(Radio Iowa) – U-S Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the U-S-D-A has awarded over nine-MILLION dollars in grants to increase ethanol and biodiesel sales in the state of Iowa. The money may be used to install new storage tanks or new fuel pumps for biodiesel or higher blends of ethanol. “A consumer will have the ultimate choice. That’s what we want to do,” Perdue said. “…I’m confident that our wise consumers when they see a cleaner product, higher octane, lower price, that benefits their neighbors — I think they’re going to choose that.”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue talk with reporters.

Perdue made an appearance in Mason City today (Thursday) to announce the opening round of grants from a 100-million dollar federal grant program he unveiled in May. The 22 million dollars awarded today (Thursday) goes to retailers in Iowa and 13 other states.  “Many stations had hidden that E15 pump out in the back. It was kind of like putting tobacco in a cage, where you had to go find it or ask for it,” Perdue says. “Now, we’re taking those skulls and crossbones off those pumps, putting them out there with a single blended type of pump.”

A year ago, the Trump Administration moved to allow year-round sales of E-15 nationwide, but most stations that offer an ethanol blend offer E-10. In September, President Trump announced he had directed the E-P-A to let stations use current E-10 pumps to sell E-15. These U-S-D-A grants are for NEW tanks and pumps that dispense E-15 or higher blends. “This is the beginning of getting this kind of situation and availability across the country and if you go from 10 to 15, I’m not a math major, but that looks like that’s a 50% increase,” Perdue said, laughing.

Iowa Democratic Party chairman Mark Smith held a virtual news conference to critique Perdue’s announcement. “This is an election year ploy,” Smith said. Former Iowa Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge, a Democrat who also served two terms as the state’s ag secretary, says President Trump’s trade and biofuels policies have crushed the rural economy. “Now he thinks he can buy us off,” Judge says. “…What we’re seeing today is too little and it’s too late.”

Perdue says the program was announced in May and it takes a while in the federal government to get grants awarded. “It sounds like this may be sour grapes because they didn’t think of it,” Perdue said.

Ankeny-based Casey’s is getting a nearly five-million dollar grant to replace 346 dispensers at 70 fueling stations across the Midwest. West Des Moines-based Kum and Go will use a one-and-a-half million grant to install 128 dispensers at 17 fueling stations in six states, including Iowa.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Police in central Iowa are looking for two vandals who ruined freshly-poured concrete on a popular trail trestle bridge. The Ankeny Police Department says in a news release that a male and female rode bicycles on a newly-poured extension of the High Trestle Trail on Oct. 2. Police say tire tracks and footprints were left along about 300 yards of the partially set cement.

Writing was also scrawled into the concrete, which hardened before the damage was found. Officials say the concrete will have to be replaced at a cost up to $75,000. Police are asking anyone with information to call the department.

Atlantic, IA –The Parents as Teachers (PAT) program through Cass County Public Health has immediate openings for up to ten families. PAT is a free program for families with children ages 0-5, focusing on interactions between parents and their children, and traditionally provides home visits to help young children grow up healthy, safe,and ready to learn.

Due to the current pandemic, the PAT educators are meeting virtually with families through video calls. Nancy Gibson, PAT Coordinator, says “Parents really are their children’s first and most influential teacher. Parents as Teachers has been providing services to Cass County residents since 1998, and we are a credentialed, evidence-based program.”

During a PAT visit, the PAT educator works on getting a complete health history, doing developmental screenings to catch any delays as early as possible, check on immunizations, and much more. Children in the program also have access to free vision, hearing, and dental checks. The PAT program is partially funded by a grant from Boost 4 Families.

Parents who are interested in the program can contact Nancy Gibson at 712-243-7475. Referrals are also welcome—anyone who knows of a family that could benefit from participating is encouraged to call.

