The National Weather Service in Des Moines, says there will be an increased Fire Danger risk across the northwestern two-thirds of Iowa Monday afternoon. Locally, counties included in the Elevated Fire Danger advisory are: Crawford, Carroll, Audubon, Guthrie, Dallas, Cass, Adair, Madison, Adams, Union, Taylor and Ringgold.

Much warmer temperatures are expected by mid-afternoon, Monday. Along with warm readings, dry relative humidity of 20-to 25%, and winds at 20-to 25-mph with higher gusts, may push fire conditions to near critical levels for several hours, Monday afternoon. With harvesting occurring in many areas, caution is advised, due to the increased potential for fires to spread rapidly.

Monitor later forecasts and statements for possible Fire Weather Watches or Warnings.

The lineup of activities is set for Harvest Fest in Atlantic on Saturday, October 13th and there will be plenty of activities for the entire family to enjoy.

Crafters will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as well as the quilt show sponsored in part by Atlantic Locker, Rex Pharmacy and Something for you.

Free downtown tractor rides will start at the Depot and ride to City Park and back from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Music can be enjoyed with an acoustic performance of Dirt Road Acoustic Rehab, a country and blues sounding local band, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. presented by McDermott and Son Roofing and Tanner’s Fashions.  The band will also be performing in full on Friday night during the Rib Fest activities.

Apple pies must be entered by 2 p.m. Saturday at the Depot for the Gade Insurance & Farmer’s Kitchen Contest and the Children’s Pumpkin Painting with McCurdy Pumpkins will be at 3 p.m.

Atlantic Chamber Director Megan Roberts said “The pumpkins typically go fast, so we encourage everyone to show up early. While families are there waiting, they can enjoy tractor rides, lunch, crafters or the entertainment. There is something for the whole family at this fall festival.”

The U-S Department of Agriculture says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsackwill be near Lewis Monday, to announce the allocation of additional conservation acres for 20 states, including Iowa, under programs to preserve grasslands and wetlands and accelerate protection of critical species and habitat around the country.

U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack

Vilsack will speak near the Zimmerman Farm located  three-quarters of a mile east of the intersection of 525th Street and Idelwood Road, at 3-p.m., Monday.

The allocation includes new acres in Iowa to preserve Pheasant habitat, restore Iowa’s Pheasant population, and ultimately generate economic benefits across Iowa through increased outdoor recreation and hunting.  The Secretary will also highlight the importance of passing comprehensive, multi-year food, farm and jobs legislation, which officials say will provide America’s rural communities with the certainty that millions of acres of conservation lands will be there in the future to sustain and create jobs in the small businesses that reinforce the nation’s tourism and recreation industry.

Additional details are currently pending.

Shelby County Emergency Manager Bob Seivert says the Fire Danger level is in the “HIGH” category through Monday, Oct. 8th. The index was lowered from the “Extreme” category due to the cool and damp conditions. Even so, controlled Burns should only be conducted with the knowledge of the local Fire Chief. The next update from Shelby County with regard to the Fire Danger Index, is expected to be released on Monday.  Seivert had said earlier, he expects the Fire Danger to remain High, throughout the month of October.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will hold a public meeting in Atlantic later this month, to discuss outdoor recreation. The 2-hour meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m., Oct. 18th, in the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce Rock Island Depot meeting room.  The Atlantic meeting is one of a series being held across the state to gather information to develop a new 5-year outdoor recreation plan for Iowa.  The draft plan will be available for public comment in December before it is submitted to the National Park Service.

Michelle Wilson, project leader for the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, says “We want Iowans with an interest in outdoor recreation or who participate in outdoor recreation to attend this meeting and help set a course for the future of outdoor recreation.” Wilson says they want residents to tell the DNR what recreational activities they would like to participate in, what amenities or conveniences would help you participate more often and what should the state focus on when it comes to outdoor recreation.

The plan will serve as a guide for future projects developed by the Iowa DNR.

The U-S Army Corps of Engineers plans to hold a half-dozen public meetings in the Missouri River basin in the coming weeks to talk about its operating plans for 2013. Corps spokeswoman Monique Farmer says they want to hear from people who were affected by the Corps’ management of the Missouri River.  “It’s been a year that looked quite different than what we saw last year,” Farmer says. “The conditions changed and we’ve gone into some level of drought conservation. Looking forward, toward the spring of 2013, we see that we will be starting below the base of that annual flood control pool which will mean that we will likely reduce some levels of service.”

Long-range forecasts point to below-normal snowfall in the region for the winter ahead. Farmer says it looks like releases from Gavins Point Dam near Yankton will also be below-normal all winter. Releases during the winter months, December through February, will be at the minimum level of 12,000 cubic feet per second as a drought conservation measure. Farmer says they are working with cities and power plants on several stretches of the Missouri River. “Right now, we are coordinating with municipalities downstream and folks who have industrial interests, to try and determine what areas caused the most problems for them with releases so we can keep an eye out and adjust releases as necessary throughout the winter to try and take heed of some of those areas of concern.”

Farmer says the draft operating plan will be released early next year. One of the meetings is scheduled for 11 A-M on October 31st at the Stoney Creek Inn & Conference Center in Sioux City. Other meetings are planned in: Fort Peck, Montana; Bismarck, North Dakota; Pierre, South Dakota; and in St. Joseph and Columbia, Missouri.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Rural Iowans for Obama campaign have announced a rural roundtable will be held in Clarinda, Friday. The event is being held to talk about issues facing rural communities, and will be hosted by Jennifer Herrington, member of the Rural Iowans for Obama Steering Committee and the Page County Democratic Chair.

Participants at the meeting will discuss the need for Congress to pass a farm bill, and matters pertaining to wind energy. The meeting takes place at Down Right Delicious in Clarinda (120 S. 15th St.), beginning at 8:30-a.m., Friday, Oct. 5th.

The DNR reports public meetings will be held across the state to gather input on proposed water quality standards designated use changes for a fourth batch of select rivers and streams. Officials say the changes help protect aquatic life and recreational uses.

For a list of stream designations being revised in the water quality standards, please refer to the list posted at: www.iowadnr.gov/InsideDNR/RegulatoryWater/WaterQualityStandards/DesignatedUses/UseAssessments.aspx

Locally, a meeting will be held in Atlantic, on Nov. 13th, from 3 to 6 p.m., at the Atlantic Rock Island Depot, 102 Chestnut St.

Those not able to attend the meetings may submit written comments or questions through Dec. 10th, to: Rochelle Cardinale, DNR, 502 East Ninth St., Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0034; by fax to 515-281-8895; or by email to rochelle.cardinale@dnr.iowa.gov.

w/ Dr. Keith Leonard

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ST. LOUIS (AP) – A weekly drought report shows that conditions have worsened in some key Midwest farming states where the corn harvest is more than halfway completed. The U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday shows that 75 percent of Iowa, the nation’s biggest corn producer, is enduring extreme or exceptional drought, which are the two worst classifications. That’s up roughly 10 percentage points from the previous week.

The worse conditions won’t make much difference to Iowa’s already withered corn crop but it could affect crops such as winter wheat. Nearly 98 percent of neighboring Nebraska still falls into the two most severe drought categories.  Overall drought conditions in the lower 48 states remained relatively unchanged.