(Radio Iowa) – The owners of the Iowa Yak Ranch are giving tours of their farm near Exira and will have two of their animals in the Iowa State Fair’s Avenue of Breeds as they make the case that raising yaks — in Iowa — can be profitable. Neal Meseck and his wife began raising yaks in late 2019 and they now have a herd of 20. “We raise yaks for food, fiber and fun,” he says. Yaks are known for their distinctive long hair.

“They are not as large as beef cattle. They may appear that way due to the all the hair,” Meseck says. For example, a mature yak cow weighs about 650 pounds — that’s about half as large as a beef cow — and beef bulls are heavier than yak bulls, too. “They eat about a third of what a beef animal will eat, so it’s a little more economical to feed them as well,” Meseck says. Meseck has been selling yak meat from other producers just to get people interested in trying it and in September, he’s scheduled to have the first yak from his herd butchered.

“Same lean and cholesterol content as turkey breast,” Meseck says, “but it has more of a beefy flavor to it.” Yaks have three layers of hair. The outer layer grows up to a foot long and it’s coarse, like a horse’s mane. The inner layer is about two inches long and soft, like cashmere. Yaks shed it once a year. “We’ve been collecting that for two years and I take it to Maxwell, Iowa to have it spun into yarn and then we have yarn for sale,” Meseck says. “I’ve got about 60 skeins of yard available as well and that is from from our own yaks.”

A yak at the Iowa Yak Ranch.

Yaks have long been used as pack animals at higher elevations in places like Tibet. Meseck says his yaks are perfectly comfortable in Iowa winters, but he’s providing his herd extra water and shade this time of year. Meseck says given the profit potential from the sale of yak meat and spinning the hair the animals shed into yarn, raising yaks could be a good option for other Iowa farmers. :We are, I think, positioned for growth in Iowa,” Meseck says. “It’s just a matter of getting the word out.”

The Iowa Yak Ranch is also part of next month’s “Evolution of the Heartland” tour in the Manning and Audubon County areas.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A full week of activities during the Cass County Fair begins tomorrow (Thursday), in Atlantic. The Horse Show takes place at 2-p.m., with the 4-H/FFA Food Sale at 5-p.m., in the lobby of the Cass County Community Center next to the fairgrounds. The 4-H/FFA Exhibits are also open to the public at 5-p.m.

Everything brought in for judging will be offered for sale, minus a small piece where the judge cut out a sample. Only the baked goods selected for State Fair will not be sold, as the whole item will be on display throughout the Cass County Fair. Recipes of each baked item are even included, so you can bake that award-winning banana bread for yourself! Items on sale vary depending on exhibits created by local 4-Hers. Cookies, bars, cakes, pies, breads, muffins and rolls are all common offerings. Fresh garden produce and canned goods are occasionally offered as well.

The featured meal Thursday at the Food Stand is a Roast Pork Sandwich.

Thursday night, the Little Miss and Mister Contest gets underway at 7-p.m., followed by the King and Queen Contest.  Officials with the Cass County announced Wednesday evening, that the Little Miss, Little Mister, King/Queen and Senior Recognition events Thursday evening, having been moved to the Outdoor Show Ring, instead of in front of the grandstand, due to the extreme heat.

The Queen contestants will be interviewed live on KJAN. Senior Recognition begins at 8-p.m., along with the Teen Dance, from 8-to 11-p.m. The dance is open to 6th through 12th graders. Officials say the following 14 4-H seniors will be recognized for their many hours of hard work, dedication, and leadership to the Cass County 4-H program. They include:

~Elizabeth Anderson – Bear Grove Blazers

~ Sydney Becker – Union Leaders & CAM FFA

~ Breeana Bower- C&M Champions

~ Brett Dreager – Bear Grove Blazers & Atlantic FFA

~ Dayna Dreager- Pymosa

~ CeCe Hensley- Union Leaders

~ Rio Johnson- Grove H.O.T. & Atlantic FFA

~ Emma Mundorf- Griswold Clubsters

~ Keira Olson- Pymosa

~ Carter Pellett- Pymosa

~ Abbigael Richter – Grove H.O.T. & Atlantic FFA

~ Tessa Ritter – Pymosa

~ Natalye School – Benton Franklin & CAM FFA

~Trista Swain – Pleasant Noble United & Griswold FFA

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The 2023 Cass County (IA) Fair begins its week-long run in earnest on Thursday, but some pre-fair activities will be held today, including:

• 4-H/FFA Static Exhibit Judging, and Clover Kids Static Showcase, both beginning at 9-a.m. (those events conclude at 2:30-p.m.)
• 10:30-a.m.: Bucket of Junk Judging will take place.

