A mobile pantry will be held in Atlantic on September 14, 2022, from 4:00-6:00 PM at the Cass County Community Center (805 W 10th St., Atlantic, IA 50022). A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. Mobile food pantries are available free of charge. Anyone in need is welcome, and no documentation is required. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Each car can take food for up to two households. Households without transportation to the Atlantic Mobile Pantries can contact Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh about delivery. Delivery is offered on a limited basis.

Atlantic 2022 Fall Mobile Food Pantries

Where: Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10th St., Atlantic, IA 50022)
2022 Dates: September 14, October 29
Time: 4:00-6:00 PM
Anita 2022 Fall Mobile Food Pantries

Where: Anita Food Pantry (208 Chestnut Street, Anita IA 50020)
2022 Dates: October 19
Time: 4:30-6:30 PM

Mobile pantry dates, times, and locations are subject to change. For the latest information on mobile pantries, local food, farmers markets, and food access, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood or contact Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or 712-249-5870.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Deputy Auditor Dorene South, Wednesday evening, updated the current list of candidates whose names will appear on the ballot for the 2022 General Election in November. The latest additions as of the close of business at the Auditor’s Office on Wednesday, are highlighted below:
District 2 Supervisor- Mark O’Brien
District 3 Supervisor- Wendy Richter
Treasurer-Tracey J Marshall
Recorder-Mary Ward
Attorney-Vanessa Strazdas
Auditor- Kathy Somers
Ag Extension- Chad Becker
Ag Extension- David York
Ag Extension- Bradley J Pellett
Ag Extension- Jeb Peck
Ag Extension- Todd M Weppler
Soil & Water-Gregory D Zellmer
Soil & Water- John J Hansen
Edna Twp Trustee- Kevin A Stender
Edna Twp Trustee- Pat Erickson
Edna Twp Clerk-Travis Erickson
Union Twp Trustee-Richard Hoffman
Union Twp Trustee-Clarke Gerlock
Union Twp Clerk- Cheryl Christensen
Hospital Trustee-Joanne Lorence
Hospital Trustee-Mike Klocke
Hospital Trustee- Roger Herring
Hospital Trustee- Julie Pollock

ADAIR, Iowa – Officials with the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa report that in Wednesday, August 31, 2022, federal search warrants were executed at the following locations in West Central Iowa:

• 300 block of Audubon Street, Adair
• 300 block of Truman Road, Anita
• 1100 block of 4th Avenue South, Denison
• 2700 block of Highway 59, Denison
• 3000 block of 370th Street, Manning

The searches at these locations were an official law enforcement action involving agents, investigators, and personnel from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

ATF spokespersons confirmed to KCIM in Carroll that the raids were at the businesses and home of Brad Wendt of Denison. Wendt is the owner of BW Outfitters in Denison and Anita. Federal agents reportedly raided Wendt’s home, his gun stores in Denison and Anita, a rural property in Manning, and a location in downtown Adair, where Wendt also serves as chief of police. Federal officials have not released any further details and indicated the warrants are part of an extensive ongoing investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – After setting multiple records during the pandemic, the Food Bank of Iowa is setting yet more records this summer for the number of people using its pantries.

Annette Hacker is the spokeswoman for the Des Moines-based agency that serves Iowans who are facing food insecurity. “Food Bank of Iowa set records — and these are not the kind of records that we like to set — for the most individuals served in our history in May and then again in June,” Hacker says. “We are finalizing July numbers next week, the first full week of September, but the trend looks to be the same.”

It was hoped food demand would slack off once the panic over coronavirus began to wane. Hacker says, “The level of need we’re seeing is not only higher than it was during the height of COVID but the highest we’ve seen in our 40-year history.” 

While most businesses that were closed by the pandemic have long since reopened, other factors are now making life challenging for many thousands of Iowans. “The economy is tough right now. Groceries are high. Everything is higher, we’re seeing that, like rent,” Hacker says, “and so many of us are one life event, one catastrophe away from needing help with food, whether that’s a car repair, a medical issue, losing your job.”

