w/Kate Olson.
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The Atlantic Trojan softball team picked up a nice win on Tuesday night over Kuemper Catholic 14-2 in 3 innings. Coach Terry Hinzmann liked the way they responded after dropping the second game of their doubleheader against Glenwood on Monday.
The Trojans had a number of players get involved in the offensive output.
Coach Hinzmann thought they probably should of closed out the shutout but a few errors cost them at the end.
Next up Atlantic will host Harlan on Thursday.
June 20th:
June 21st:
The latest U-S-D-A crop report shows increasing drought concerns across Iowa. Only 30 percent of the subsoil moisture was rated adequate and there is zero soil with a surplus. The percentage of topsoil moisture considered short to very short has gone from 25 percent 70 percent in the last month. Iowa State Extension crop systems specialist, Mark Licht (licked), says weekend storms provided a small help to some areas.
Licht says southeast and northwest Iowa are the driest areas and he saw issues in northeast Iowa Tuesday.
Licht says it’s not a time for major concern just yet, as the impacts in the spring from drought stress are minimal compared to later in the growing season.
He says the later stress can lead to a three to five percent per day yield loss. There are predictions June’s weather pattern will turn and we’ll get more rain. Licht says that would turn things around as long as they are not dumping huge amounts of rain all at once.
Licht says the one concern is corn or bean plants that haven’t fully established themselves yet.
The U-S-D-A found the corn condition continued to decline — with 59 percent rated good to excellent — down from 70 percent last week. The soybean condition dropped to 56 percent in good to excellent shape — compared to 66 percent last week.
A group of landowners, lawmakers, and environmentalists are speaking out after the Iowa Utilities Board announced it would move the hearing on the proposed Summit Carbon pipeline from October to August. Anna Ryon, a former attorney with the Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate, says the landowner testimony was moved to first in the hearing along with the change in the date.
Ryon spoke during a conference call hosted by the Sierra Club, and says the new schedule puts the issue on the fast track and will make it tough for landowners to find the help they need.
Ryon says landowners are forced to sort of defend their land against eminent domain before actually hearing the pipeline company’s case.
State Representative Helena (Huh-lay-na) Hayes, a Republican from Mahaska County, says the House did pass a bill 73-20 that did several things, including requiring 90 percent voluntary easements before the I-U-B could grant the eminent domain for pipelines.
The Iowa Senate failed to pass the bill and it didn’t make it out of the session. Hayes says lawmakers who supported the bill plan are drafting a letter to send to state regulators in response to the hearing change.
She says representatives in the Iowa House know there are thousands of people who have not signed on to pipeline easements and she says as a lawmaker she would love to see another session to have more conversations about it. Hayes says this issue goes beyond Iowa, and everyone should keep the big picture in mind.
The Sierra Club’s Jessica Mazour says they are calling for the hearing to be delayed. She says they are concerned that with two new members on the Utilities Board, the new members are unaware of past processes and the detailed work that goes into this decision-making process.
Summit Carbon Solutions released this statement in response:
“Summit Carbon Solutions appreciates the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) establishing a procedural schedule where the public comment and hearing for our project begins in August, with a final permit decision expected to be issued prior the end of the year. This will enable Summit and the farming community to coordinate planting, facilitating construction within a single crop year. To date, Summit has signed more than 2,000 easement agreements with Iowa landowners accounting for 475 miles of our proposed project route in the state. We look forward to continuing to work with Iowa landowners, plus our 13 ethanol plant partners across Iowa, to advance our project through the regulatory process and support the region’s most important industries – agriculture and ethanol. “
Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa says she and the Michigan Democrat who’s chairwoman of the Senate Ag Committee are calling for creation of a public database of U-S agland owned by foreigners and it would set the stage for forced divestment of real estate owned by foreign entities.
Ernst says the proposal also would strengthen federal oversight and rejection of foreign investment in the ag sector of the U-S economy.
According to the U-S-D-A, 37 million acres of U-S farmland is under foreign ownership –384-thousand of those acres are owned by China. Iowa law forbids any foreign entity from owning more than 320 acres.
Other members of the House and Senate called for an outright ban on foreign ownership of U-S farmland. Ernst says the bipartisan proposal she’s working on would give the U-S-D-A authority to review the national security implications of Chinese companies doing business on American soil and block suspect deals.
China forbids foreigners from purchasing real estate in China.
A southwest Iowa county’s moratorium on wind turbine project development will remain in place through at least the rest of the year. The county’s original moratorium was set to expire July 1st and the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors have unanimously approved a 180-day extension. Supervisor Mark Peterson of Stanton read the resolution aloud during Tuesday’s board meeting.
The moratorium does not apply to construction permits already filed with the county. Diane Jacobs, who lives near Villisca, urged the board to act to avoid the kind of turmoil about turbines she sees in neighboring counties.
The moratorium does not apply to wind turbine construction permits already filed with the county. A report issued earlier this year by a national group that promotes energy with lower greenhouse gas emissions found 16 Iowa counties have established regulations for where wind turbines may be built. Seven counties have ordinances that prohibit wind turbine development. Nine other counties have moratoriums that are temporary — like Montgomery County’s.
HAWKEYE TEN CONFERENCE
CORNER CONFERENCE
WESTERN IOWA CONFERENCE
PRIDE OF IOWA CONFERENCE
NON-CONFERENCE
HAWKEYE TEN CONFERENCE
WESTERN IOWA CONFERENCE
ROLLING VALLEY CONFERENCE
CORNER CONFERENCE
PRIDE OF IOWA CONFERENCE
NON-CONFERENCE
Yesterday’s high was 90 and the low was 60. This day last year the high was 92 and the low was 63. The all-time record high was 101 set in 1988. The record low was 38 in 1902. Sunrise is 5:46 a.m. and sunset is 8:57 p.m.