer. Whitson was located between the trailer and the Ranger when Drew pushed the accelerator instead of the brake.

Whitson was transported to Methodist Medical Center by helicopter and the extent of his injuries are unknown. The investigation is on-going by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officers.

TAYLOR COUNTY, Iowa — Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources report four men from outside of Iowa have plead guilty in court, to the illegal taking of deer and other charges, associated with a hunt in Taylor County. On Wednesday, November 7th, Iowa DNR Conservation Officers Andrea Bevington and Adam Arnold were checking hunters in deer camps in Taylor County when they observed one group of hunters with an untagged deer.  After interviewing the hunters, the conservation officers uncovered numerous hunting violations including falsifying residency and hunting with Missouri deer licenses in Iowa.

Authorities say 39-year old Davis Dunlap, of Willow Spring, North Carolina pled guilty to one count of no non-resident any-sex deer bow license and one count of no non-resident antlerless deer bow license with fines totaling over $1,250; 29-year old Nathan Granger, of DeQuincy, Louisiana pled guilty to one count of illegal take of an antlerless deer and one count of no non-resident antlerless deer bow license.  Fines and liquidated damages totaled over $2,090 plus condemnation of a bow and other hunting equipment.; 52-year old Ralph Thompson, of Dry Creek, Louisiana pled guilty to two counts of illegal take of an antlerless deer, one count of false claim of resident deer license and one (1) count of no non-resident any-sex deer bow license.  Fines and liquidated damages totaled over $4,400 plus condemnation of a bow and other hunting equipment.

27-year old Clint Bushnell, of Dry Creek, Louisiana pled guilty to one count of illegal take of an antlered deer (over 150 pts), one count of illegal take of an antlerless deer and one count of no non-resident any-sex deer license.  Fines and liquidated damages totaled over $11,200 plus condemnation of a bow and other hunting equipment.

Total fines, liquidated damages and equipment condemned exceeded $23,600.   Four deer were donated to the DNR HUSH program.