Some may have a perception that the people who use food pantries are homeless, unemployed or both, but Hacker says that’s just not the case. “The vast majority of folks served by our 700 partners in 55 counties are working,” Hacker says, “they’re working not one job but sometimes two or three with no benefits and they just can’t make ends meet.”

As demand rises, she says food donations have dropped from restaurants and grocery stores and food is costing the agency more to buy now than ever before. The Food Bank served nearly 122,000 individuals in May, while the number exceeded 135,000 in June, an all-time high, while July’s numbers are projected to be equally as high.

The numbers are in from the annual DNR roadside pheasant survey and they show the potential for another good year for hunters. DNR wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz, says the bird count is nearly identical to 2021. “Last year, we had 20.4 — this year we are at 19.6 — so round them both off to 20. So yeah, they basically are right where we were last year on pheasants,” Bogenschutz says.

A pheasant flying over corn. (DNR photo)

It could end up being the second straight year of a big bird harvest. “Pheasant hunting was our best harvest and about 12 years last year, shot 375,000 roosters — our best harvest since 2008,” he says. Bogenschutz says reports of good survey numbers can get more hunters out this fall — but it’s not a given.

“We had 62,000 hunters in 2020, and last year, we had 63,000. So you know, we picked up about another thousand last fall. So you know, the hunters did well, last year, I’m sure visiting with friends they hear the stories. The forecast is kind of for similar, I would expect our numbers probably to stay about the same. But you know, they went up a little bit, that wouldn’t surprise me either,” he says.

The youth pheasant season is October 22nd and 23rd. The regular pheasant season opens October 29th and runs to January 10th.

(Radio Iowa) – Both Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and Mike Franken, the Democrat challenging Grassley’s bid for reelection, have completed tours with stops in each of Iowa’s counties. Grassley addressed a crowd in the Taylor County Historical Museum in Bedford yesterday. “This is the 99th county meeting I’ve had for the 42nd year in a row,” Grassley said, and a crowd of about four dozen applauded.

During the town hall style forum, people in the audience expressed opposition to vaccine mandates for the military and President Biden’s move on student loan debt. One man questioned how the FBI and the Justice Department are treating President Trump, prompting a woman in the crowd to suggest defunding the FBI.

“That would look silly for Chuck Grassley to defund the FBI because I’ve been telling these law enforcement people that have been attending my meetings: ‘I want you to know I’m not for defunding the police,’” Grassley said, “but I know where you’re coming from because you can’t have the extraordinary confidence in the FBI that you ought to have.”

Near the end of the hour-long event, a woman in the audience told Grassley she’s no longer confident there are free and fair elections in the U.S. “I think Iowa is still better than some others, but I doubt them all,” she said.

Grassley. (RI photo)

In his reply, Grassley expressed opposition to election bills Democrats have proposed at the federal level and he praised the tighter absentee ballot rules Iowa lawmakers adopted early last year. “But right now, you say: ‘What can you do?’ About all you can do is talk to your state legislators, unless you want a federal law,” Grassley said. “And I hope you don’t want a federal law.”

Franken, a retired Navy admiral, chose Grassley’s hometown as the last stop on his campaign’s 99 county tour.

“He has chosen division and distraction over unity and understanding. Senator Grassley has made his choice and tonight I ask you to make yours,” Franken said, drawing cheers from the crowd gathered in a church basement.

Franken campaigned in New Hartford and four other cities Saturday. He started in Nevada, where a woman asked Franken if he’s confident the 2022 election will be fair given Republican-backed election law changes. Another woman said Republicans are undermining faith in government and elections.

“They tell a lie often enough and they persuade people. They start to believe it,” she said. “How do you fight that?” Franken replied that if it’s not addressed, the country will devolve.  “This is not winnable. This is not good for the nation,” Franken said. “This is my issue about country over party.”

