KJAN Sports Director Asa Lucas’ weekly discussion with Atlantic Head Football Coach Joe Brummer. We get you introduced to the 2024 squad and talk about the Week 0 match-up with the Council Bluffs Jefferson Yellow Jackets.

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(Des Moines, Iowa) –  Officials with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Thursday evening (8/22) announced the first case of West Nile virus (WNV) infection reported in 2024, is an older adult (61-80 years) from Harrison County. The case was confirmed through a test at the State Hygienic Lab.

Warm summer weather means Iowans are spending more time outside which increases the risk of mosquito bites. Bites from infected mosquitos are the primary method in which humans are infected with the virus.

For the best protection against the virus, Iowans should use an insect repellent with DEET, Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, Para-menthane-diol, 2-undecanone or IR3535. Insect repellent lowers the risk of mosquito bites.

• Always read and follow label directions. Consult with a health care provider if you have questions when using these types of products on children.
• Oil of lemon eucalyptus and Para-menthane-diol should not be used on children younger than 3 years, and DEET should not be used on infants younger than 2 months.
• If you are also using sunscreen, apply sunscreen first and insect repellent second.

  Additional steps Iowans can take to protect themselves include:

• Wear long-sleeved shirts, pants, shoes, and socks outdoors when possible.
• Look for standing water in buckets, cans, pool covers, used tires, pet water dishes, and other areas water may collect.
• Clear standing water from around your home where mosquitos reproduce.

Iowans infected with WNV may not experience any signs or symptoms of the virus. Some people experience minor symptoms like fever and mild headache. Others, however, can develop serious symptoms such as a high fever, headache, disorientation, and muscle weakness.

People who experience mild signs and symptoms of a WNV infection generally recover on their own. But illness that includes a severe headache, disorientation, or sudden weakness require immediate medical attention.

In 2023, 17 Iowans were diagnosed with West Nile virus, with one death.

For more information on West Nile virus, visit https://hhs.iowa.gov/center-acute-disease-epidemiology/epi-manual/reportable-diseases/west-nile-virus.

(Radio Iowa) – Most Iowans are familiar with the emerald ash borer and the insect’s threat to our foliage, but we’re also being asked to be on guard for another insect that’s equally as lethal to a much wider variety of trees. Rhonda Santos, a spokeswoman for the U-S-D-A, says August is “Tree Check Month” and Iowa homeowners should examine their trees for the Asian longhorned beetle and report any clues they find about the invasive pest.

Unlike the emerald ash borer, the Asian longhorned beetle likes to feed on a host of trees, including: ash, birch, elm, sycamore, maple, buckeye, poplar and willow. The bug has distinct markings and leaves behind a series of holes and other signs in trees that make it quick to identify.

The beetle is not native to the U-S and has few-to-no natural predators. Santos encourages Iowans to take five minutes and give your trees a close inspection for those round holes or sawdust.

The beetle was first spotted in the U.S. in New York in 1996 and spread quickly. It’s one of a group of invasive pests and plant diseases that costs the nation some 40-billion dollars each year in losses to trees, plants, and crops. For more information or to report the insect or tree damage, visit www.asianlonghornedbeetle.com.

The number of pheasants taken by hunters last fall was up more than 60 percent and D-N-R Wildlife Biologist Todd Bogenschutz says other species like quail and Hungarian partridges also saw good seasons.

Hunting numbers were up by more than 30 percent. Their license isn’t specific to pheasants, and he says they will take an opportunity when they see it.

Bogenschutz says hunters took the most mourning doves since they started the season in Iowa.

Mourning dove hunters took nearly 195-thousand birds in 2023.

Today:  Partly sunny, with a high near 78. South southeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Tonight:  Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61.

Friday:  A slight chance of showers early. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday:  Partly sunny, with a high near 88. South southeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Sunday:  Sunny, with a high near 95.

Monday:  Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.

Wednesday’s high was 79 degrees and the low this morning is 58.  Last year the high was 95 and the low 75.  The record high for this date is 100 degrees set in 1914 and the record low is 41 set in 1904.  Sunrise this morning is at 6:35 am and sunset at 8:09 pm.

(Lewis, Iowa) –  The Cass County Conservation Board is holding a youth fishing derby at Cold Springs Park on September 7th 2024. The event is open to the first 50 youths age 15 and under to register for the event. Check-in will run from 8:15am to 8:45am with the derby starting at 9:00am and running till 10:30 am.

Prizes will be awarded for the highest total weight, heaviest single fish, longest single fish and shortest single fish. The Conservation board will have some live bait for use and a limited number of fishing poles for use as well.

The CCCB thanks all those who donated items for the event over the past 5 years: Weirich Welding for the trophies, and Cappel’s Ace Hardware and Scheels for prizes.

(File photo) – CCCB Youth Fishing Derby

To register or for further details please contact Micah Lee with the Cass County Conservation Board at 712-769-2372.

