The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency said today (Friday), that the Fire Danger Index in Shelby County will remain in the “Moderate” category, through Monday morning, Oct. 22nd. The field and grassland fire danger conditions will be reassessed at that time, and another report issued accordingly.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Parts of drought-stricken Iowa, Nebraska and much of the Midwest are expected to be warmer and drier than normal in early winter.  The Des Moines Register reports that National Weather Service forecast maps issued Thursday show higher-than-normal temperatures are expected over the next three months for the western third of Iowa and all of Nebraska. But lower-than-normal moisture is expected for the eastern third of Nebraska and all of Iowa.

Mike Halpert, of the weather service’s Climate Prediction Center, says the predictions “are the weather service’s best guess, based on a variety of computer models. ”  Iowa state climatologist Harry Hillaker says “the clock is ticking” on refilling Iowa’s soil with moisture before the winter freeze.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources held its 12th and statewide park public forum in Shelby County Thursday evening. The forum was held inside the First Baptist Church in Harlan from 6:30 to 8:30pm. A crowd of over 30 people filled the community room inside the church. The event began with a short introduction by Bob Sherbomb, Regional Director of Parks followed by a video on all state parks in Iowa. The audience was then broken down into smaller groups to go over issues they face with state parks.

Kevin Szcodronski, Bureau Chief of State Parks for the Iowa DNR says the forum was to ask the public their top priorities. He said “Tonight we heard loud and clear the lake is important, fishing and a well kept up park.” Szcodronski says overall the public is not asking for big things. “If I had to summarize all 12 meetings it would be, Iowans are pretty traditional users of state parks. They want access. They want them well kept, open, trails to be good and more electricity.”

Other suggestions for Prairie Rose included a year round lodge or community center to hold family reunions or weddings along with a better office for the staff. Szcodronski says now that all the forums are complete, the DNR will compile the information and look for trends. “Then we are going to compare information from the small groups with information from our telephone surveys with general people of Iowa and compare answers. We want to see if there needs are different with current visitors. We will look at that very close and see what we can do in the future.”

All the information will guide the DNR to the 100th year celebration in 2020 to make all the State Parks in good shape when the spotlight shines on them. Szcodronski says the DNR will be releasing information about the public meetings on their website,  “Probably sometime in later November or early December, we will put some things on the website, some overall summaries and what we have heard from each park. It’s going to take us a while. It will be about a month, month and a half. We will post it on our website www.iowadnr.gov and keep track of it on there.” The public forum on Thursday finished with a short question and answer session with Szcodronski.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

Local residents, business owners and community leaders are invited to share their thoughts about opportunities and challenges in rural Iowa, during a Rural-Issues Roundtable Discussion in Corning, on October 25th. The discussion, featuring USDA Rural Development State Director from Iowa, Bill Menner, will run from 1-to 2:30-p.m. next Thursday, at the Corning Public Library (603 9th St.), in Corning. The meeting is open to the public.

The State Fire Marshals Office and Iowa Department of Public Safety report Burn Bans which had been in place for Carroll and Madison Counties, were lifted this week. The bans on open burning due to the extremely dry summer conditions, were enacted in late July. Recent rains and current climate conditions prompted officials in Carroll and Madison Counties to ask for their burn bans to be rescinded. The ban was lifted in Madison County this (Thursday) morning, while the Carroll County burn ban was lifted Tuesday afternoon. And, as mentioned earlier, a burn ban in Pottawattamie County, was also rescinded, on Wednesday.

Info on animals up for adoption at the Atlantic Animal Shelter.

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Officials with the Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency say the ban on open burning that was in place for the entire county, has been lifted, as of 10- a.m. today (Wedensday, October 17th, 2012). The extremely dry seasonal conditions prompted a three-month burn ban for Pottawattamie County.  EMA Director Doug Reed said in a Press Release, that “The burn ban was a necessary tool to help reduce the potential for widespread, devastating fires throughout the county.”

The Fire Departments in Pottawattamie County and the 9-1-1 Communications Center implemented automatic mutual aid procedures that gave firefighters an edge in responding to reported fires quickly and efficiently. Reed said “Their performance was outstanding and made a dangerous season safer for all our citizens.”

And, although the ban is lifted, Reed says all citizens are urged to use caution whenever burning and to ensure they have water or other protective measures in place to prevent the spread of fires. Citizens living within incorporated city limits should check with their local fire department or city clerk before burning. Some communities have their own ordinances that restrict or prohibit open burning throughout the year.

Anyone conducting a controlled burn is encouraged to report their burn, prior to ignition, by calling the 911 Communication Center’s NON-EMERGENCY number at 712-328-5737.

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