(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has unanimously ruled the Linn County Auditor can pursue his lawsuit that questions the security of Iowa’s voter registration system. In 2019, Linn County Auditor Joel Miller, a Democrat, alleged the state’s computerized database of registered voters is potentially vulnerable to cyber threats. Last year a district court dismissed Miller’s lawsuit on the matter, but the Iowa Supreme Court says Miller has the right to go to court and get answers about the security of Iowa voter registration lists.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, says first and foremost, he wants to assure Iowa voters that Iowa’s election systems are secure. Pate says in the years since Miller’s complaint was filed in 2019, the state has installed robust cybersecurity measures in its election systems.

You may recall Linn County Auditor Joel Miller was the Democrat who ran against Secretary of State Paul Pate in 2022 and Miller questioned how Pate had spent eight million dollars to update Iowa’s computerized voter registration system. Pate, a Republican who also lives and voted in Linn County, won that race with about 60 percent of the vote.

(Radio Iowa)  -Social media pages are lit up by photos Iowans took of the Northern Lights last night and stargazers are hoping for a repeat tonight. There are few certain things in life, and catching the aurora borealis over Iowa is definitely -not- one of them. University of Iowa Physics & Astronomy Professor Allison Jaynes watched the dancing bands of green and red over a cornfield near Iowa City last night and says it’s a roll of the dice whether we’ll see the rare treat again after the sun sets in a few hours.

The lights were visible Thursday night over the Johnston area. (National Weather Service photo)

“The solar wind speed is still very high and that’s very good news for us. That means that there’s still energy coming into Earth’s magnetic field from the sun, and it just is a matter of if that persists or if it doesn’t,” Jaynes says. “So we’re going to have to wait and see.”

Seeing the spectacle in the sky is often a simple matter of being in the right place at the right time.

Prof. Allison Jaynes (UI photo)

“We can’t predict when the Aurora is going to show up and where it’s going to be. In general, the best place to look will be north,” she says. “So if you can get away from any area where there’s a city to your north and then have a look at the northern horizon, that’s the best bet for us down here in the mid-latitudes.”

If you’re going to drive an hour to get out of town on the hopes of trying to see the light show, it’s hard to know exactly when to launch the adventure. Jaynes says you would be wise to use the internet before hopping in the car with a blanket and binoculars.

“There’s several great Aurora watchers that are out there. There’s the Aurora Guy, Vincent Ledvina, one of my colleagues up in Alaska,” Jaynes says. “And there’s Aurorasaurus, which is a crowdsourcing platform which looks at tweets that mention aurora and then tries to show a distribution of where people are seeing aurora across the world.”

While the photos are often colorful and mesmerizing, keep in mind, those were likely obtained by someone using a long exposure and a tripod. Catching the real thing can be a thrill — or it can be a little disappointing — depending on your expectations.

“The pictures you see online are from people’s cameras, and that’s normally not what they’re seeing with their eyes,” Jaynes says. “The cameras are much more sensitive than our eyes, so it’s very important if you want to see it firsthand with your own eyes, to go to a very dark spot. And that being said, there is not that much of that here in Iowa or anywhere in most of where people live in this country.”

While Iowa is considered a rural, agricultural state, it’s full of light — and light pollution — at night, especially when you look at something like the Dark Sky Map. Still, Jaynes says she’s encouraged how the recent aurora appearances have captured the attention of so many people, who venture forth and gaze into the heavens.

“I saw lots of people out last night. Actually, I was driving along rural roads just trying to find a spot where you could see north over the cornfields — and there were cars everywhere,” she says. “People stopped, people outside with cameras, so it’s really a community event right now, and people are taking notice.”

Fingers crossed for tonight!

(Radio Iowa) – Weather conditions are ideal for harvest and Iowa farmers are able to move at a quick pace this year. Andy Sabers farms north of Manchester and says it’s not often they’re blessed with day after day of sunshine and warm temperatures during fall.

Combine harvesting corn. (ISU Extension photo)

Alan Atwater farms southwest of Manchester and says the harvest work has pretty much been non-stop since they started.

The latest U-S-D-A crop report shows 22-percent of the state’s corn has been harvested, a day ahead of normal, while the soybean harvest has reached 58-percent complete, one week ahead of average. Cooler temperatures are in the forecast, and dry weather is expected to continue into next week.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the sentence of a Fairfield teen who pleaded guilty to murdering his Spanish teacher. Willard Miller, who was 16 at the time of the crime, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 35 years. Miller’s attorney argued there should be expert testimony about sentencing a juvenile to a mandatory minimum sentence, and Miller’s attorney called the sentence unconstitutional.

The justices’ opinion says the Iowa Constitution does not ban giving minimum sentences to juveniles and it says there’s no state law requiring expert testimony. Miller and another student pleaded guilty to murdering Fairfield Spanish teacher Nohema Graber (noh-AY-muh GRAY-ber) three years ago.

