Following last Tuesday’s School Elections, area School Boards are dealing with administrative matters as we head into the new school year. In the Exira-Elk Kimballton School District, Board Secretary Tami Jacobsen says their Board re-elected Kevin Petersen as President, and chose Board member Tami Fahn as Vice President. And, Pat Greving was sworn-in as a new Board Member at Exira-EHK. Other than that, they dealt with standard organizational matters at their meeting Monday evening, including approving an allowable growth request to the State for Special Education, in the amount of $36,429.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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This is National Farm Safety Week. It is designed to call attention to the dangers of farming, especially during harvest season. Iowa State University Extension Agricultural Engineer and Safety Specialist Chuck Schwab says agriculture ranks as one of the most dangerous and deadliest. He says agriculture has roughly two-point-two deaths for every 100-thousand workers, which is a highest rate in the U-S, surpassing mining, construction, manufacturing and transportation. He puts the issue in perspective. “It really means that a lot of people leave for the day to go to work and got out there in the fields and do something, and don’t come home,”Schwab says.

Schwab says the most common accidents involving agriculture include: tractor roll-overs, A-T-V roll-overs, roadway collisions with farm equipment, grain suffocation, electrocution, and machine entanglement. He says one reason for the high rate of agriculture injuries and deaths is the wide age demographic of the people involved with agriculture, from the young to the old. “Agriculture doesn’t have that cap where you get to 65 and you stop farming,” Schwab says, “and so we see a lot of older farmers out there. And what happens with older farmers — you tend to have different reaction times, you have balance issues, hearing issues, sight, and so all these issues play a role in how you make good safe decisions.”

The Iowa State University Safety Specialist says the same is true with the younger generation, those 18 and younger. He says they should be given more supervision until they gain experience. Schwab says farmers need to be in shape for the physical demands of the business, and he says the best thing you can do is to take a break from the action and have a moment of rest. He says it’s important to be in top condition, and taking the break allows you to get away from the operation and make sure your mind is thinking clearly.

Schwab says it’s similar to athletes who keep themselves in shape, stay hydrated, and then rest when needed so they stay sharp and focused. Schwab says that helps prevent mistakes on the playing field and can do the same in the farm fields too.

(Radio Iowa)

Two men were arrested late Monday night on drug charges, in Creston. According to the Creston Police Department, 19-year old Jamie Young, of Humeston, and 19-year old Klay Evans, of Earlham, were arrested at around 11:18-p.m. in the 1500 block of N. Lincoln Street, in Creston. Both were charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Their bonds at the Union County Jail was set at $300 each.

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

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The year 2017 marks significant centennials for American history. Widely known and commemorated is the centennial of the United States’ entry into World War I. Less known is the transfer of the Danish West Indies in U.S. possession, now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. What led up to the transfer of that territory? How have the two nations cooperated in peace and conflict in the 100 years since?

To explore the larger context of geopolitical relations between Denmark and the United States, the Museum of Danish America is opening a temporary exhibition called Denmark — America’s Smallest and Biggest Ally. Within the story of over two centuries of bilateral relations, this exhibition will focus especially on three parts of Danish-American history that will be unfamiliar to most visitors: the transfer of the U.S. Virgin Islands; the U.S. military bases on Greenland, which is a Danish territory; and the 21st-century involvement of Denmark in U.S.-led coalitions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other sites of present conflict.

The exhibit will officially open on Saturday, September 30 and will remain on view in the museum’s mezzanine level through September 3, 2018. A special preview event is being planned for museum members and all past and present members of the armed forces that Friday evening, September 29, from 5-7pm. Included on the roster of guest speakers is the Deputy Chief of Mission for the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington, DC, Lars Bo Møller, and two Danish veterans – flying in from Copenhagen – who are involved in the Danish Wounded Warrior Project.

For more information, visit danishmuseum.org or call 712.764.7001.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest at around 9:30-p.m. Monday, of 24-year old Ozzie Ray Hunter, from Red Oak. Hunter was taken into custody for Driving While Barred. He was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond, pending a court appearance.

