(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa businesses that make two beverages infused with a chemical derived from hemp are dropping their lawsuit against the state. A new state law that took effect in July lowered the amount of T-H-C from hemp that is legally allowed in a single serving. That made the companies’ products illegal.

The businesses sued, arguing Iowa’s law did not follow standards set by a 2018 federal law that legalized the commercial sale of hemp and hemp-based products. A federal judge refused to block Iowa’s law from going into effect, so breweries in Des Moines and Solon re-calibrated their “Climbing Kites” sparkling water and a North Liberty brewery that makes “Day Dreamer T-H-C seltzer changed that recipe to comply with Iowa’s law.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – AtlanticFest, presented by First Whitney Bank & Trust, will be held this Saturday, August 10th rain or shine and the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce is asking for the public’s cooperation with street closures. Chestnut Street, along with several side streets and city parking lots, will be closed for parking beginning at 5 AM this Saturday, Aug. 10th, for AtlanticFest activities. The Chamber asks residents to have their vehicles removed from the following areas or the vehicle will be towed at the owners’ expense.

Below is a list of street closures approved by the City of Atlantic.

Chestnut Street (both lanes) from 2nd Street to 7th Street until 6:00 PM
6th Street (both lanes) from Walnut to Chestnut until 6:00 PM
6th Street (both lanes) from Chestnut to Poplar until 6:00 PM
5th Street from Chestnut to ½ block east of the alley before the Post Office until 6:00 PM
5th Street from Chestnut to Poplar Street until 6:00 PM
4th Street from Chestnut to ½ block east right before the alley until 6:00 PM
4th Street from Chestnut to Poplar Street until 6:00 PM
3rd Street from Walnut to Poplar until 6:00 PM
Walnut and Poplar will remain open

“We are thankful for cooperation and partnership amongst residents and businesses that occupy downtown. We know it’s a bit of an inconvenience, but it helps make this one-day event run a lot smoother when we all work together to welcome a few thousands guests downtown,” Kelsey Beschorner, Program Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce stated.

AtlanticFest will include free entertainment, car show, motorcycle show, road race, bags tournament, food vendors, crafters and family games. To register for any activity, visit www.atlanticiowa.com, email chamber@atlanticiowa.com, or call the Chamber office at 712-243-3017.

The Chamber thanks their partners: First Whitney Bank & Trust, A.M. Cohron & Son, Gregg Young- Atlantic, Atlantic Municipal Utilities, Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling, Armour Insurance, Brocker, Karns & Karns, Brown’s Shoe Fit, Camblin Plumbing & Heating, Downtowner, McAtee Tire, Nishna Valley Family YMCA, Roland Funeral Home, Rolling Hills Bank, Rush, CPA & Associates, Salute Gymnastics, and Wiota Steakhouse

(Radio Iowa) – There are “multiple” sightings at the Iowa State Fair today (Thursday). Hundreds of twins and triplets of all ages have entered in the annual competition. Twenty-six-year Macey Mitchell and her twin sister Morgan are from Winterset — and Macey has three-year-old twins named Magnolia and Kimber. Macey spoke for her quad — all clothed in pale purple. “We come every year and we’re always matching and we’ve come since we were kids every year,” she said. “This is just something we do every summer and we love it.”

According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, women who are fraternal twins have a one in 60 chance of having twins. The chance is even greater for an identical twin. “I don’t know the odds. We were told it skips a generation, but that may or may not be true,” Macey Mitchell said, with a laugher. Morgan says she notices her nieces have the same kind of connection she and her twin did when they were young. “We have tried to figure out all the tricks they pull on us, since we were doing it first,” she says, “but they surprise us.”

Macey Mitchell and her twin sister Morgan, with Macey’s twins: Magnolia and Kimber.

This year’s blue ribbon twin babies at the State Fair are Edith and Ida, the children of Barbara Rodrigues and her husband Andrew. The twins are wearing matching outfits and head scarves today (Thursday). “It’s a design of sunflowers and sunshine,” Barbara said. “They are sunshine for us.”

