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Will corn yield in Iowa meet USDA projection?

Ag/Outdoor

September 6th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Some crop experts are questioning the very high corn yield numbers put out by the USDA in August. The agency estimates Iowa’s average corn yield at 197 bushels per acre, five bushels better than last year’s record yield.  Todd Claussen, director of agronomy with Landus Cooperative in Ames, says he’s seeing a lot of variability from field to field. “I get that every day — ‘Boy, the crop looks great’ — and yes, it does look good at 60 miles per hour,” Claussen said. “But when you get out in it, don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, there’s no catastrophe here — but we’re quite variable,” Claussen said.

Reduced stands are an issue in some fields, according to Claussen. “If you dropped 33,000 or 34,000 (seeds), you’ve got a lot of 27,000 to 28,000 (plants today) — so we’re short of ears,” Claussen said.corn-ear-late-August-2016 Jordan Carstens, who farms near Bagley in west-central Iowa, says tip-back on corn ears will shave the high-end off his yield potential. “We got into some heat there in July, when things were really going there, pollinating,” Carstens says. “Some of the tip-back I’m seeing, it’s on ears that probably would have been 45 kernels long and they went back to 34 or 35.”

The term “tip-back” means the kernels don’t fill all the way out to the end of the ear. Still, Carstens expects “a really good” corn crop. “You never really know until you get the combine in the field and start weighing stuff up, but I think we’ll have a decent fall,” Carstens said.

The USDA crop report issued on August 12 estimated the 2016 total U.S. corn production at an all-time record level of 15.15 billion bushels. The projection, if accurate, would best the previous record U.S. corn production of 14.2 billion bushels in 2014.

(Radio Iowa/Brownfield Ag News)

WILMA J. JUHL, 93, of Pella & formerly of Audubon (Svcs. 9/8/16)

Obituaries

September 6th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

WILMA J. JUHL, 93, of Pella (& formerly of Audubon), died Saturday, Sept. 3rd, at the Comfort House in Pella. Funeral services for WILMA JUHL will be held 11-a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8th, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Audubon. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

Friends may call at the funeral home, with the family visitation to be held from 10-am until the time of service on Thursday, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, in Audubon.

Burial will be in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon.

WILMA JUHL is survived by:

Her children – Bonne (Carlos) Chase, of Pella; Marsha Laub, of Hamburg, NY; and Mark Christensen, of Riverside, CA.

Her step-children: Twyla Juhl, and Merlin (Dee) Juhl, all of Omaha.

Her sister – Helen Lauritsen, of Audubon.

Other relatives, and friends.

6 arrested in Adams County on Burglary & other charges

News

September 6th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports several people were arrested Sunday evening on Burglary and other charges. At around 7:15-p.m., deputies noticed two vehicles parked at Blacktop Services, in Mt. Etna. Six people were inside the building. Inside the vehicles, authorities found political signs taken from yards in Corning, and a marijuana pipe with a marijuana grinder.

25-year old Michael Sickels, 22-year old Blade Fox, 19-year old Kendra Wilkinson, and 18-year old’s Sydney Dimmler, Cheyenne Goodnight and Aaron Comstock, were all arrested on Burglary charges. Wilkinson and Goodnight face additional charges of Theft, while Fox was also charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The suspects live in Adams, Taylor and Union Counties.

They were booked into the Adams County Jail and held on $5,000 bond, each. (updated bond amount 11-a.m. 9/6/16)

KJAN listening area forecast from the NWS: 9/6/16

Weather

September 6th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Early This Morning: Mostly clear. South wind 5 to 15 mph.

Today: Mostly sunny. Hot and humid. Breezy. High in the upper 80s. South wind 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph. Highest heat index readings around 100 in the afternoon.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy. A chance of thunderstorms until early morning…then thunderstorms likely early in the morning. Low in the lower 70s. South wind 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph through midnight. Chance of thunderstorms 70 percent.

Wednesday: Thunderstorms. High in the lower 80s. South wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of thunderstorms 80 percent.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms through midnight…then partly cloudy after midnight. Low in the mid 60s. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. High in the lower 80s. North wind around 5 mph shifting to the east in the afternoon.

Friday: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. High in the upper 70s.

Cyclones move on to game against Iowa

Sports

September 6th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Iowa State coach Matt Campbell says the Cyclones have moved on to this week’s 64th meeting in the series against Iowa. The Cyclones are looking to bounce back from a season opening 25-20 loss to Northern Iowa. It will be Campbell’s first taste of the rivalry with the Hawkeyes. Campbell says the Cyclones need to focus on getting better and not playing up their role as underdog.

Campbell has some history he can show his team. Two years ago the Cyclones opened with a loss to North Dakota State and two weeks later beat the Hawkeyes 20-17 in Kinnick Stadium and in 2007 the Cyclones lost to UNI 24-13 and the very next week beat Iowa 15-13. A decision Campbell and the Cyclone coaches must make this week is how often will they throw the direction of Iowa All American corner Desmond King.

This will be the first time Cyclone senior center Brian Bobek has played in this game but it is not his first involvement in a rivalry with the Hawkeyes. Bobek played at Minnesota before transferring to ISU. Bobek says while the Cyclones have moved on they have not forgotten about the mistakes that cost them on Saturday.

Iowa State quarterback Joel Lanning looks forward to the game. Lanning says the Cyclones will bounce back from the loss to UNI.

(Radio Iowa/Learfield Sports)

Clinton promises campaign ‘of issues, not insults’

News

September 6th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is promising to “say no” to ANTI-union proposals if she’s elected president — and that includes rejecting a “Right to Work” law at the national level.   “Unions not only raise incomes and provide benefits for union members, but because of unions everybody is better off,” Clinton said, to applause. “And that’s a message I’m going to talk about every single day in this campaign.” Clinton was the closing speaker at the annual Labor Day “Salute to Labor” in the Quad Cities.