Seven motorcyclists from the Sioux City area took off Monday on a 5,000 mile journey with plans to raise $50,000 for the Unity Point St. Luke’s Children’s Miracle Network. Steve Schmidt is taking part in the ride. “What a great cause to help the youngsters of Siouxland,” Schmidt said. “I love to ride and I know a lot of people, so I can help with the fundraising.”

Schmidt, who rides 10-to-15-thousand miles a year on his motorcycle, has been with Security National Bank in Sioux City for 36 years. He and the other riders traveled to the Chicago area on Monday. Today (Tuesday), they’ll make their way to historic U.S. Route 66. “Then we go down through Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, we touch a little bit of Nevada, and then into southern California where it ends in Santa Monica,” Schmidt said.

SXC Miracle Riders

Woodbury County Sheriff Dave Drew is on the trip. He’s a fan of the band The Eagles and is looking forward to one particular stop. “I’m gonna be standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, so I’m pretty excited,” Drew said. “We’re going through the Grand Canyon, Santa Monica, and some areas I haven’t been to. I’m like a little kid at the candy store.”

The seven motorcyclists will be stopping at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to meet children and share their story along the way, hoping to raise $50,000 for CMN. “That’s what this ride is about – to help Unity Point Children’s Miracle Network with buying some things that will help the nurses and help the parents with their sick children,” Drew said. “That was really the big reason I got involved.”

The seven riders, who are each covering their own expenses on the trip, plan to return to Sioux City on September 29.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission is recommending that the general operating budget for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for NEXT year be the same as THIS year’s budget. That recommendation now goes to Governor Reynolds and she’ll submit her proposed budget to legislators in January. D-N-R director Chuck Gipp expects the hiring freeze in his agency will stay in place. He’s been shifting staff around to deal with vacancies and retirements in the state park system.

“A perfect example was a park in southwest Iowa,” Gipp says. “It was a two-person park. One of those people transferred up to Prairie Rose State Park, where there was a vacancy. That person left at Waubonsie said: “I don’t want to be a one person park,’ so he retired — so we are currently operating that park with a temporary transfer.”

Waubonsie State Park is near Hamburg in the southwest corner of Iowa. It has seven miles of hiking trails and eight miles of trails for horseback riders, plus a small, seven-acre lake. The Environmental Protection Commission is recommending a one-million dollar increase in state spending on state park INFRASTRUCTURE. However, that money would come from the separate “Environment First” fund where state gambling taxes are deposited.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state panel has rejected a petition from two environmental activist groups that sought stricter standards for proposed animal feeding operations. The Des Moines Register reports the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission denied the petition Monday from groups calling for it to require cattle feedlots and confined hog operations to require more distance from neighbors and take other actions. Commissioners said the proposed rules were too strict.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police say one man has died and a woman was injured when shots were fired into a Cedar Rapids house. Officers were called to the shooting Saturday night and found a man and woman with gunshot wounds. They were taken to hospitals, where 33-year-old Kenneth Lamont Everett died. Police way 29-year-old Gabriel Chantel Thomas is expected to recover. Police Monday said the shots were fired from outside the home and struck the victims while they were in a bedroom. Police haven’t reported any arrests.

ANAMOSA, Iowa (AP) — A memorial ride scheduled for next month will honor an eastern Iowa police officer who was killed in a head-on crash. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports that the ride will start in Anamosa on Oct. 15. Proceeds will benefit the family of Anamosa Officer Mitch Kelchen, who was killed in the crash Sept. 2 north of Andrew. The 40-year-old Kelchen was not on duty at the time.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa authorities have arrested a suspect for a shooting that killed a Fort Dodge man. The Fort Dodge Police announced that 27-year-old Levi Gibbs III of Fort Dodge was being held at the Polk County Jail, where he was awaiting extradition back to Webster County. Authorities have charged Gibbs with first-degree murder for the shooting death of 32-year-old Shane Wessels of Fort Dodge.