A man then asked Franken how he’d bridge the partisan divide. “The Inflation Reduction Act, there are some things in there that I’m not happy with, but it’s something and it moved the needle and that’s a positive,” Franken said. “My plan as any, I think, wide-eyed legislator should be — small bites at the apple, getting things accomplished.”

On October 8, Franken and Grassley are scheduled to appear together in a debate on Iowa PBS. The November 8th election is 69 days away.

(Radio Iowa) – The northwest Iowa town of Sheldon is getting some national media attention for a lost time capsule that, well, is not lost. The original story indicated that the location of the time capsule buried during Sheldon’s centennial celebration back in 1972 had been lost to time, leaving officials without its precise location. The capsule was to be opened as part of Sheldon’s sesquicentennial celebration on Friday. Sheldon’s Chamber Director Ashley Nordahl says there was some confusion.

“A big misunderstanding, I think. We always knew where the time capsule was. It was just a matter of making sure that we could get to it,” she says. “There is a little bit of concrete that’s laid around it, so we did not want to create a mess in front of Celebration Days.”

Sheldon Time Capsule (KIWA photo via Radio Iowa)

Nordahl says the ceremony and the other events are all on as scheduled in Sheldon.

(Radio Iowa) – Small businesses that are being impacted by the drought in 11 northwestern Iowa counties can now apply for low-interest federal disaster loans from the U-S Small Business Administration. S-B-A spokesman Mark Randle there’s a wide range of businesses that are now eligible for the help.

Small businesses that qualify for the Economic Injury Disaster Loans may be able to get up to two-million dollars to help meet their financial obligations.

Randle says eligibility for the loans is only based on the financial impact of the disaster and not on property damage. The loans have an interest rate of just under three-percent for businesses and under-two-percent for private nonprofits.

The 11 counties covered under the program are: Buena Vista, Calhoun, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Humboldt, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Kossuth, Sac and Webster. The deadline to apply is April 17, 2023. Applicants may apply online at: https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/

(Radio Iowa) – A case of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease has been detected for the first time in the state. The virus – which can be deadly to rabbits and hares — was found in domesticated rabbits in Story County. State veterinarian Jeff Kaisand  says rabbit-owners should watch their pets for any signs of sickness before allowing them to interact with other rabbits.

Erin Kalkwarf works with A Home for Every Bunny. She says the central Iowa rabbit rescue is encouraging rabbit owners to get their pets vaccinated against the highly contagious virus.

Iowa D-N-R Wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz, says there have been no cases reported in wild rabbits. He says they want to hear if hunters see something unusual.

You are also encouraged to report any suspected incidents of the disease to the Iowa Department of Agriculture.

(By Kendal Crawford, Iowa Public Radio/Dar Danielson Radio Iowa)

(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors today (Wednesday) awarded a total of nearly $10 million in federal housing tax credits to support the construction of a total of 385 affordable rental homes for Iowans. The awards were made to 11 rental housing projects located in Adel, Audubon, Bondurant, Boone, Carroll, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Grinnell, Hiawatha, Ottumwa and Winterset.

Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham said Wednesday, “Housing is foundational to the economic mobility of Iowans and the strength of our communities. The tax credit awards announced today will provide hundreds of Iowa families and seniors with homes in which they can thrive in urban and rural communities all throughout the state.”

City of Audubon Mayor Barb Jacobsen said “The addition of the 35 rental homes to be constructed at the Villas at Fox Pointe Audubon will provide dozens of families with an affordable place to call home right here within our community. This investment in Audubon will spur many economic ripple effects as more of our workforce will be able to live near where they work.”

The Internal Revenue Service makes an annual per capita allocation of federal tax credits to each state for the Federal Housing Tax Credit program. The Iowa Finance Authority is charged with allocating those credits to affordable housing developers. The developers who receive tax credits sell them to investors to generate equity for the housing developments.

The Iowa Finance Authority received 24 applications requesting more than $20 million in housing tax credits in the 2022 tax credit round. IFA had a total of approximately $10 million available to allocate. The actual awards total nearly $100 million because the credits are committed annually for a 10-year period.

View Award Listing Here