Private and professional people from Audubon, Breda, Manilla, Manning, Ames, Des Moines, and Pennsylvania attended the kickoff meeting to repopulate rural areas June 24th at Timmerman Shelter House in Manning. Called by Rep. Dan Muhlbauer, state legislator from Manilla, participants heard the loud and clear message that small communities have tremendous potential, especially in light of ever-expanding technology and investments made by independent and locally-owned rural Iowa telephone companies.

Muhlbauer said “Population loss in my number one concern, especially for its impact on our schools and how communities view each other.” Muhlbauer, a Manilla area farmer and Iowa legislator, said also “Downward trends, loss in numbers of students and families that force school consolidation and closing concern me greatly. Looking only at the generations in my family, I graduated from Manilla, my kids graduated from IKM, my grandchildren will go to IKM-Manning and now the school in Manilla is closing – how far will my grandchildren have to travel to go to school? Will there be gainful work for my family to remain in the area? In Iowa? Will our communities exist in 10 or 15 years?”

“We have businesses that want to grow,” continued Muhlbauer, a lifelong resident of Crawford County. “The reality is that in Iowa, we have a 3.5 percent unemployment rate, with two percent of our population unemployable, so we have little to no workforce to supply the needs of existing businesses, let alone add new ones. Western Iowa Advantage is doing great work in our counties. They have financial tools and great programming in place, but the reality is that we are not growing. I want to bring to the region something we’ve never used in our area, called Community Builders.

Muhlbauer said “Under the direction of Frank and Kimberlee Spillers and their company, Global Horizons, Community Builders is a means of strengthening communities by working together. I want to work toward ‘One Iowa,’ where what is good for each rural community is good for the state.”

“The foundation of Community Builders is how communities view and talk about themselves because what is said impacts how outsiders view us,” said presenter Frank Spillers. Communities, families, individuals, businesses, and organizations that have a good vision, and think, talk, and act well together, grow. Communities have the power to stop declining populations and re-brand themselves from ‘we’re dying’ to ‘we are attractive, viable, a-great-place-people-would-want-to-move-here.’ This shift in attitude and verbiage alone has tremendous power in the perception of how rural communities are viewed.

“In my nearly 30 years of working in rural community development, this is one fact I know: rural America can no longer afford conflict among themselves and between communities. Communities must let go and forgive histories of school mergers and athletic competitions. Rural communities will grow only when they move beyond conflict and turf issues. Communities must focus on positive change, collaboration, and open our minds to new ways of thinking to act as one. Successful communities relate well to each other within and between towns.”

Everyone must be able to see having a role in community growth. Involvement and commitment of all community members – not just a few of those in leadership positions or, as in some communities, “the good old boys club” – is key to the success of repopulation.

“In some communities where I have used Community Builders, the signs were clear: adapt, make changes, or continue the trend to decline,” shared Spillers. “Community members recognized the consequences of failure or, more pressing, failure to act. They came together, discussed their mutual opportunities, assumed responsibilities for their own growth, and took necessary action as a collaborative group.

“Communities and organizations must stop thinking as ‘silos,’ working only for their own benefit – that model no longer works. It’s going to take every person, every community, every school district, every business, and every organization working together in a way that is currently not being done. We’re using cutting-edge workforce engagement research with Community Builders to build upon current and future technology infrastructure because it works very efficiently with economic development tools communities and organizations already have in place.

“Community Builders teaches the art of getting along and brings people together to solve their own problems. For example, our young people often move away – sometimes because they are encouraged to do so because they’re told ‘there’s nothing for you here to make a living.’ Sometimes because they have the wrong name or live in ‘that’ part of town. Youth are critical to our rural life, as they could – and often do – become our council, school, and church board members. They become our mayors who own Main Street businesses and become leaders.

“We are targeting the 30 – 49 year-old as a strategy to build entrepreneurship through the technology infrastructure. West Central Iowa is sitting in the middle of a technology boom between the Des Moines and the Omaha/Council Bluffs economic engines. When people see opportunities for learning, a good career, to have a place to live and work where they feel safe, have a voice in what happens, and enjoy the quality of life important to them, they will be engaged in their families, workplace, and communities. It’s then an area will grow.”

City councils and communities are evaluating commitment to Community Builders to address repopulation and will discuss it at their July city council meetings. Community tours would begin in late July/early August, and take place once or twice a month until October, depending on how many communities sign up. Each gathering includes a 90-minute tour of area highlights, a meal, and dialogue on ways to repopulate and deal with community barriers to build wealth.

“In this process, lifelong residents will discover things they didn’t know existed,” Spillers concluded. “Because the world is changing so quickly, communities need contagiously positive people to be part of this movement who are growth-minded, have a ‘can do’ spirit, and unbounding optimism about the future of this region. Every single person in every community, of every background and history, is a potential resource to repopulate West Central Iowa.”

(Press Release from Global Horizons, LLC)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa is reporting its first case of West Nile virus this year. The Iowa Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that the first person infected is a man, between the age of 18 and 40, who lives in Clay County. Patricia Quinlisk, the agency’s medical director, says the man is recovering. Details about the man weren’t released.

About 20 percent of people infected with West Nile virus have mild to moderate symptoms, including fever, headache and vomiting. Less than 1 percent become seriously ill, and people can occasionally die of the disease. The virus first appeared in Iowa in 2002. Last year, there were 44 confirmed cases and no deaths.

Mosquitoes carrying the virus usually lay eggs in stagnant water, so it’s important to eliminate standing water whenever possible.