She touted the 256-page policy book she and her running mate Tim Kaine are released today (Tuesday). “I’ll tell you why we did this book,” Clinton said. “I think if you run for president, you ought to tell people what you want to do. Right? And what I’ve tried to do in this book…is to lay out a blueprint for America’s future.” The book’s title is “Stronger Together.” That was the theme of the Democratic National Convention in July and is the name of Clinton’s campaign plane.

Several times during her speech yesterday, Clinton stressed the need to unify the country. “We’re going to run a campaign of issues, not insults,” Clinton said, to applause. Clinton made a brief pitch on behalf of Iowa Democrats who’re on the General Election ballot and offered a list of proposals she’d advance as president, like raising the national minimum wage. She also drew cheers by promising to reject “unfair trade deals” like the Trans Pacific Partnership.

“I hope you will get involved in this campaign for these last two months,” Clinton said. “…We need everybody involved. There has never been a more important, consequential election in our lifetimes.” Clinton spoke with reporters on her campaign plane as she flew into the Quad Cities. Clinton answered questions about how she handled email during her tenure as secretary of state. Clinton also raised concerns about Russian cyberattacks that might interfere with the U.S. election.

A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee called Clinton “dishonest” and accused Clinton of the “reckless mishandling of classified information” with the email set-up she used as secretary of state.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa early News Headlines: Tue., 9/6/2016

News

September 6th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:00 a.m. CDT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport man faces a first-degree murder charge after authorities say he killed his girlfriend during an argument. The Quad-City Times reports that 55-year-old Thomas James Lopez was charged following the woman’s death Sunday afternoon. Davenport police say Lopez assaulted 37-year-old Melissa Lewis at their home on Aug. 31. According to an affidavit, Lopez slapped, choked and pushed her, causing her to fall back and hit her head on a window sill.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — An overnight shooting at an event center in Clive has killed two people and injured two others. Authorities say 29-year-old Johnny Lee Ollie Jackson of Des Moines died outside of 7 Flags Event Center. Another victim, 44-year-old Kevin Lee Hall of Des Moines, died on the way to a local hospital. Authorities say 31-year-old William Dale Celander and 25-year-old Kelly Christopher Love Jr. suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — A group plans to ask Lee County officials to create a task force to study the impact of increasing the county’s minimum wage. The Fort Madison Daily Democrat reports that county supervisors will discuss the issue at their meeting Tuesday. The request came from a group calling itself the Lee County Raise the Wage Coalition.

VENTURA, Iowa (AP) — A herd of 40 goats is helping to clear nuisance vegetation at an Iowa state park. The Globe Gazette in Mason City reports that the goats will graze on non-native honeysuckle, buckthorn and other plants that have crowded out native vegetation. The goats belong to “Goats On The Go” in Ames.

Cardinals wallop reeling Pirates 12-6

Sports

September 5th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Adam Wainwright drove in three runs and survived five occasionally bumpy innings to pick up his first victory since mid-July as the St. Louis Cardinals drummed the staggering Pittsburgh Pirates 12-6 on Monday. Wainwright hit an RBI-double off Chad Kuhl (3-3) in the second and added a two-run single in the fourth as the Cardinals held on to the second wild card spot in the National League by sending the Pirates to their seventh straight loss.

Wainwright (10-8) allowed four runs and struck out five as his ERA rose to 4.61. He hardly needed to be sharp as the Cardinals battered Pittsburgh’s beleaguered pitching staff. Jedd Gyorko and Matt Adams homered for St. Louis to extend the team’s streak of games with at least one home run to a club-record 24. Andrew McCutchen and Adam Frazier hit home runs for the Pirates, who have been outscored 47-22 during their current slide.

Rollover accident on I-80 in Cass County: No serious injuries

News

September 5th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Anita Rescue and Wiota 1st Responder personnel along with Medivac Ambulance, were called to the scene of a rollover accident Monday evening on Interstate 80, in Cass County. The accident happened near the 66 mile marker of I-80 eastbound, at around 6:15-p.m. According to dispatch reports, two occupants of a Mazda were out of the vehicle when law enforcement arrived. The pair did not request transport to the hospital.

No additional details are currently available.

Feds work to improve habitat for pollinators like bees & butterflies

Ag/Outdoor

September 5th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Insects that pollinate crops are vital for Iowa’s agriculture industry, but many species have been dying in large numbers in recent years. The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to change that. The agency’s Gary Van Vreede says they’re trying to help various groups improve the habitat for pollinators like bees and butterflies. Van Vreede says, “If we can just get the nectar species and the flowering species out there that they need, we can help them provide the habitat and the nectar and the food source that they need to thrive.”

Van Vreede says insecticides and other chemicals are taking a toll on honey bees and monarchs. “It’s been a huge problem and the decline in the number of pollinator species has been astronomical,” he says. “We’re doing whatever we can to help them out.” When Iowans put new plants in the ground, he’s asking them to keep the bugs that pollinate crops in mind as it doesn’t take a lot of nectar-producing plants to make a big difference. “Having these little stop-over areas is very important,” Van Vreede says. “They don’t need a big area like a lot of grassland birds. As they’re moving along and traveling along, these little spots can provide a lot of benefit.”

Iowa has some 4,500 beekeepers who manage more than 45,000 colonies of honey bees. Those bees produce about 4-million pounds of honey annually, valued at over $8-million. Honey bees are also responsible for the pollination of many Iowa crops, as well as home gardens and plants eaten by wildlife. The economic value of honey bees as crop pollinators in Iowa is estimated at $92 million a year.

(Radio Iowa)