Lavon Eblen speaks with Dr. Bill Sears: Physician, Health Consultant, and Author about a program coming up in Atlantic this Friday with health tips for all ages.
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Lavon Eblen speaks with Dr. Bill Sears: Physician, Health Consultant, and Author about a program coming up in Atlantic this Friday with health tips for all ages.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.4MB)
Subscribe: RSS
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Thousands of Iowa households are behind on their utility bills in the wake of winter’s subzero weather. The Iowa Utilities Board figures say that as of February, more than 243,000 households were in arrears – 4 percent more than a year ago. But because of the severe cold and the higher costs of natural gas and propane, the amount of the debt has hit $46 million – 40 percent more than the figure in February 2013.
William Brand is administrator of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in Iowa, and he says 38,000 of the Iowa households in the program are behind on their bills by a total of $11.7 million. April 1 marks the end of the winter moratorium on utility shutoffs for those households.
This week’s “Fire Danger” index has been moved to the “High” category this week, in Shelby County. Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert says the risk of controlled burn spreading beyond their intended scope is increasing due to the sunny and windy conditions expected Tuesday and Wednesday. 
Seivert asks residents of Shelby County to please remember to contact the EMA at 712-755-2124 and your local fire Chief to report your controlled burn prior to starting any fires.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office today (Monday) released a report on recent arrests. Officials say on March 16th, 25-year old Jared Allen Meyer, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on OWI/3rd Offense, Interference with Official Acts and Carrying a Weapon, charges. On March 13th, 21-year old Randi Marie Jordan, of Sidney, was arrested for Possession of drug Paraphernalia. That same day, 23-year old Thomas Scott Ware, of Thurman, was arrested for Theft in the 2nd degree, Vandalism in the 4th degree, and Trespassing.
One person was transported to a hospital by helicopter following a motorcycle versus deer accident March 14th. In information released today (Monday), by the Mills County Sheriff’s office, authorities report Shaun Peacock, of Glenwood, was traveling north on 221st Street near the intersection with Ashton Road, when the 2004 Harley Davidson cycle he was riding collided with a deer that had entered the roadway.
Following the collision, the cycle entered the east ditch and slid for several feet before hitting a tree. Peacock was ejected from the machine and came to rest in a tree line. The accident happened at around 9:07-p.m., March 14th. Peacock was transported to an unknown hospital by LifeFlight helicopter.
No other information is available.
FOR SALE: 10 x 12 utility shed. Asking $800.00. Phone 712-250-0075 Exira.
FOR SALE: Torro 6.5 hp self-propelled push mower, 22″ cut, front drive mulcher $80; 5 gallons of kerosene $10. 712-326-4990.
FOR SALE: Poker table, chips and cards $60. 243-3755 or 249-2234.
FOR SALE: A Johnny Stewart predator call. $100. A Nordic Trac treadmill. Model C2300. $400. A 30×30 fire ring. Has wheels, log rack, and a lid. Asking $40. 712-527-0385.
FOR SALE: Handcrafted solid walnut shelf. Measures 6″ depth and 36″ long. Very nice. $15 Call 515-943-6471. Located in Exira area.
URBANDALE, Iowa – As the Iowa job market continues to bounce back slowly from the depths of the economic downturn, one industry that’s leading the way is clean energy. The state ranked fifth in the nation in the fourth quarter with 650 new jobs announced in such areas as wind energy, biofuels, and recycling. Among those hoping that trend will continue is Mark Schroder, who runs LED Source of Urbandale. 
“We are a LED-lighting-retrofit company,” he said. “We do some new construction, but a majority of our business is retrofitting existing business owners. And we’re certainly trying to do our part to hire more people and do what we can to keep the economy in Iowa turning.” Schroder said some of his customers are also hiring more staff, thanks to the savings from moving to more-energy-efficient lighting.
The growth in clean energy jobs is not only helping economically, but is also promoted as providing environmental benefits like curbing climate change. That’s been helped in recent years in Iowa and across the country with the availability of certain tax credits, but Schroder noted that most of those now have been changed dramatically or eliminated altogether. “And in fact we’ve had a few customers tell us that they were going to put their projects on hold due to that particular situation, so we’d certainly like to see that legislation come back,” he said. “And it certainly would help not only our business, but many other businesses as well.”
Nationwide, nearly 80,000 clean-energy and clean-transportation jobs were announced in 2013, based on more than 260 projects tracked by the nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).
Iowa clean energy jobs information is at CleanEnergyWorksForUs.org.
(Iowa News Service)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia today recommended that farmers and ranchers who plan to participate in FSA programs register in advance. Producers are encouraged to report farm records and business structure changes to a local FSA Service Center before April 15, 2014.
Enrollment for the disaster programs authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, including the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) will begin by April 15, 2014. “We expect significant interest in these programs,” said Garcia. “Early registration should help improve the sign-up process and allow us to expedite implementation of the programs. I strongly encourage producers to complete their paperwork ahead of time.”
Examples of updates or changes to report include:
• New producers or producers who have not reported farm records to FSA.
• Producers who have recently bought, sold or rented land. Those producers need to ensure that changes have been reported and properly recorded by local FSA county office personnel. Reports of purchased or sold property should include a copy of the land deed, and if land has been leased, then documentation should be provided that indicates the producer had/has control of the acreage.
• Producers that have changed business structures (e.g. formed a partnership or LLC) need to ensure that these relationships and shares are properly recorded with FSA. Even family farms that have records on file may want to ensure that this is recorded accurately as it may impact payment limits.
Farm records can be updated during business hours at FSA Service Centers that administer the county where the farm or ranch is located. Producers can contact their local FSA Service Center in advance to find out what paperwork they may need. In addition, bank account information should be supplied or updated if necessary to ensure that producers receive payments as quickly as possible through direct deposit.
While any producer may report farm records and business structure changes, it is especially important for producers who suffered livestock, livestock grazing, honeybee, farm-raised fish, or tree/vine losses for 2011, 2012, 2013 or 2014, and may be eligible for assistance through one of the four disaster programs.
For further information about our disaster programs and USDA’s Farm Bill implementation plan, visit FSA’s 2014 Farm Bill Web page. FSA Service Center locations can be found on the FSA website.
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