A former Mason City woman is identified as one of three victims in an Arizona homicide case. Fifty-seven-year-old Lisa Baker of Wittmann, Arizona, was found on June 9th in the back of a burned pickup truck in a remote area of Surprise, Arizona. Baker is a 1975 graduate of Mason City High School and later attended Iowa State University.

Two other victims were identified and both had criminal records, according to Arizona court records. An autopsy shows all three were shot before being burned. Police as of last week said they didn’t have any suspects in the case. Anybody with information about the case was being asked to contact the Surprise Police Department.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Records say June’s rainfall was the highest ever recorded for a single month in Sioux City. The Sioux City Journal says 16.65 inches was reported at the airport, swamping the May 1903 record of 11.78 inches.

Farmers near Smithland and Oto have said their gauges recorded 20 to 22 inches of rain last month. The state’s rain record for a single month belongs to Red Oak in southwest Iowa. It recorded 22.18 inches of rain in June 1967.

Police in Atlantic report the arrest on Monday, of 23-year old Kristopher Christensen, of Atlantic. Christensen was taken into custody on a charge of OWI/1st offense. He was booked into the Cass County Jail.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has announced 11 Iowa water systems and communities have been awarded fluoride certificates by the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors on behalf of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Dental Association (ADA). Among the communities receiving a 50-year Award from the IDPH, was Audubon (Audubon Water Supply) and Villisca (The Villisca Municipal Water Department).

Fluoridation is the adjustment of fluoride in the water to an optimal level for preventing tooth decay. The award recognizes communities that maintained a consistent level of optimally fluoridated water throughout 2010.

Fluoride is a natural element found in rocks, soil, and water. Fluoride’s benefits for teeth were discovered in the 1930s. Dental scientists found low tooth decay rates among people whose water supplies contained natural fluoride. In communities of 20,000 people, every $1 invested in water fluoridation results in $38 of savings in dental treatment costs.

The CDC has recognized community water fluoridation as one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th Century and recommends water fluoridation as a safe, effective, and inexpensive method of preventing tooth decay. IDPH is a strong supporter of fluoridation programs. The IDPH Division of Environmental Health monitors the fluoridation of public water supplies, assists and trains water system operators, and helps communities with fluoridation projects. To see the fluoridation status of Iowa counties and towns, visit www.idph.state.ia.us/hpcdp/fluoride_search.asp.

Iowans who are planning to celebrate Independence Day by hitting the open road will find plenty of company on the interstates and gasoline prices a little higher as they leave the state. Gail Weinholzer, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says the travel forecast for the 4th of July weekend calls for a boost in vacationers. “AAA Travel is predicting 41-million Americans will journey at least 50 miles or more sometime between Wednesday, July 2nd and Sunday, July 6th,” Weinholzer says. “That’s about a 2% increase over last year and it’s about 14% more than travel for Memorial Day.”

That’s five-million more travelers on this holiday than the last one. The motor club says most travelers, about 85-percent of them, will be heading to their destinations in motor vehicles, so gasoline prices will be one deciding factor in how far they go. She says prices are down slightly in Iowa, compared to the rest of the U-S. Weinholzer says, “Gas prices are below the national average by anywhere from a nickel to a dime but above last year’s totals that people were experiencing at the pump last year.”

Davenport has the cheapest gas in the state, averaging $3.45 a gallon while it’s most expensive in Waterloo at $3.59. The 4th of July holiday falls on a Friday this year, making for a natural three-day weekend for most Iowans. She says Independence Day is usually the busiest of the summer holidays, for good reason.  “We’ve got some states that don’t let their schools out prior to Memorial Day and others that go in prior to Labor Day but obviously everybody is off around the 4th of July,” Weinholzer says. “School schedules typically keep Memorial Day and Labor Day lower than the 4th of July travel.”

The current statewide average price in Iowa is $3.55 a gallon, compared to the national average of $3.68. The highest-ever statewide price for gasoline in Iowa was hit in July of 2008 at 4-oh-two a gallon.

(Radio Iowa)

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The first arrest during the month of July in Red Oak, occurred early this (Tuesday) morning. According to Red Oak Police, 22-year old Kyle Lee Foster, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5:45-a.m. at a residence on east Valley Street. Foster was taken into custody on a valid Montgomery County warrant for Failure to Appear in court on a 3rd degree burglary charge related to the theft of a vehicle.

Foster was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 cash bond.

Wet weather has done some damage to crops, but the latest U-S-D-A crop report out Monday showed 79-percent of corn and 75-percent of the soybeans were rated in good to excellent condition. Just five-percent of the corn crop was rated in either very poor or poor condition as were six percent of the soybeans. Another U-S-D-A report on planting showed a record number of soybean acres were planted, but corn planting remained about the same or was down in several Midwestern states. Nationwide about four million fewer acres were planted in corn this year — down four percent from last year. The U-S-D-A’s Anthony Prillaman says many farmers are sticking with what has worked during a run of good years.

“Definitely weather concerns, economic concerns, all of that goes into what the farmers end up deciding what they’re going to plant,” Prillaman says. A fear of lower corn prices may’ve moved many farmers to plant more soybeans. “The biggest thing for soybeans this year was just the economics, is what was driving that increase in that we’re seeing in soybeans acres across the country,” Prillaman says.

He says persistent drought conditions may have contributed to lower corn acres in Kansas, Colorado and the Dakotas. In Iowa, soybean acres are up slightly compared to last year, while farmers planted the same amount of corn. But heavy rains in the past week underscore that ultimately weather will be a major factor.

(Radio Iowa)