The U-S Postal Service is issuing a new set of four stamps depicting the architectural beauty of bridges, and two of those bridges lead to Iowa.

The series of stamps is simply called “Bridges” and one of them shows an aerial view of the recently-completed Interstate 74 bridge over the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities, officially known as the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge, which connects Bettendorf and Moline. Another stamp depicts a span at the other end of the state: The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge which links Council Bluffs to Omaha, Nebraska. The others are the Skydance Bridge in Oklahoma City and the Arrigoni Bridge connecting Middletown and Portland, Connecticut. The 25-cent stamps are for Presorted First Class Mail and they went on sale Thursday.

For information about the stamps including how to order a First Day of Issue Postmark, visit: https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2023/pb22628/html/info_005.htm.

Creston Police report that on Thursday, August 24 at 10:18 am 51 year old Christopher Charles Trisler of Arispie was arrested at 302 N. Pine St.  Trisler was charged with 10 counts of Harassment 1st Degree – Sexting.  Trisler was taken to Union County Jail. Bail of $20,000 cash or approved surety was posted.

Also on Thursday, Abby Joann Woodruff of 115 W. Montgomery St., reported that someone had entered her apartment, let her dog out of the kennel and took hair gel. Estimated loss $10.

On Friday, August 25, 2203 at 2:40 am 40 year old Angel Valdovinos Rodriguez of Creston was arrested at 201 W. Monroe.  Rodriguez was charged with Disorderly Conduct. Rodriguez was cited and released on a Promise to Appear.

Also, Friday at @ 2:43 am 24 year old Tyler James Woodsof Creston was arrested at 201 W. Monroe.  Woods was charged with Disorderly Conduct and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Woods was taken to Union County Jail. Bail of $600 cash or approved surety was posted.

On Monday, Aug. 21, the DNR was notified of a black liquid in an unnamed tributary, approximately 1 to 1 ½ miles from the North Raccoon River. This liquid has been identified as hog manure and the investigation is ongoing.

Although the manure is no longer actively flowing, an unknown amount of manure continues to be pooled in numerous areas in the tributary and in drainage district tile 37B, verified with the Greene County Drainage District.

The public is asked to continue to avoid swimming or recreating in this area. Additionally, it is recommended that livestock using the tributary for watering be limited as well.

Throughout the week, DNR staff have investigated the area by checking tiles, tile intakes, and drainage tile outlets. Additionally, local officials and multiple landowners have provided information. Field tests show dissolved oxygen at zero and ammonia concentrations greater than 300 ppm, which is as high as the field tests read. Water samples have been collected and sent to the State Hygienic Laboratory for further analysis and are expected within the next 7-10 business days.

One week from today (Friday), the Iowa D-N-R’s State Forest Nursery in Ames will open its phone lines and website for taking seedling orders — both for this fall and next spring. Nursery manager Pat Griffin says they’re preparing now to handle what will most certainly be a deluge of requests for the tiny trees and shrubs.

If you do the math, that’s about 600-thousand seedlings that were sent out last season, though some years, it’s as many as a million. The tree varieties include 23 species of native hardwoods, along with eight evergreen species and 15 smaller trees and shrubs.

Varieties include hickory, maple and walnut as well as red oak, river birch and black cherry, and dozens more. While orders can be made starting September 1st, the seedlings won’t start shipping out until November 1st. Griffin says November is an ideal time to launch into landscaping.

Situated on 98 acres south of Highway 30 in Ames, the nursery was created by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and has run continuously ever since. The nursery had to raise its seedling prices last season, but Griffin says it didn’t impact sales.

Prices range from 80-cents to a-dollar-20 per seedling. They’re sold in three age classifications, and range in size from 10 to 30 inches, depending on the species. Sales run through May. Orders can be placed starting September 1st at 1-800-865-2477 or online at http://nursery.iowadnr.gov/.

Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is pushing back at critics who say her plan to override California’s law on pork production will derail up to a thousand laws in other states. California’s law requires that bacon and other uncooked pork that’s sold in California must come from operations that have 24 square foot pens for sows.

Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says liberal activists in California should not be able to tell Iowa pork producers how to run their operations.

The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau say it will cost 350 million dollars to retrofit U-S hog confinements to meet California’s rules, but the U-S Supreme Court upheld California’s law in May. A coalition of groups lobbying against Hinson’s proposal say it would open the floodgates to China’s take-over of American agriculture.

A bipartisan group of 150 House members also have warned adding Hinson’s so-called “EATS Act” to the Farm Bill would kill the Farm Bill’s chance for passage this year. The lawmakers say Hinson’s proposal would harm pork producers who’ve complied with California’s rules and would overturn other state laws about invasive pests, livestock diseases and puppy mills. California’s new standards for pork are set to go into effect January 1st. California’s space requirements for ag operations that produce veal and eggs went into effect nearly a year ago.