The Bucket of Junk contest was introduced to the Cass County Fair in 2013 by Superintendent Duane Weirch. With the help of Weirch Welding Plus, LLC in Lewis, this growing contest has been a way for 4-H and FFA members to explore the welding project area and create a unique exhibit for the county fair showcase. Each year, Wierch puts together multiple 5-gallon buckets of assorted metal “junk” pieces. Youth often participate in the contest year after year taking on the new challenge bucket.

The Bucket of Junk contest combines both the technical and creative side of welding, teaching youth a valuable skill and challenging their imaginations in the process. All buckets include the same number of items and are as close to identical as possible. Participants can clean, weld, cut, bolt, fasten, bend, shape, paint or finish the items however they chose to BUT they cannot add any additional pieces. Bolts are the exception and may be used as fasteners but not as decorative items.

Exhibitors will meet with a judge one-on-one to share their finished projects and discuss what they have learned. Contestants will be judged on creativity & artistic style, technical welding skills, percent of “junk” used from bucket, and knowledge of project. Fairgoers can view exhibits from July 27^th to July 31^st and cast their vote for the “people’s choice” award. Winners from judging and people’s choice will be announced at 4:00pm on Monday, July 31^st in the Community Building. Exhibitors have the option to auction off their completed projects at the fair fundraising auction on Monday evening, immediately following the Parade of Champions at 5:45pm in the outdoor show ring.

(Iowa DNR News) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forestry – Fire Program, working in coordination with the US Forest Service, has grant money available for Iowa’s rural fire departments to help battle wildfires. Applications are due on Oct. 16. The grant provides 50 percent reimbursement for wildland fire equipment with a maximum reimbursement grant of $4,500 per department.

The grants offer funding assistance for wildfire suppression equipment, slide-in units, hoses, nozzles, adapters, portable tanks and pumps, personal protective equipment and communications equipment.  Additionally, if a fire department has a special need that can be tied directly to wildfire suppression, this grant allows for such special requests.

Gail Kantak, state wildland fire supervisor for the Iowa DNR, said fire departments should send her a Wildland Fire Report whenever they respond to a wildland fire or provide assistance to a prescribed or controlled wildland fire. Departments actively returning these reports receive priority points in the Volunteer Fire Assistance grant application scoring process.

All Iowa volunteer fire departments were mailed information about the 2023 Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant. The grant application package and the Wildland Fire Report form are available online at www.iowadnr.gov/fire.

Jim Field visits with Michael DuBois, half of the husband-and-wife duo, “The Great DuBois.'”  They will perform their world’s most unique two-person circus show on Saturday, July 29 at 7:30 pm at the Wilson Performing Arts Center in Red Oak.

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(Radio Iowa) – A change in state law on July 1st now allows you to buy raw milk, but if you are thinking about trying it, an expert says you need to be aware of the importance of proper handling. Iowa State University Extension Dairy Specialist, Fred Hall, says those who grew up on a dairy farm know that keeping things clean is key. “And I think that’s one of the difficulties we’re going to find with folks who didn’t grow up with that mindset, the importance of that sanitary routine that you make sure things are clean, because bacteria can get away from you really quick,” Hall says. Halls says you should check out the dairy where you buy raw milk to see that it passes the standard.

“If you’re going to be a consumer, make sure you’re comfortable with the people you’re buying from. “Walk around look at their calves, look at how they milk, make sure that yeah it looks clean I trust this producer,” he says. Hall says raw milk needs to be kept properly cooled, which means you can’t leave it in your car while you are out and about.

