(Radio Iowa) — It’s almost December, temperatures are chilly, and snow is on the ground in many parts of the state. That gets many of us in the mood for the annual tradition of decorating the tree. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says there are plenty of locations to find that ideal fir, spruce or pine. “We’ve got over 100 Christmas tree farms across the state and those farms produce or sell about 40,000 Christmas trees each year,” Naig says. “It’s a wonderful way to have some fun, get outdoors and support a local farm.”

It takes between six-and-12 years to grow a Christmas tree and most tree farms in Iowa are three-to-eight acres in size. Most sell trees by the choose-and-harvest method, where customers come to the farm and cut their own trees. Naig says the big boom in the tree business started late last week and will continue well into the final month of the year. “Our Christmas tree farms do a great clip of business here starting on Thanksgiving weekend and over the next couple of weekends,” Naig says. “I think folks do very, very well and most of the Christmas tree growers that I visit with have more demand than supplies.”

Speaking from personal experience, Naig offers a little advice about picking the perfect pine. “Something that we sure didn’t do as well as we should have the first time we did this, make sure you cut the right size Christmas tree,” Naig says. “Make sure you know the size of the spot in the house. It seems to look different when it’s outdoors versus when it’s in the house.”  Once you get your tree home, remember to check the water daily as trees can use up to a gallon of water every day. Also, make sure you unplug any tree lights before you leave home or go to bed. The Christmas tree industry contributes about one-million dollars to Iowa’s economy each year.
http://www.iowachristmastrees.com

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — A trial has been scheduled for a northern Iowa woman accused of injecting her mother with insulin in an attempt to kill her. Floyd County District Court records say 44-year-old Jennifer Bean entered a written plea of not guilty Monday to a charge of attempted murder. Her trial is set to begin Jan. 8 in Charles City. She’s also pleaded not guilty to obstruction of emergency communications and has been charged with domestic abuse assault.

A court document says Bean injected her mother on Nov. 6 in Charles City. The document says the insulin caused the woman to have low blood sugar that, if not treated, could have resulted in the woman’s death.
The document also says Bean struck and pushed her mother and took away a phone when her mother tried to call 911 for help.

(11/29/18) SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — In a story Nov. 28 about an Iowa man being sentenced to prison in South Dakota after pleading guilty to cyberstalking and other charges, The Associated Press misidentified the man. His name is Daniel Vincent Jr., of Council Bluffs, Iowa, not David Vincent Jr.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A western Iowa man accused of posting nude photos of his ex-girlfriend on Craigslist has been sentenced in South Dakota to nearly six years in a federal prison. Thirty-two-year-old Daniel Vincent Jr., of Council Bluffs, earlier pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and failing to pay child support. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Vincent posted ads on Craigslist that listed the victim’s name, employment address and cell phone number and included claims that she was interested in having sex with men in the Sioux Falls area.

The woman went to Sioux Falls police after men started sending naked photos of themselves and started showing up at her workplace. Prosecutors say that at the time of sentencing last week, Vincent had more than $19,000 in unpaid child support for a child he had with the victim.

A fiery, single-vehicle crash this (Wednesday) morning in eastern Iowa resulted in the death of a man from Wisconsin. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2011 Nissan Versa driven by 60-year old Rick Inman, of Glendale, WI., exited eastbound Interstate 80 at around 2:47-a.m. at the intersection of U Avenue, and failed to stop at the end of the exit ramp. The vehicle traveled across U Avenue and left the road before entering a ditch. It vaulted over a creek and impacted the ground on the east side of the water before erupting in flames and coming to rest in the ditch. Inman died at the scene.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office, Williamsburg Police and Williamsburg Fire and Rescue.

(A-P correction 11/29, to original story stating Stoltz had no living relatives)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha funeral of a Vietnam veteran initially believed to have no known living family members could have been a sparsely-attended affair. But the national attention brought by an Omaha World-Herald funeral notice saw hundreds of people turn up in frigid conditions Tuesday at Omaha National Cemetery to honor Stanley Stoltz. Stoltz died Nov. 18 at the age of 73. The newspaper ran a small notice inviting the public to his funeral, which went viral on social media and was picked up by at least one cable news network.

