Corn and soybean growers in Iowa and across the country set new records in 2016. That’s according to a report from the USDA Ag Statistics Service. Doug Hartwig, deputy director for the Upper Midwest region, says the corn yield in Iowa is estimated at 2.74 billion bushels. “That’s a record high production. This is nine-percent above the previous record of 2.51 billion bushels set in 2015,” Hartwig says.

Iowa’s average corn yield topped 200 bushels per acre for the first time ever. “The average yield for the state ended up at 203 bushels per acre,” Hartwig says. “It was a pretty phenomenal year for corn production.” Iowa has now led the nation in corn production for 23 consecutive years and 38 of the last 39 years. Soybean production in Iowa in 2016 is estimated at 572 million bushels.

“This is a record high production as well, topping the previous record set (in 2015) at 554 million bushels,” Hartwig says. The average soybean yield last year was 60.5 bushels per acre, also topping the previous record of 56.5 in 2015. Nationally, 2016 corn production totaled 15.1 billion bushels with an average yield of 174.4 bushels per acre.

Those are both all-time highs, besting previous records set in 2014. U.S. soybean production totaled 4.3 billion bushels with an average yield of 52.1 bushels per acre, also new records.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Hy-Vee food store chain has recalled store branded candy distributed to 242 stores in eight states after learning an ingredient from another company could be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

West Des Moines-based Hy-Vee says a milk powder ingredient used in chocolate coating has the potential for contamination and the candy’s manufacturer, Palmer Candy Co., announced a recall of some of its products.

The candy is in a clear plastic container with sell-by dates between Jan. 26 and Feb. 23. It includes chocolate almond bark, chocolate almond pretzels, dazzled peanut brittle, holiday candy trays and others fully listed on the FDA recall website .

The candy was distributed to Hy-Vee’s eight-state region, including Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

No illnesses have been reported.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa authorities intend to file murder and other charges against a man accused of killing a Des Moines resident who’d been reported missing. The Des Moines Police Department said in a news release Friday that prosecutors have approved charges of robbery, burglary and first-degree murder against 22-year-old Kyle Jepson, of Des Moines. He’s accused of killing Gloria Gary, who was reported missing Jan. 5 and was last seen Jan. 3

Her car was spotted Wednesday in Parowan City, Utah, and again Thursday in Tooele  County, Utah. Authorities say Jepson was taken into custody there and will be returned to Iowa. Des Moines police say they obtained a search warrant for Gary’s home and found a body believed to be hers. A positive identification awaits autopsy results.

A massive winter storm system that stretches a thousand miles from the Great Plains to the Mid-Atlantic states threatens to coat a wide section of Iowa with a layer of ice later this weekend. Meteorologist Kurt Kotenberg, at the National Weather Service bureau in metro Des Moines, says most of the state is now under a Winter Storm Watch.

“Confidence is very high right now that we’re going to have that wintery system come in sometime around Sunday afternoon into Monday morning and afternoon,” Kotenberg says. “There’s going to be some notable impacts with this, especially during that Sunday night-to-Monday morning period where we could see freezing rain and ice accumulation of up to a quarter-of-an-inch across central and southern Iowa.”

Since temperatures will be hovering around the freezing mark, much of the precipitation may fall as rain or freezing rain but likely -not- as snow, though parts of northern Iowa (north of Highway 20) may see an inch or so of snow. He predicts ice will cause the most trouble with this storm.

“The most ice will likely be accumulating between midnight and 6 AM or so Monday morning,” Kotenberg says. “Unfortunately, we’re likely going to wake up to icy roadways across Iowa. Temperatures, we’re going to stay near or below freezing during that morning commute and I don’t see it melting off anytime soon.”

Thick ice can build up on tree limbs, causing them to break and fall on power lines, bringing outages. If you have a generator, gas it up, as electric outages could be widespread. The commute to start the week could very well be a mess. “Be prepared now and make sure you’re ready to go Monday morning,” Kotenberg says. “If you do have to head out, be ready for the slippery conditions on the road, slippery sidewalks and plan on taking it easy on the roadways because travel will likely not be pleasant Monday morning.”