“You know, they buy a couple of gallons and decide they have to make a stop at the supermarket or go to the kids’ soccer game. And that milk goes from 40 degrees to 80,” he says. “They’ve introduced an opportunity for that bacteria to grow.” Hall says even pasteurized milk can have problems in left too long in a warm car while you are out during the summer.

(Radio Iowa) – As temperatures in Iowa are forecast to climb into the mid to upper 90s all week, the prolonged heat is hard on people, pets — and plants. Angie Rieck Hinz (REEK-hines), a field agronomist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, says farmers will be watching for signs of crop stress, though she says her region of north-central Iowa is in decent shape heading into the heat wave. She says this area is lucky as it got a little more rain that other areas, though it’s been two weeks since a significant rain and we’re overdue. Some corn hasn’t tasseled yet and Rieck Hinz fears the hot, dry weather might impact pollination.

She says the soybeans in north-central Iowa are doing well this summer, though she’s seen a few diseases on the plants, things like bacterial blight and frog-eye leaf spot. Forecasters say the heat wave will likely last through Friday, and perhaps right into the weekend, with a few outside chances for scattered showers.

(Radio Iowa) – Officials have begun planning for upgrades at a popular, state-owned campground in northwest Iowa. Jake Schaben of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says it’s been decades since there have been major renovations at Gull Point State Park in the Iowa Great Lakes region.”It’s probably been at least 50 years since there have been any real improvements aside from upgrading some rest rooms facilities,” Schaben says. “This is going to focusing on roads and camp pads.” There are 112 campsites at the park, which is near Milford. About half have electrical hook-ups.

Schaben says the upgrades at Gull Point State Park may be similar to what was done at state owned campsites that are about 10 miles away. “Two years ago we finished up with a campground renovation up at the Marble Beach State Recreation Area on Spirit Lake,” Schaben says. “Got a lot of complements on the results we got with that by kind of expanding campsites and full-hook-up amenities and some 50 amp electricity.”

Gull Point State Park is the second most popular park in the state-owned park system. In 2021, one-point-six MILLION people visited the park. The D-N-R will host an open house at the lodge in Gull Point State Park on August 22nd to discuss the proposed campground upgrades with the public.

(Radio Iowa)  – A new museum will open on the Osceola County Fairgrounds next year. Beth Thole, who’s been working on the project, says the McCallum Museum in Sibley, which holds artifacts from the pioneer and Civil War era, was built in 1957 and has run out of space. “We’ve been fundraising for about four-and-a-half or five years,” Thole says, “and with the costs of everything — materials and labor — escalating, we came up with an idea that we proposed to the fair board members of using a historic building on the fairgrounds as a museum for agriculture.”

Thole, who is a member of the McCallum Museum Board, says some changes have already been made to the 99 year old Commercial Building on the fairgrounds. “We have done some structural work on making things handicapped accessible, creating a balcony for displays, put eight new fans in, Thole says. “We’re well on our way.”

The Osceola County Fair wrapped up this weekend and Thole says they’ll start moving artifacts into the building soon. The goal is to have a grand opening of the museum during the 2024 Osceola County Fair.

AMES, Iowa – July 24, 2023 – The 2023-2024 Iowa Bicycle Map is now available in both paper and digital formats.

You can get your free paper version of the map at all Iowa Department of Transportation rest areas and Iowa welcome centers. You can order a paper copy online.  The digital versions of the map are available at Iowa Bikes (Bike Map) – Iowa DOT.

This popular publication highlights bike-friendly routes when traveling on two wheels through Iowa by identifying bike trails and traffic levels on all paved roads. The map also includes insets of Iowa’s 16 largest cities.

If you are riding your bicycle on a public road, you have all the same rights as motor vehicle drivers. You are also required to know and obey all the same traffic laws and rules of the road. A section of the map is dedicated to highlighting some of the rules of the road to help you understand your rights and responsibilities. Safety is always the first priority, so if you are riding, please always wear a helmet, use lights at night, and watch out for road hazards like parallel-slat stormwater grates, gravel, sand, and debris.