Stoltz was born May 29, 1945, and raised in Curlew, Iowa, and later lived in Bennington, Nebraska. Former Bennington Mayor Bill Bohn, who was Stoltz’s friend and neighbor, said Stoltz served in the Vietnam War before settling in Bennington. Friends say Stoltz’s first wife died of cancer, and he and his second wife divorced. He had no children and was preceded in death by his parents. The World-Herald reports that a brother, who declined to speak to reporters, attended Tuesday’s funeral.

URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — A man rescued from the frigid water of a suburban Des Moines pond is grateful. Michael Kennedy’s car ran off an Urbandale street into the pond late Monday morning and became submerged up to the rear window. Urbandale police Sgt. Mark Jorgensen arrived with other first responders and jumped into the water and broke a car window to try to get Kennedy out. Firefighters called to the scene took over and got Kennedy to safety on land.

Kennedy says that once he became alert his rescuers told him he’d had a seizure. He told station KCCI on Tuesday that he was grateful to Jorgensen and others for their efforts and said, “I’m probably more thankful than I’ve ever been.”

(Radio Iowa) — The state ag secretary is asking lawmakers for a quarter of a million dollar budget increase — to boost the “Animal Agriculture Industries Bureau” in the Iowa Department of Agriculture. “To prepare, present, detect and, if needed, to respond in the case of a foreign animal disease.” Ag Secretary Mike Naig says Avian influenza, African swine fever and other foreign animal diseases are a threat to Iowa’s livestock and poultry industries. “Iowa’s a leader in animal production,” Naig says. “We’re number two in total livestock sales — $13.4 billion in the last census — and that number’s only growing.”

Naig has been ag secretary since March and was elected to a full term in this month’s election. His predecessor asked lawmakers for half a million dollars in 2016, shortly after a bird flu outbreak hit Iowa’s poultry industry. Legislators just provided 250-thousand dollars for the effort this year. Three weeks ago, Naig hired a veterinarian to serve as the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s emergency management coordinator. Naig is now asking legislators to provide the rest of the half-a-million dollar budget for the bureau that’s overseeing state preparations for an outbreak of a foreign animal disease.

“Animal disease is an ever-present threat and we’re all on the front line along with the industry and our inspectors and veterinarians,” Naig says. “…The increased funding will help us better support our producers, the industry. We’ll be able to hire or engage the kind of expertise that we need.”

Upgrading the department’s antiquated computer system is key, according to Naig, to ensure alerts can be sent quickly to the right people if there is an outbreak. Naig says if legislators provide the additional money, his agency will host drills for producers in how best to respond if there is an outbreak of foot and mouth or some other disease that can devastate and kill livestock and poultry.

A near t-bone collision in Creston early Tuesday morning, resulted in two people being transported to the Greater Regional Medical Center, to be checked out and treated for possible, minor injuries. Creston Police say a 2008 Buick Enclave SUV driven by 64-year old Deborah Vandevender, of Creston, was traveling east on Lake Street at around 7:54-a.m., and approaching the uncontrolled intersection with Bureau Street, at the same time a 2001 Hyundai XG-300 driven by 17-year old Zane Powell, of Creston, was traveling south on Bureau Street and approaching Lake Street.

The car struck the SUV on the driver’s side tire and door, causing $10,000 damage altogether. Powell, who was not wearing a seat belt, was transported by his parents to the hospital. Vandevender was taken to the facility by ambulance. Police cited Powell for Entering intersections from a different highway.

A man from Nebraska was arrested Tuesday evening, in Red Oak. Authorities say 27-year old Richard Michael Haynes, of Omaha, was taken into custody at around 5:20-p.m. for simple Assault. Haynes was arrested in the 700 block of E. Washington Street and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $300.