(Lewis, Iowa) –  The Cass County Conservation Board is holding two, “Mysterious Monarchs” Programs next month, in Atlantic and Massena.The first takes place on September 14th beginning at 1-p.m., at the Camblins Addition Shelter, located inside Atlantic’s Sunnyside Park. The second program is Sept. 14th beginning at 3-p.m., at the Massena Outdoor Educational Classroom (Follow Hwy 148 South of Massena, turn Left onto Tucson Rd for 1 ½ mile the park will be on your right).

Both programs are free. You’re invited to discover the Monarch Butterflies before they begin their journey south. Cass County Conservation staff will tag monarchs and show you how to do so, as well.

If you would like a home tagging kit you must attend and pre-register for the Kit. Call 712-769-2372 to pre-register for your kit. You DO NOT have to be a registered camper to attend the program! …

(A collaborative report from Sentient/Iowa News Service) – A U-S Department of Labor investigation this spring found the number of minors employed in livestock slaughterhouses nearly quadrupled between 2015 and 2022. An animal rights group says the conditions in these plants are dangerous for workers, and inhumane for the animals killed there. Iowa slaughters more pigs than any other state. Sean Thomas, with the group Animal Equality, says there have been cutbacks in the number of inspectors at pork processing plants, where more than a thousand hogs are slaughtered in an hour, meaning workers are at greater risk and the hogs face inhumane conditions.

Livestock producers say they are constantly looking for more environmentally friendly ways to keep up with consumer demand. They offer as evidence federally funded programs they use to reduce the impacts of large livestock operations. Thomas argues that increased consumer demand and the commercialization of livestock production means producers are moving the industry in the wrong direction.

Processing facilities reportedly have an effect on their communities, too. A university study has shown a correlation between domestic and sexual violence in places that are home to meatpacking facilities, a link that doesn’t exist in manufacturing sectors that don’t involve killing animals.

Male workers cutting pieces of meat with knives at the meat cutting department of the slaughterhouse

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa hunters took more pheasants last fall than they have in the last 16 seasons D-N-R wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz says there was a 62 percent increase in birds taken.

Bogenschutz estimates more than 83-thousand hunters took to the fields — which is up 32 percent — and is probably due to surveys that showed bird numbers up.

He says hunting seems to follow cycles.

The drought that had spread across Iowa the last couple of years actually benefited pheasant numbers.

Bogenschutz says the 2024 roadside survey concluded on August 15th and the results are expected to show a pheasant population slightly lower in some areas due to spring flooding.

Four Women Managing Farmland Forums and Annie’s Project 20th Anniversary Celebrations will be offered across the state the first week of September. Cass County Extension will host the Southwest Iowa location on Sept. 3 in Atlantic. Other dates and locations include Sept. 4 in Iowa City, Sept. 5 in West Union and Sept. 6 in Storm Lake. All events are FREE to attend and feature a complimentary meal and full day of education. Pre-registration is required for meals and materials.

Targeted to any women involved in the agriculture industry, these one-day regional forums are a valuable opportunity to refresh your conservation, leasing and estate management skills while networking with other women in agriculture. Topics will include soil erosion and water management, landowner responsibilities and the economics of farmland, as well as trusts, taxes and succession planning.

Women of all ages make important decisions about land leasing, conservation practices and transition and estate plans. The forums are designed to help attendees meet their long-term farmland management goals. By combining strategies, women can create equitable farmland leasing, adoption of conservation practices and efficiencies in transitions to next generation farmers.

Well over 3,000 Iowa women have completed Annie’s Project or Annie’s Inspired multi-session farm management courses since 2004. Nearly 1,000 women participated in Women in Ag Leadership conferences since 2017. The changes these women made not only benefited their families, farms, and agribusinesses, but also contributed to a stronger Iowa agricultural system through financially stable businesses, improved conservation practices and closer community networks.

The forums are a thank-you to all those who made Annie’s Project a successful program in Iowa and a welcome to all those who haven’t yet participated. Over the noon hour, there will be a pictorial slide show celebrating and honoring the contributions and milestones of Iowa women in agriculture over the past twenty years.

Did you know …

• The number of Iowa women farmers counted in the USDA Census of Agriculture increased from 27,258 in 2002, to 50,263 in 2022?
• The percentage of women enrolled in Iowa State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences increased from 43% in Fall 2003, to 59% in Fall 2023?

Each regional forum will be slightly different. Doors for the Cass County event on September 3 open at 9:30 AM. We will start our morning with refreshments, time for networking, and resource tables for participants to visit while they connect. Over the lunch hour we will celebrate 20 years of Annie’s Project and Women in Ag programming in Iowa. Wrap up the day with fun door prize giveaways and leave refreshed with new information and new connections in ag!

Registration is free and required so that everyone has a chair and a lunch. Local agendas and online registration can be found at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/womeninag.  Sign up today and save your seat at this fun and informational event to celebrate and connect local women in ag!

This program is financially supported by a USDA NIFA Critical Agriculture Research and Education grant (2021-68008-34180) and a Farm Credit Services of America gift through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Women in Ag program.