On the plus side, winds are forecast to be very light, only five to ten miles an hour, so it’s not likely there will be a lot of galloping, snapping power lines nor will wind chills be extreme.

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop in Avoca Thursday morning on a vehicle with no license plates or in-transit sticker, resulted in the arrest of a man wanted on a warrant from Texas. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a passenger in the vehicle, 26-year old Jesse Warren Bozarth, of Victoria, TX, was wanted on warrants for aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was booked into the Pott. County Jail for being a Fugitive from Justice. The driver of the car, Lisa Detrich, was cited for Failure to have a valid license, and released.

And, at around 3:40-a.m. today (Friday), 41-year old Adam David Carman, of Council Bluffs, was arrested in Pottawattamie County on a Council Bluffs Police Department warrant for Theft in the 3rd Degree. His arrest took place following a traffic stop. Carmen was a passenger in the vehicle. He was booked into the Pott. County Jail on the warrant.

Police in Council Bluffs have arrested a man on a charge of Child Endangerment causing serious Injury. 28-year old Jack Williams, of Council Bluffs, was arrested in connection with an incident that took place at around 1:50-a.m. Thursday, at the American Inn Motel on S. 24th Street, in Council Bluffs. Williams was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Authorities say officers were dispatched to assist rescue personnel. Responding units learned that a 4 month old male infant had stopped breathing, but his parents were able to resuscitate him. The child was transported by rescue squad to Jennie Edmundson Hospital. At Jennie Edmundson, emergency medical staff observed injuries on the infant that were consistent with him being physically abused. The child’s condition began to deteriorate and he was transferred to Children’s Hospital in Omaha where he remains in critical condition.

Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division were notified and took over the investigation. As a result of the investigation it was determined that the infant’s father, Jack Williams was the sole caretaker for the infant when the injuries occurred.

Officers located Williams at the motel Thursday afternoon and took him into custody.

Jack Williams

State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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

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The Creston Police Department reports the arrest Thursday night, of 49-year old Michelle Renee Schell, of Creston. Schell was taken into custody at around 7:50-p.m. in the 100 block of E. Adams Street, on charges of 5th Degree Theft and Public Intoxication. She was being held in the Ringgold County Jail on a $300 cash bond.

(7-a.m. News)

The principal at Pekin Middle School decided to make a big statement to support a student who was teased by classmates. Jackson Johnston shaved his head to honor his grandfather, but didn’t get the support he expected when he went to school. “Right off the bat I got rude comments like ‘okay baldy’, ‘oh,you look like you have cancer,’ stuff like that,” Johnston says. Johnston says his classmates didn’t understand why he shaved his head.

“My grandpa is going through chemotherapy because he has a very rare form of cancer,” Johnston says. “And I’ve been close to my grandpa ever since I was a little kid. We’ve done everything together.” Pekin Principal Tim Hadley learned about the issue with the 6th grader. He says Jackson’s mom called and said he had been excited, but things turned disappointing after the comments from his classmates. “She just basically stated that it was probably one of the worst days that he had.”

Hadley decided to turn the issue into something positive. He says he thought about it and could have disciplined the kids, but decided it was better to use it as an opportunity in the correct response and how to support others. “I’m a big believer in you can talk, but it’s better when you walk,” Hadley says. So, he allowed the 11-year-old Johnston to shave his head at a school assembly. Hadley says he knows how Johnston felt.

He says cancer affects everyone and in his case his mother battled cancer when he was in high school and he lost a grandfather to cancer. “So it is something that was near and dear to me,” Hadley says.

Hadley says his haircut got the response he wanted from students, but it has gone beyond that to people in the community who also responded with their support and praise for the way he handled the situation. He says he hopes everyone will think before they make comments to someone and ask if the comment will build them up or tear them down.

(Radio Iowa)