The Iowa Supreme Court’s chief justice, who wrote the unanimous opinion, said: “the harm to Graber and her family is no less because Miller committed the crime as a juvenile.”

(Atlantic, IA – by FFA Reporter Maddy Anderson) – Each year the Southwest FFA District and Iowa FFA officers plan and facilitate Greenhand Fire Up Conferences for FFA members in the Southwest District. Atlantic High School welcomed 375 FFA members from 29 FFA chapters from all over the Southwest District on Wednesday October 9th.

While at Atlantic High School on Wednesday, district and state officers lead four interactive workshops for first year high school FFA members, also known as Greenhands, for the annual Greenhand Fire Up Conference. The workshops facilitated were leadership focused with an emphasis on the experiences that occur in the lives of beginning high school students.

Iowa FFA President, Collin Bauer, stated, “Greenhand Fire Up provides a chance for first-year high school members to get a sneak peek of the opportunities that FFA holds, and is a conference for members to meet and interact with state and district officers.”

This year 11 Atlantic FFA members participated in Greenhand Fire Up Camp. Rylan Martin said, “I had a great time at Greenhand Fire Up Camp. It was a good experience and I had a lot of fun meeting new people.“ Clara Kennedy said, “I had a lot of fun and I think that every 8th and 9th grade FFA member should go to this conference.”

left to right
Front row
Chloe Sonntag, Jovie Richter, Dylin Ball, Jackstin Lucas, Zack Boes
Back Row
Paislee Klever, Clara Kennedy, Rylan Martin, Ciara Tasto, Mia Kloewer, Kourtney Ross

The officers prepared and facilitated workshops of: authenticity, balancing priorities, communication, and FFA opportunities – in order to provide the first-year FFA members with skills they would use both within and outside of FFA. The goal was to engage FFA members in learning about the tools that would allow them to be successful in anything they are part of through high school and beyond.

Greenhand Fire Up is made possible with support from the Iowa FFA Foundation.

(Marysville, M).) – Atlantic FFA Reporter Maddy Anderson reports that on October 3rd (2024), 27 Atlantic FFA members attended the fall contest held at Northwest Missouri State University located in Maryville, Missouri. The members got the opportunity to compete in several different contests. The Floriculture Team had 5 members compete placing 1st in the Iowa Division and 5th Overall.

Floriculture Team Left to Right:
Rylan Martin, Jacquie Freund, Journey Saffron, Paislee Klever, Nataile Smith

Team members Rylan Martin placed 11th, Jacquie Freund placed 13th, Journey Saffron 27th, Paislee Klever 41st and Nataile Smith placed 70th. The Floriculture CDE includes three phases: Identification of Plant Materials, Identification of Greenhouse/Floriculture Tools & Supplies, Disorders and Diagnosis, and a General Knowledge Examination. Jacquie Freund said “ It was a fun new experience and I loved meeting new friends and looking at all the pretty flowers.

This year, the chapter had 5 members compete in the Livestock Evaluation contest, placing 4th out in the Iowa Division and 9th overall. The scores from Atlantic FFA Miraylie Stuart 22nd, Addalyn Sonntag 51st, Aly Dreager 65th, Maddy Anderson 76 and Tenley Cappel 108th out of more than 170 contestants. Addalyn Sonntag said “ I felt like it was a great day to do some livestock judging, and I enjoy learning more about judging and getting better at it.” In this contest, members had the opportunity to display their agricultural knowledge of various livestock breeds. Those who competed had to place breeding and market classes of beef, swine, and sheep, while also doing three classes of oral reasons.

The Horse Judging Contest had Atlantic FFA members place 3rd in the Iowa Division and 5th Overall. Team members Kayedance Sturm placed 9th, Callie Rudy placed 15th and Clara Kennedy placed 26th overall. The Horse judging contest consisted of a 25 question written exam, 3 halter classes, 1 performance class and two sets of oral reasons.

Horse Judging Team
Left to Right:
Kayedance Sturm, Callie Rudy and Clara Kennedy

The Dairy Foods contest had 7 members compete in the contest placing 2nd in the Iowa Division and 11t overall. The team was made up of Lola Comes 20th, Dani Bennett 55th, Hayden Kleen 66th, Keston Schmitt 81st, Hunter Quist 96th, Braden Wood 98, and Frank Freund 101st. This contest has members try different types of cheese, find the defects in milk, look at milking equipment, and take a written exam. Together they placed as the top Iowa team. Hunter Quist said “ I had a great time eating dairy foods like cheese and drinking milk,Also I disliked the written test.”

