The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency has updated the fire danger warning signs in the county. Emergency Coordinator Bob Seivert says the signs will stay in the moderate category to start the week. He says showers forecasted this morning did not materialize and the winds are once again strong out of the southeast.

The winds will elevate the danger of a wild fire spreading quickly while also gaining fuel by creating drying conditions. The Shelby County EMA will update the situation again on Thursday.

The State of Iowa will use a 250-thousand dollar federal grant to bolster a program that pays gas stations to install “blender” pumps that incorporate a higher percentage of corn-based ethanol in motor fuels. Most Iowa stations offer a 10 percent ethanol blend. Governor Terry Branstad says the goal is to boost usage of a 30 percent blend. “It’s my understanding that 30 percent is kind of the ‘sweet spot’ in terms of the best fuel efficiency with an ethanol blend,” Branstad says.

Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey says the expanded sale of E-30 will help Iowa maintain its leadership position in the ethanol industry. “Not only on the production side, but on the consumption side,” Northey says. E-30 is not approved for use in all vehicles, just the 10 percent of U.S. vehicles that are “flexible fuel” models. Some of the federal grant money will be used for blender pumps the dispense “bio-diesel” which features a soybean-based fuel additive.

Gas station operators and farm co-ops that sell fuel will be able to apply for the grants for blender pumps this spring. Representatives of Iowa’s petroleum and renewable fuels industries attended Governor Branstad’s news conference this morning (Monday) for the “fueling our future” program announcement. “Unlike Washington, D.C. where they’re always fighting and you have this big clash going on between ‘Big Oil’ and renewable energy, we actually have petroleum marketers and the renewable energy association cooperating here in Iowa, working together,” Branstad says. “And obviously that’s very beneficial to our economy, to our farmers and also to our environment.”

There are 41 ethanol plants in Iowa and 25 percent of the ethanol produced in the U.S. comes from Iowa. About 17 percent of the country’s biodiesel comes from the dozen biodiesel plants here.

(Radio Iowa)

Congressman Steve King says procedural steps taken in the U.S. House Friday afternoon are a hopeful sign for the Farm Bill. King expects the house speaker soon will appoint a handful of members of the House to a conference committee that will work with a small group of senators to hammer out a final version of the legislation. “I think the momentum of this thing is moving in the direction of getting closer to get a Farm Bill done,” King says. “Each step along the way we get closer, but it’s been a long and frustrating process.” Congress began soliciting input for a new Farm Bill over two years ago.

“It has been the longest process of any bill that I can think of,” King says. A temporary extension of the current Farm Bill expired September 30th and American agriculture has been operating without any Farm Bill provisions in place since October 1st. King believes a new Farm Bill can be passed in congress yet this year.

(Radio Iowa)

The City of Avoca has been awarded an Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources REAP (Resource Enhancement and Protection)  grant amounting to $75,000 . City Manager Clint Fichter says the grant money will be used for the construction of a 1 mile segment of the Nishnabotna Trail, which will connect the community to the new pedestrian bridge to Edgington Memorial Park. The $243,850 bridge will soon be constructed with the assistance of an additional $171,392 grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation.

REAP invests in projects that enhance and protect the Iowa’s natural and cultural resources. 15% of REAP is set aside for grants to cities for projects that help establish natural areas, encourage outdoor recreation, and resource management.

This fall, REAP is hosting local meetings across the state. These meetings places for public and private organizations, as well as individuals, to plan REAP projects. The full schedule and more information REAP can be found at:

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/REAP/10.7.13%202013%20Assembly%20Schedule.pdf

The Vision Iowa Board has awarded nearly $1.1-million in grants to a public garden in Jefferson, community centers in Templeton and Emmetsburg, a backcountry trail in Coon Rapids and an amphitheater in Waverly. The grants were approved Wednesday by the Vision Iowa Board at their meeting in Des Moines.

A $400,000 Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grant was awarded for the “Opening Whiterock: Iowa’s Backcountry Trail Attraction,” in Coon Rapids. The organization had requested $404, 785 toward the total Project Cost just over $4.22-million.  The award is contingent upon completion of fundraising within 60 days.

This project includes the construction of 35 miles of state-of-the-art “soft trails” through a seven-square-mile landscape at Whiterock Conservancy, remodeling of the Visitors Center and trail signage.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) says residents in the area should avoid outdoor burning today (Thursday). Windy conditions are expected to persist throughout the day, exacerbating any potential fire danger that exists under the current, dry conditions. In addition, the Fire Danger Index in Shelby County will continue to be in the “Moderate” category until at least Monday.

Andrea Farrior and Chris Parks discuss the latest happenings at the Atlantic Animal Shelter.

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AMES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa State University grain storage expert says farmers should make sure they have a plan in place to handle corn that could have inconsistent levels of moisture, making this year’s crop more likely to develop mold problems. Professor Charles Hurburgh says the cold and wet spring followed by a heat wave late in the growing season results in a crop characterized by inconsistency.

He says farmers should make sure to get their corn cooled and dried as soon as possible after harvest because sharp differences in maturity, weight and moisture content create the potential for spoilage once the grain is stored in a bin. Corn value drops if more than 5 percent shows mold and falls dramatically if mold spreads to more than 20 percent of the kernels.