(Atlantic) – Coca-Cola Days was cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the local committee wanted to find a way to still celebrate the occasion. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce said “With the National Coca-Cola Collector Association making the tough decision to cancel the event, we searched for a way to celebrate safely. Our Atlantic Coke Days committee decided to carry on the annual t-shirt tradition and celebrate virtually giving collectors and community members the opportunity to still celebrate Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company,”

This year’s feature theme is “Chilin’ with Coca-Cola”. 2020 Coca-Cola Days t-shirts are now available online at www.atlanticiowa.com. T-shirts are $15 for short sleeve or $25 for long sleeve. Shirts may be picked up locally or can be shipped for an additional fee.

Contact the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712-243-3017 or email chamber@atlanticiowa.com with further questions.

(Associated Press) – A White House task force focusing on the coronavirus pandemic has told Iowa officials that many of the deaths caused by the high level of virus spread in Iowa were preventable. The report was released to the media a day after Gov. Kim Reynolds said Iowans shouldn’t let the virus dominate their lives.

Average daily deaths have increased over the past two weeks to 10 per day. State health data shows 1,515 new cases were identified through testing over the last 24 hours on Thursday and five additional deaths bring the state death toll to 1,419.

(Radio Iowa) – We’re now 26 days from the election and political analysts are trying to determine how much larger an influence women voters will be during this cycle compared to past presidential election years. Karen Kedrowski, director of Iowa State University’s Catt Center for Women and Politics, predicts more American women will be voting in 2020 than ever before. “What we have found over time is that women’s voting behavior, their turnout, has steadily increased to the point where in 2016, women were the large majority of voters,” Kedrowski says. “More than 10-million more women than men showed up and cast votes in 2016.”

Since 1980, there’s been what Kedrowski refers to as a “gender gap,” as women are more likely to vote for Democratic candidates, while men are more likely to vote Republican. “This, of course, is not a pure division, there are Republican women and Democratic men, but in 2016, it was the largest gender gap that we had ever seen,” Kedrowski says. “It was 11 points in favor of Secretary Hillary Clinton over President Donald Trump.”

In this year which marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment — which gave millions of women the right to vote, it appears women could be key in swinging this year’s presidential race. “The early polling indicates the gender gap in 2020 promises to be even bigger,” Kendrowski says. “It’s looking like as much as 20 points between men and women in whether or not they are going to vote for President Trump or Vice President Biden, so that’s definitely something to watch.”

There’s a continued push to get students on the I-S-U campus to take part in the November election. In 2016, she says on-campus participation in that presidential election was around 55-percent, compared to only 40-percent of college students nationwide. Kendrowski says under-24-year-olds are the least likely demographic to vote.

(Radio Iowa) – Overall unemployment numbers continue to move down. Iowa Workforce Development reports ongoing unemployment claims dropped by more than 67-hundred last week to 51-thousand-666. Ongoing claims peaked at more than 189-thousand in May. The drop in ongoing claims comes as the number of new claims increased slightly for the week. The manufacturing industry and self-employed individuals each had more than 900 new job claims in the last week.

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen reports the Parks and Recreation Dept. will close the road in Sunnyside Park, located between the Cass County Fair Grounds and the Kiddie Korral bathrooms, so that maintenance can take place on the disc golf course hole #15. The closure is effective this Saturday, October 10^th.

The Cass County Pork Producers have honored the first baby born during October with a special gift basket in celebration of National Pork Month. According to CCHS Public Relations Coordinator Ann McCurdy, the basket includes a bib, diapers, $20 in pork gift certificates, and a bacon-shaped teether. The lucky baby is Wade Alan Zellmer, born on October 3, 2020 to parents Maddi and Gage.

Photo courtesy of the CCHS Obstetrics Nursing Team

Photo courtesy of the CCHS Obstetrics Nursing Team

(Radio Iowa) – A man and woman caught late at night in the Marion High School parking lot with two pounds of meth have been sentenced to federal prison. Prosecutors say 40-year-old Christin Campbell-Martin of Ames and 28-year-old Adam Scott Leiva, of Marshalltown, had been driving around Iowa, selling meth for a couple of days, and were arrested in late May of 2018 before they could sell a batch in the Cedar Rapids area.

Campbell-Martin has 25 prior convictions and she’ll spend 16 years in federal prison. Leiva has 13 prior convictions and his sentence was for 19-and-a-half years.