In the FFA Knowledge Exam Atlantic FFA placed 2nd in the Iowa Division and 10th overall. Members Lily Johnson placed 7th, Lauren Comes placed 23rd and Mia Kloewer placed 140th overall. This contest consisted of a 100 question written examination covering general FFA knowledge. Lauren Comes: “I enjoy going to the northwest to try a new contest that I haven’t done before.” In the Dairy Cattle Evaluation contest, Dylen Dreager and David Retallic competed in this contest. Dyle placed 24th and David placed 104th even though he did not have time to complete the entire contest. The purpose of the District Dairy Cattle CDE is to enable students to develop skills in dairy animal selection and dairy herd management. They evaluated and ranked dairy animals based on visual factors of selection.

Finally, in the Farm Business Management exam Atlantic FFA member Jarrett Hansen placed 32nd out of 106 individuals. The Farm Management CDE consisted of an objective test over management principles, record analysis, marketing, budgeting, and farm business organization. Jarrett Hansen said “ It was a really fun time going to a different state to compete with kids I never met.”

FFA Knowledge and Farm Business Exam
Left to Right:
Mia Kloewer, Lily Johnson, Jarrett Hansen, Lauren Comes

Dairy Foods Left to Right: Dani Bennett, Lola Comes, Braden Wood, Hayden Kleen, Keston Schmitt, Frank Freund and Hunter Quist

(Radio Iowa) – After push-back on a previously proposed 10 bird limit on the number of pigeons that could be kept at a Storm Lake residence, city officials are considering a 100 bird limit. During a meeting last month, a family that raises and races homing pigeons told the Storm Lake City Council they often have 80 birds on their property. Longtime resident Dan Maier says Storm Lake had problems in the 1980s and ’90s with pigeon and crow droppings — and it will be a problem again if up to 100 birds are allowed at a single property.

Storm Lake Racing Pigeon Club (Facebook photo)

Daryle Saltzgiver, president of the Missouri River Flyers pigeon racing club, disputes the idea that homing pigeons spread respiratory illnesses.

Storm Lake City Council member Meg McKeon says she’s learned a lot about homing pigeons in the past couple of months.

Storm Lake officials are preparing an ordinance for pigeons that’s like one Sioux City has had for decades. A public hearing on the ordinance will be held at the next council meeting on November 4th.

(Radio Iowa) – Thirty Iowa cities – including Adair, Greenfield, Harlan, Mt. Ayr and Villisca – have entered a state contest to win a large-scale public mural for their community. The design and painting will be done by Iowa City artist Thomas Agran who has been commissioned by non-profits, cities and corporations to do over 50 murals in the past decade. Each city competing for a mural submitted a one-minute video to showcase the attributes of their town. A few of the videos, like Jefferson’s, directly referenced the potential mural.

A group from Osceola County hopes to put the mural on an agricultural museum in Sibley.

Online voting to determine the three finalists ends on Tuesday, October 15th at 5 p.m. See this link to watch the videos and cast a vote. Other communities that are vying for the mural include: Waverly; Osceola County/Sibley; Oelwein; Fort Dodge; Fort Madison; Fairfield; Indianola; Lone Tree; Boone; Pocahontas; Quad Cities; LeClaire; West Branch; Manchester; Rock Rapids; Sac City; Jefferson; Ames; Cedar Rapids; Elkader; Spencer, and Osceola.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Motorists may have noticed a slight dip in the price of gasoline this past week. According to the Iowa Triple A fuel report, the price of a gallon of regular unleaded has was down a penny from last week, as of Oct. 9th, at $2.98/gallon, on average. That’s down 41-cents from one-year ago, and 23-cents cheaper than the national average. The nationwide average price for unleaded was $3.21/gallon, as of Wednesday, which was up a penny from last week.

Retail diesel prices were up 6-cents this past week, to a statewide average of $3.38/gallon. One-year ago, Iowa diesel prices were at $4.27/gallon. The state’s average price for diesel is 22-cents lower than the national average of $3.60/gallon.

The price of wholesale ethanol held steady, at $2.16/gallon.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Students at the Atlantic Middle School were briefly evacuated this (Friday) morning, after an odor that smelled like gas was detected. Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnsen told KJAN in an e-mail, that they “Didn’t know for sure if it was a natural/ propane or sewer gas.  There is a difference with those odors, but we wanted to ensure the safety of the students, so we had them evacuate the building immediately and called the Atlantic Fire Department and Atlantic Municipal Utilities to check the building.” The students staged at the Trojan Bowl until the all-clear could be given.

Dr. Johnsen said AFD and AMU crews “Did a fabulous job of checking all parts of the building and found nothing.” She says “We suspected it was something, but wanted to make sure it wasn’t something harmful within the building.  We reviewed security cameras and determined it was a student prank.  While we were relieved it wasn’t dangerous odors, we are now dealing with student discipline.”

Dr. Johnsen said also, “We totally appreciate the quick response of our city partners, AFD and AMU for coming to our middle school and ensuring our safety.”