There are two types of winners in the State Fair competition for multiples — for those who do not look much alike AND for those who do. Edith and Ida are identical twins. “I have always wanted a State Fair blue ribbon and I knew I would not get one,” Barbara says, “so I’m living vicariously through my children.” The twins will turn one in a few weeks.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The next Cass County (IA) mobile food pantry distribution will be held August 14, 2024. Anita’s Mobile Food Pantry is located at the Anita Mobile Food Pantry. The mobile pantries are hosted by community partners across Cass County.

A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Mobile food pantries are available free of charge. Anyone in need is welcome, and no documentation is required. Each car can take food for up to two households at a time. For any additional information or questions please contact Grace McAfee, Community Wellness Coordinator, at (712) 250-8170 or by email at mcage@casshealth.org.

Additional mobile food pantries have been scheduled for Atlantic, Anita, Griswold, and Massena. (See below for details)

 Atlantic 2024 Mobile Food Pantries

Where: Cass County Fairgrounds (1000 Fair Ave. Atlantic, IA 50022)

2024 Dates: September 11, October 9

Time: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Anita 2024 Mobile Food Pantries

Where: Anita Food Pantry (208 Chestnut St. Anita, IA 50020)

2024 Dates: August 14, October 16

Time: 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Griswold 2024 Mobile Food Pantries

Where: Central Church of Christ (51 Harrison St. Griswold, IA 51535)

2024 Dates: November 2

Time:  10:00 am – 11:30 am

Massena 2024 Mobile Food Pantries

Where: East Side of Massena’s City Park (500 5th St, Massena, IA 50853)

Dates: September 11, October 9

Time: 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Mobile pantry dates, times, and locations are subject to change. For the latest information on mobile pantries in the county, visit https://foodbankheartland.org/food-resources/find-food/. For information on local food, farmers markets, and food access, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood.

(Radio Iowa) – A 25 million dollar project to restore the historic livestock barns Iowa State Fairgrounds is being celebrated on the first day of this year’s fair. Peter Cownie, executive director of Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation, says work on the Sheep Barn is nearly complete and the Horse Barn is next on the list. “The livestock barns represent the culture and the agricultural heritage of the Iowa State Fair and we’re so proud to continue that, as that is the backbone of the Iowa State Fair,” Cownie said. The opening ceremonies for this year’s Iowa State Fair were staged in front of the Sheep Barn, where sheep shows were already underway. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig wished the exhibitors who’ve brought their livestock to the fair good luck.

“There are so many life lessons that a young person especially can learn from planning and preparing and working hard and competing and then, well, you have to deal with the results of the competition and do so with grace and know that you put it all out there,” Naig said, “or maybe you didn’t and you can do better next year.”

Brick work on the east façade of the Iowa State Fair’s Sheep Barn to be finished after the 2024 Fair. (RI photo)

Darwin Gaudian, president of the Iowa State Fair Board, says this year’s Fair may provide a welcome distraction for Iowans who’ve been dealing with damage from this year’s severe storms. “With the tornadoes, the floods, so this Fair, I hope we can bring those people here,” he said, “and forget those problems at home and relax.”

The Big Boar competition at the State Fair is on today’s (Thursday) calendar. Last year’s winner weighed in at just over a thousand pounds.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – In an update to an earlier post, Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman says one-person suffered minor injuries, when a Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad train derailed a little after 6-a.m. today (Thursday), in Red Oak. The train derailed in the area of Bluegrass Road and East Nuckols St., in Red Oak. Emergency crews arrived on scene and found a BNSF train with (4) grain cars derailed in the south ditch, with one grain car on top of a parked Railcrew Xpress transportation vehicle.

The driver of the transportation vehicle was able to self-extricate from the vehicle under his own power. He was transported to Montgomery County Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.(Photos courtesy Brian Hamman/MC EMA)

Hamman said “There is no current threat or hazard to the public at this time. East Nuckols Street and Bluegrass Rd will be closed for an extended period of time for cleanup.”

