(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Officials with the Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency say a ban on open burning is in effect immediately for all areas and jurisdictions in Pottawatamie County. The ban prohibits all open and controlled burning in Pottawatamie County, including all incorporated city limits within the County.

The current dry conditions throughout the region have increased the potential for wildland fire incidents. As dry conditions persist, dead and dying vegetation is the perfect fuel to spread fires rapidly. This type of fire behavior is difficult to control and is extremely dangerous to responders and the public.

During these dry conditions, citizens are reminded to not throw out cigarettes from moving vehicles, and discontinue burning yard waste, piled tree debris or other items during the ban. Violations of a burn ban can subject a person to criminal penalties as well as civil liabilities for any damages, losses, or injuries resulting from the fire.

Iowa counties with Burn Bans in effect (as of 10-14-24)

Visit the Emergency Management website at www.pottcounty-ia.gov/emergency_management for more information on burn bans and the law. All residents are also encouraged to sign up for AlertIowa at the website to receive alerts for fire danger, evacuation notices, severe weather threats, and community emergency notifications.

There are now 58 out of Iowa’s 99 counties that are in a ban on open burning. With the addition of Pott. County, other area counties include: Cass, Adair, Audubon, Guthrie, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, and Shelby.

JOHNSTON, Iowa – October 14, 2024 – Officials with Iowa Corn have announced the names of students selected to participate in the 2024-2025 school year’s Collegiate Advisory Team (CAT) program. The program focuses on increasing college students’ understanding of the corn industry. During the one-year program, students will visit the Capitol, tour industry leaders’ operations, and expand their network and knowledge outside of the classroom.

2024 – 2025 Collegiate Advisory Team Students:

• Amanda Ostrem, Des Moines Area Community College
• Calla Langel, Des Moines Area Community College
• Morgan McKay, Des Moines Area Community College
• Presley Buttler, Des Moines Area Community College
• Tate Tentinger, Ellsworth Community College
• Kelly Lloyd, Future Flyers of America
• Ashlee David, Graceland University
• Logan Evans, Graceland University
• Adelyn Sienknecht, Hawkeye Community College
• Raymond Franzen, Indian Hills Community College
• Lucas Parcel, Iowa Central Community College
• Breanna Selsor, Iowa State University
• Brooklyn Botterman, Iowa State University
• Chris Baer, Iowa State University
• Elly Cain, Iowa State University
• Emily Bray, Iowa State University
• Lainey DeVries, Iowa State University
• Maddilyn Klemme, Iowa State University
• Madison Hoover, Iowa State University
• Mallory Behnken, Iowa State University
• Caleb Welsh, Kirkwood Community College
• RC Hicks, Morningside University
• Henry Rose, Muscatine Community College
• Marshall Zeien, North Iowa Area Community College
• Makinley Edwards, Southwestern Community College
• Rylan Oglesbee, Southwestern Community College

The Collegiate Advisory Team will meet four times over the course of the 2024 – 2025 school year, providing experience and training by Iowa Corn in areas such as leadership, effective communication, policy, and industry relations. For more information on the program, visit https://www.iowacorn.org/CAT

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra says the prospects for passage of a five-year Farm Bill are positive — after the election.  “We have great hope that we can come together, that all four corners — meaning Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate can come together and pass a Farm Bill,” Feenstra says. If no action is taken before the end of the year, the federal farm policies in place decades ago will go into effect — meaning farmers will not get federal crop insurance subsidies, for example. “We have been meeting over the last few months, trying to get this done,” Feenstra says. “We as House Republicans passed it bipartisanly out of the (House) Ag Committee. We could take it to the floor, but we don’t want to negotiate against ourselves.”

The Senate Ag Committee has not passed its own version of the Farm Bill and Democrats who are in the majority in the Senate say the House G-O-P’s proposed 30 BILLION dollar cut in federal food assistance is unacceptable. Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, says funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is a stumbling block. “SNAP is one of the challenges,” Feenstra says. “SNAP is the nutritional program that’s 85% of the cost of the Farm Bill. We want a responsible SNAP program. That’s very important.”

Ryan Melton of Webster City, the Democrat who’s running against Feenstra, says the Farm Bill needs to address water quality. “I certainly agree that we need to subsidize ag, but we have choice over how we do that,” Melton says. “I’ve talked to plenty of farmers on the ground that know — farmers themselves who know that the status quo is not working…that so many of folks cannot recreate in our rivers and lakes and our streams.” Melton says federal farm policy has to respond to the significant increase in large-scale livestock operations.  “You’re adding so much more manure to the landscape and yet you have not added more and more mitigation strategies to protect our waterways,” Melton says. “We need to sinc up the increase with increased protections for public health and for water.”

Melton suggests it’s time to consider federal regulations on how much manure and other farm chemicals can be applied to cropland.  “We need to be more responsible when we have a ramp up in industrial ag to also recognize the downstream implications, which are many,” Melton says, “to public health, to home values, to the hollowing out of our communities, to the fact that they are driving more and more small and mid-scale farmers off the land.”

Melton made his comments during a recent appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa P-B-S.