According to an I-S-U alert, as many classes as possible were moved online Thursday.  All I-S-U classes will be online Friday.  University officials are encouraging students living in the dorms to go home for the weekend if they can.  I-S-U’s main library has been closed and isn’t scheduled to reopen until Monday.  Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine on the south side of Ames is not affected by the outage.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she’s been focusing on small businesses as she travels across the state. Ernst has been naming a small business of the week and also introduced the “Prove It Act” she says will protect those businesses from federal government overreach.

The Republican from Red Oak is the ranking member of the Senate Small Business Committee.

Ernst says as she travels throughout the state she continues to hear about the challenges entrepreneurs are facing due to inlfation and a lack of affordable childcare options. She hopes to expand access to Small Business Administration Loans to bring more childcare slots to communities.

Ernst says she’s just finished visiting all 99 Iowa counties for the ninth year in a row.

After four straight days of sweltering heat statewide, forecasters say a cool front is approaching and, hallelujah, highs may only be in the 70s by next week. Meteorologist Alexis Jimenez (hah-MEN-ez), at the National Weather Service, says we should start seeing a change for the cooler within a matter of several hours.

She says the long-range forecast indicates the extreme heat isn’t returning anytime soon, and high temperatures will be much closer to normal.

Several more records were broken on Wednesday.

The Excessive Heat Warning is scheduled to expire at 7 o’clock this evening. It was issued on Monday morning.

State officials have significantly raised Iowa Medicaid’s reimbursement rate for substance abuse counseling.

The 2023 Iowa legislature approved a 13 million dollar increase in Iowa’s Medicaid program for both substance abuse and mental health services. Three million dollars of that is being used to nearly double Medicaid’s reimbursement rate for substance abuse counseling. Seven million dollars is being used to provide a more than 18 percent increase in what Medicaid will cover for a counseling session with a mental health professional. The other three million dollars is being spent to raise the daily Medicaid reimbursement for in-patient psychiatric care for children.

Ames, Iowa – Graduates of Iowa State University’s Master Conservationist Program are invited to gather in the Loess Hills this September for the first-ever statewide meetup.

“The goal for this event is to get graduates together to explore different parts of Iowa while providing space for socializing and learning,” said Kaycie Waters-Brocka, natural resources field specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and co-director of the Master Conservationist Program.

The event will begin with a dinner and social at the Desoto National Wildlife Refuge on Sept. 29, followed by a day of field trips around the Loess Hills on Sept. 30. Graduates will get the opportunity to meet conservation professionals in western Iowa and learn about how management in the Loess Hills differs from other places in Iowa. Saturday’s tour will begin at the new Willow Lake Nature Center, where participants will learn about various water quality conservation practices happening in the area. Participants will then get to hike around a few scenic places in the Loess Hills while learning from County Conservation Board and Department of Natural Resources biologists. Lunch will be provided, and during lunch attendees will learn about the unique fire management that happens in the Loess Hills.

The Master Conservationist Program started in Iowa in the 1990s but was redesigned and reinvigorated in 2017. Since then, over 700 people have completed the curriculum that combines online lectures about statewide efforts for conservation and land stewardship with in-person lessons led by local natural resources professionals in over half of Iowa’s counties. Graduates are encouraged to volunteer in their communities and continue to stay engaged with one another and local instructors. This statewide meeting will be the first of its kind. The program’s goal since its inception has been to “Plant the seeds of conservation in Iowa.”

Adam Janke, program co-director and extension wildlife specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach, said he hopes graduate engagement efforts such as this will help those seeds flourish.

This year’s event is hosted by ISU Extension and Outreach Harrison County. Future graduate meetups will be hosted in other areas of the state, with the goal of giving graduates more opportunities to network and learn from one another, while also explore more of Iowa’s unique natural resources.

Graduates of any Master Conservationist Program offering from any year are invited to attend the event. The registration for this event is $35 and payment in the form of cash or check will be accepted at the event. Dinner on Friday evening and lunch on Saturday will be provided. Pre-registration is required, and registration closes on Monday, Sept. 18. Registration can be found at this web link: https://go.iastate.edu/BWODOE.

Lodging is not provided. Those traveling can explore surrounding areas for overnight accommodations: Missouri Valley, Onawa, Denison, Harlan and Council Bluffs, Iowa, or Blair, Nebraska.

This event is only open to those who have previously completed the Master Conservationist Program. For more information, contact Kaycie Waters-Brocka at 515-294-5820 or kwaters@iastate.edu; or reach Adam Janke at 515-294-7429 or ajanke@iastate.edu