Agencies assisting on scene include:

• Red Oak Fire & Rescue
• Red Oak Police Department
• Red Oak Public Works
• Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
• Montgomery County Emergency Management
• Montgomery County 9-1-1 Communications
• Montgomery County Secondary Roads
• Mid American Energy
• BNSF

(Clinton County, Iowa) – A collision this (Thursday) morning in an eastern Iowa roundabout caused two people to be transported to the hospital. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2008 BMW X3 SUV was traveling north on Highway 67 in Camanche just before 5-a.m., and approaching the roundabout with 7th Avenue. A 2007 Toyota Camry was in the roundabout heading toward Camanche/7th Avenue exit.

Both vehicles collided in a broadside fashion, causing the SUV to roll several times before coming to rest north of the roundabout. The Patrol’s report said two people were injured, but their names were not immediately released. The victims were transported to the University of Iowa Hospital by MedForce and Comanche EMS.

The crash remains under investigation. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and Camanche Police.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Community Wellness Coordinator Grace McAfee reports the Cass County Grow Another Row Committee hosted a free potting event at Mollett Park on August 6th (2024). The weather was great, McAfee says and there were 28 participants who attended the event, which taught community members how to plant late-season patio plants. Participants planted herbs, radishes, peas, lettuce, and spinach. Those crops grow in cooler temperatures, making them perfect patio plants in the early fall months.

Participants also had the opportunity to plant extra pots to donate to the local food pantry. A total of 15 patio pots will be donated to the Atlantic Food Pantry. The Grow Another Row Committee will care for these plants until they are distributed at The Atlantic Food Pantry. (Photos courtesy Grace McAfee)

Thrivent Funding, Atlantic Parks and Rec, and The Grow Another Row Committee made the event possible. Grace McAfee said “We are looking forward to planning more events, such as sharing gardening tips and promoting local foods.” If you are interested in learning more about local food, workshops, and Grow Another Row events, check out the monthly Grow Another Row Newsletter.

Contact Grace McAfee at mcage@casshealth.org to get signed up.

(Radio Iowa) – Hundreds of rare horses from all over the U-S will be racing into central Iowa this weekend, but it has nothing to do with the livestock shows at the Iowa State Fair. The Mustang Club of America’s National Mustang Show is being held in Des Moines where some 300 gleaming cars will be on display. Greg Huyser, of Indianola, says he adores all incarnations of Ford’s famous coupe and he’s thrilled the Mustang Club of Central Iowa is hosting this national event. “We will see Mustangs from across the country,” Huyser says. “We’ve got 60 years of Mustangs celebrated this year, and we’ll have everything from original cars that have never been restored to cars that were just built a few months ago.”

While some of the cars that’ll be on display are so-called daily drivers, he says most of the others will be showroom quality, including a Mustang that’s a genuine one-of-a-kind, and some that are extremely valuable. “We will have a prototype 1971 Boss 302. They actually didn’t end up making that car, but they did make one prototype,” Huyser says. “We’ll also have some Boss 429s, there. They typically, at auction, sell for $250- $300,000 a piece.” There isn’t this type of convention being held for the Ford Taurus, so what is it about the Mustang that’s so desirable and enduring that the nameplate has been around for six decades with a very loyal following?

“They were kind of a phenomenon when they first came out, back in April of ’64. They weren’t really expected to be the big sales success that they were, but they sold like two-million of them in the first two years,” Huyser says. “I was just a three-year-old kid when the Mustang came out, but yet I still remember when it came out and have loved Mustangs ever since.” Huyser will be showing off his 2014 Mustang G-T at the show, which is his ninth Mustang. His first was a 1976 Mustang Two, which is a body style some Mustang purists may mock. Everyone has a favorite, he says, though many critics are quick to blast the new electric Mustang that’s now on the road as not being a “real” Mustang.

Photo by the Mustang Club of Central Iowa

“And I kind of feel the same way, too. On the other hand, I think from Ford Motor Company’s perspective, it’s some pretty smart marketing. They put a name like a Mustang on it, people are going to become a lot more aware of it. Even now, we’re talking about their electric car versus if they called it an electric Taurus, nobody would be talking anything about it.” The show runs Friday through Sunday at the Holiday Inn Airport in Des Moines. Admission is free.

mustangclubofcentraliowa.org