A survey from the Iowa Realtors Land Institute shows farmland values dropped almost nine-percent from a year ago. Iowa’s average farmland value is now just under 65-hundred dollars an acre. In September of 2013, the average acre was worth 87-hundred-50 dollars. Kyle Hansen, at Hertz Real Estate Services in Nevada, says the decrease is tied to lower commodity prices.

“We were down 8.7% on a state average for average quality tillable ground,” Hansen says. “A lot of that is just a continuation of what we’ve seen with the downward pressure due to the extended lower commodity prices. It’s really a continuation of what we’ve seen in the last 12 to 18 months.”

He says their projections indicate farmland values will continue on the down-swing for perhaps another year. “With the commodity prices staying low and it appears like we’re going to have a great crop this year, that would continue to keep prices low,” Hansen says. “We would anticipate an additional softening over the next six to 12 months just because of the lower revenue that is being generated by the farmers.”

Hansen says the strongest farmland values in Iowa are still in the northwest, where there was a three-percent decrease. “Northwest Iowa is still the highest-priced farm ground in the state of Iowa,” Hansen says. “They have a lot of strength in the ethanol industry as well as in the years past, the higher revenue generated from livestock, primarily the beef cattle that are there.”

He says the largest drop in farmland values was in southwest Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

Three people were arrested on separate charges late Monday afternoon and evening, in Montgomery County. The Sheriff’s Department says 35-year old Randy Buck Evans, Jr., of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around3:40-p.m., for Driving While Suspended. His bond was set at $435.

Red Oak Police say at around 4:40-p.m., 46-year old Bradley Gene Adolphson, of Emerson, was arrested on a warrant for felony Theft in the 2nd Degree. Adolphson was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $5,000 cash bond.

And, at around 6:30-p.m., Red Oak Police arrested 29-year old Demarcus Jermar King, of Red Oak, on a simple misdemeanor charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. King was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

An obituary notice from Twigg Funeral Homes has identified the victim of Sunday’s shooting incident in Sac County, as 24-year old Megan Quinn Sloss, of Guthrie Center. Authorities said Monday the woman (Who was not yet identified at the time time of press release) was shot while sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle. The shooting was reported around 11:40 a.m. Sunday around two miles east of Lake View.

Megan Sloss (Photo from her obituary page at Twiggfuneralhome.com)

Officials said a man in the front passenger seat (Who has not been identified) was handling a loaded handgun when it went off and struck Sloss. She was taken to Loring Hospital in Sac City and then flown to a Des Moines hospital, where she died. The incident remains under investigation.

Her obituary says Megan was the daughter of Curt and Brenda Sloss, of rural Guthrie Center. She attended Guthrie Center Schools, Central College and was currently a master’s student at the University of Iowa studying social services. Megan planned to spend her career helping children and adults in need. She was currently working at Iowa KidSight and the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City.

Visitation is set for Thursday, Sept. 22nd, from 5:30-to 7:30-p.m. at the Guthrie Center High School Gymnasium, where a Prayer service is at 7-p.m.

The vice presidential nominees of BOTH major political parties campaigned in Iowa Monday. “This race is deadly, deadly serious.” That’s Democrat Tim Kaine. He spoke to about 300 people in Ames in the middle of the afternoon. Mike Pence, the G-O-P vice presidential nominee, addressed about 300 people in Mason City at nearly the same time. “Let’s go get it done,” Pence said. “Let’s go make it happen, Iowa.” Kaine, the Democrat, appealed to “millennial” voters during his speech in Ames, arguing Clinton is more in tune with their social views and embrace of diversity.

“We know we’re stronger together if we treat each other with respect,” Kaine said, “but if we divide against one another, dissing somebody who’s disabled, saying the military’s a disaster, going after people if they’re of Mexican American heritage or the wrong religion, we’re going to be weaker.” Pence, the Republican, focused on the series of suspected terrorist attacks in New York and New Jersey this past weekend.

“Seven and a half years of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s leadership on the world stage has weakened America’s place in the world,” Pence said, “…terrorist attacks here at home and abroad — grim and heartbreaking scenes.” Pence questioned whether Obama and Clinton know “we are at war” with “radical Islamic terrorists.” “The weak and feckless foreign policy of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has emboldened our enemies and compromised the safety of the American people,” Pence said. In Ames, Kaine asked the crowd to hold Trump accountable for “challenging” President Obama’s American citizenship for five years — until last Friday when Trump said Obama was born in the U.S., “period.”

“I want to tell you why we can’t let him move on to the next issue,” Kaine said. “This is not just a wacky guy saying wacky stuff. This is incredibly painful to millions of people.” Kaine cites the infamous “Dred Scott” case. That’s when the court ruled all people of African ancestry could never become U.S. citizens. Kaine also made a mid-day stop at a coffee shop near Drake University in Des Moines. Pence made an evening appearance in Dubuque at a manufacturing plant where Mitt Romney held a campaign rally in 2011.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. CDT

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The mayor of Waterloo ordered the city’s police chief Monday to focus on rebuilding public trust after several highly publicized missteps involving white officers’ interactions with black residents. They city’s first black mayor, Quentin Hart, said at a news conference that he would let Daniel Trelka keep his job, ending speculation that the chief would be forced out.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Gov. Terry Branstad says he doesn’t believe Hillary Clinton would support maintaining Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status during the presidential primary season, basing his opinion on her narrow win in the state in February. Branstad says he believes Donald Trump would keep Iowa first, though the Republican presidential nominee previously questioned the results of the state’s Republican caucus after he placed second behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Branstad’s son heads Trump’s Iowa campaign.

