• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 can (2.8 oz.) french fried onions, crushed
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz. each)

In a shallow bowl, combine the butter, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.  Place the onions in another shallow bowl.  Dip the chicken in butter mixture, then coat with onions.

Place in a greased 11″ x 7″ x 2″ baking dish; drizzle with remaining butter mixture.  Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Chris Parks visits with Victoria Means of Cass County Public Health about the Disaster PrepWise program.

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• KJAN, Atlantic  1.13″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  1.23″
• Atlantic Airport  1.18″
• Massena  2.58″
• Anita  1.5″
• Avoca  1.3″
• Elk Horn  .47″
• Audubon  1.16″
• Oakland  1.18″
• Neola  1.8″
• Corning  2.82″
• Manning  1.08″
• Guthrie Center  1.1″
• Red Oak  1.9″
• Underwood  1.28″
• Carroll  .8″
• Clarinda  .84″
• Shenandoah  1.36″
• Creston  1.04″

(Radio Iowa) – A report from a national agricultural organization says climate change is already impacting the production of Iowa’s key crops and it offers dire predictions for a more challenging future. John Piotti, president and C-E-O of American Farmland Trust, says shifts in rainfall patterns that bring extremes like drought and flooding, are combining with warmer weather to make it very difficult — if not impossible — to continue the way we currently farm.

The report says 80-percent of our cropland is at risk due to rising temperatures and rainfall changes. By 2040, the report projects only 33-percent of the acres now devoted to corn are likely to remain highly productive with the current corn varieties. Piotti says with the right tools and support, agricultural producers can continue to adapt to climate changes and help reverse the trends.

To ward off the worst impacts of climate change, Piotti says farmers and non-farmers can work to limit global warming and to increase the resiliency and profitability of farmland.

(Radio Iowa) – A New London man will spend two years in federal prison after admitting to using union funds for his personal expenses. Fifty-three-year-old Darin Boatman pleaded guilty to using a credit card from the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 617 in Fort Madison for his personal expenses.

He was the president of the union representing Conagra employees, and the expenses included vacations to Florida, work on his car, and attorney fees. He also admitted to writing checks from a union account for personal expenses. Boatman agreed to pay 74-thousand dollars in restitution

(Radio Iowa) – A national group is helping a family near Wellman continuing to recover from the damage done by the March 31st tornado, as planting season gets underway. Clint Whetstine’s family’s farms have been in Wellman since the late 1880s. There are multiple farmsteads, and while not every one saw destruction — Whetstine tells K-C-R-G T-V the E-F4 tornado wiped out one. “Did not have a structure left standing here,” Whetstine says, “the machine sheds, the livestock buildings, they’re all gone.”

Dan Erdmann and the non-profit group Farm Rescue is helping the Whetstines with the big task of recovery. “The whole goal is to lighten the burden. He said, “As you might imagine, there’s still quite a bit of debris strewn about so we’ve been cleaning up the fields. But the last few days we’ve been doing that tillage work.”  While the nonprofit gets many requests, he tells K-C-R-G T-V this particular instance is one that has taken priority. “As you might imagine, there’s still quite a bit of debris strewn about so we’ve been cleaning up the fields. But the last few days we’ve been doing that tillage work,” he says.

Farm damage near Wellman, IA. (KCRG-TV photo)

Erdman says they call it a hand up, not a hand out. He says they’re providing tangible support just to get them through this crisis and onto the next season, and hopefully keep them farming long-term.

(Radio Iowa) – There’s Effigy Mounds National Monument in the northeast Iowa town of Harpers Ferry, but outside of that, Iowa has no big national parks that draw visitors from around the world. Still, Iowans are encouraged to sign up to lend a hand during this National Volunteer Week through the National Park Service. The agency’s volunteer program manager Shari Orr explains what the effort is all about. “National Volunteer Week was created many years ago by Points of Light,” Orr says, “and it was really just an opportunity to recognize the value and impact of volunteers across the country.”

The week was established in 1974 and has grown exponentially each year, with thousands of volunteer projects and special events scheduled. “Our two internal goals for this week are to say ‘thank you’ to all of our current volunteers,” Orr says, “and to say ‘join us’ to folks who haven’t volunteered in a while or who have not yet volunteered with us.” While volunteering is a way to give back to your community, for some, giving back is also a way to receive. Orr says if you’ve always wanted to visit a particular national park, say Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, or Yosemite, this could be your golden opportunity.

“People like to get involved in that special place in their community, but they also like to volunteer to those parks that they’ve dreamed about traveling to for their whole lives.” She encourages Iowans to search the National Park Service’s website — N-P-S-dot-gov — and see what opportunities they find.

nps.gov

Chris Parks speaks with Cass County Relay for Life Committee Chair Carole Schuler about the 2023 Relay that is set for Sunday, June 25th from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Nishna Valley Family YMCA. Sign up at www.relayforlife.org/casscountyia

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(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa crop report shows farmers were able to get some planting done last week. The week saw severe storms and snow flurries, but farmers also got some unseasonably warm weather and planted seven percent of the expected corn crop. That’s almost two weeks ahead of last year and six days ahead of the five-year average. The report says some farmers are still waiting for extended warm days to bring the soil temperature up — while others are hoping for some more rain before putting the planter into the fields.

(Radio Iowa) – One hundred members of the Iowa legislature have voted to let Iowa dairy farms sell raw milk. If the governor signs the bill into law, it would still be illegal to sell unpasteurized milk at farmers markets or in restaurants, but raw milk and products like cheese or yogurt made with raw milk could be sold at the farm where it’s processed. Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, celebrated last (Monday) night as the senate was on the verge of taking a final action on the bill.

“Senate File 315 is the fresh milk, the freedom milk bill I call it…and I have been waiting actually 17 years to say: ‘Madame President, I mooove the Senate concur’…and ask for a yes vote,” Schultz said, getting a round of laughter from his peers. Forty-nine legislators in the House and Senate voted against the bill. Representative Megan Srinivas, a Democrat from Des Moines, says drinking raw milk can be dangerous and as an infectious disease doctor, she’s treated several children who were exposed to bacteria in raw milk.

“As an infectious disease physician, anecdotally I have seen several cases of kids who are brought before me because they’ve been exposed to the bacteria that come from unpasteurized milk,” Srinivas says. “…It’s one thing if it’s an adult choosing what milk that they’re consuming, but when we have children who are falling victim because they are given milk that can make them sick, have permanent or even lethal ramifications, that’s where I get concerned.” Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, says people have been consuming raw milk for thousands of years.

“It’s just an option, just like I can get eggs, a quarter of beef, honey or an apple,” Kaufmann says. “We’re simply adding this to a list of foods that people can get without ‘Jiminy Cricket’ the government sitting on their shoulder and whispering what’s best for their families.”

The dairy industry opposes the bill, arguing if there’s an outbreak of serious illness associated with raw milk, then ALL milk sales will decline. If the bill becomes law, raw milk sold at an Iowa farm would have to be stored below 45 degrees and sold within seven days of a cow being milked.