LAKE VIEW, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a woman who was shot while sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle in northwest Iowa. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office says the shooting was reported Sunday morning around two miles east of Lake View. The office says a man in the front passenger seat was handling a loaded handgun when it went off. The woman died later at a Des Moines hospital.

SANDUSKY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say 44 people were cited and one person was jailed during a weekend protest intended to block construction of a $3.8 billion, four-state oil pipeline in southeast Iowa. Thirty-eight adults were cited for trespassing and released after authorities removed them from the work site entrance of the Dakota Access Pipeline in Sandusky. Six juveniles were cited and released, and one person was held on charges of trespassing and interference with official acts.

Iowa remains among the nation’s top states for making and selling organic foods. A report from the USDA shows Iowa consumers spent over $120 million on organic items last year. Organic sales in the state doubled from the previous national survey conducted in 2011.

In 2015, Iowa ranked fifth in the nation for the total number of certified organic farms with 674 farms covering 93,707 acres. That’s up from 81,634 acres of certified organic farmland six years ago. California is far and away the national leader in both organic production and sales.

Wisconsin, New York, and Pennsylvania are also ahead of Iowa for the number of organic farms.

(Radio Iowa)

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) today (Monday) announced she will hold a roundtable in Atlantic to speak with cattle producers about the issues affecting cattle feeders, and the agriculture industry as a whole. The roundtable, which takes place 12:30-p.m. Wed., Oct. 5th, will be held at the Rock Island Depot (102 Chesnut Street), and is open to the public.

Sen. Ernst says “Our Iowa cattle producers play a vital role in our state economy and help to feed the world. This roundtable provides a great opportunity to discuss the many issues facing our cattle producers, and the ways in which we can ensure continued growth, stable markets and expanded trade opportunities for the industry.”

A traffic stop Saturday morning in Pottawattamie County resulted in the arrest of a man on drug charges. The Sheriff’s Office reports 21-year old Tanner Joseph Mathews, of Treynor, was taken into custody for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His arrest occurred after a deputy pulled over a 2007 Ford Fusion for speeding at around 3-a.m. Saturday, on Old Lincoln Highway at the intersection with the Old Mormon Bridge road.  14.5-grams of marijuana was recovered at the scene, along with marijuana pipes and a marijuana grinder.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports 5 people were arrested over the past few days. Today (Monday), 23-year old Daylan Gene Kleen, of Audubon, turned himself-in to the Sheriff’s Office on an outstanding warrant. Kleen faces charges that include Possession of Marijuana within 1,000 feet of a public park, Possession of Marijuana/1st offense, 4 counts of Possession of Prescription drugs, and removing labeling of a drug and altering a drug. The charges stem from an investigation into a traffic stop Sept. 14th near Highway 44 and Bluebird Avenue. A search warrant was also executed at Kleen’s residence in the 200 block of W. Broadway in Audubon on Sept. 15th. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by K9 “Axel,” and the Audubon Police Department.

19-year old Tristin Lee River Stevens, of Audubon, also turned himself-in to the sheriff’s department today (Monday). Stevens was wanted on an warrant for Child Endangerment issued by the Iowa State Patrol. The charge stems from an investigation into a traffic stop in Audubon on July 8th. Stevens was seen by a magistrate and released, with a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 6th.

41-year old Mitchell Lee Zinke, of Gray, turned himself-in to the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office today (Monday), as well. Zinke was wanted on a warrant charging him with Theft in the 5th Degree, with regard to a check written on June 28th to a business in Audubon County. He pled guilty to the offense and was fined.

On Saturday (Sept. 17th), 21-year old Dustin Owen Ferguson, of Brayton, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, following a traffic stop in Exira. Ferguson was released after appearing before the magistrate. And, last Thursdsay (Sept. 15th), 50-year old Timothy Duane Smith, of Audubon, was charged with Driving While Barred. The charge was the result of an incident that occurred Sept. 4th. Smith was cited into court on Oct. 6th.

Police have identified three men involved in a vehicular assault at a baseball field in Des Moines. It happened Sunday morning at the Highland Park Little League complex. Polk County Sheriff’s deputies say 40-year-old Chad Winninger of Monroe was working at the complex with two other men, 49-year-old Dean Bradham of Sioux City and 56-year-old Edwin Sullivan of West Des Moines, when Winninger struck the two men with his truck before crashing into a concession stand. Winninger fought with responding officers before he was arrested. Bradham was not seriously injured, but Sullivan remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Photo courtesy Dsm PD

Winninger is facing charges of willful injury causing serious injury, willful injury causing bodily injury, criminal mischief 1st degree, and three counts of interference with official acts causing bodily injury.

(Radio Iowa)