(Creston, Iowa) – Three people from Creston arrested on court orders, late Monday. Taken into custody for Violation of a No Contact Order, was:
All three were being held without bond pending an appearance before the Magistrate. Fowler and Robert Jackson were being held in the Union County Jail. Deanne Jackson was being held in the Adams County Jail.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Board of Directors, Monday night, voted to table action on a facility programs/services plan agreement with the Nishna Valley YMCA. At the beginning of the meeting, Parks and Recreation Director Bryant Rasmussen and Board member John Krogman mentioned that at recent meeting with YMCA representatives, discussion revolved around the possibility of having a consulting firm conduct a study on factors affecting what projects are most feasible, how much it could cost, and the means to fund those projects.
Rasmussen said the YMCA has proposed splitting the cost the study with Parks & Rec.
That was Board member John Krogman, who made the motion to table any action. City Council Liaison Gerald Brink said one of the things that needs to be addressed before any improvements or additions are made to Park and Rec attractions, is an increase in the Hotel/Motel tax, which some local hotel and bed/breakfast owners have been in opposition to since the tax was first debated.
(That’s Parks Board member Jolene Smith) Additional discussion and possible action on the agreement is expected to be on the agenda for Parks and Rec Board’s regular meeting at 5:15-p.m. On January 17th. That meeting will be held in the City Council’s Chambers at the City Hall.
(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests occurred from Dec. 22nd through Jan. 3rd. Most recently, on Monday, Deputies arrested 38-year-old Mandy Marie Knapp on a valid Adams warrant, following a traffic stop. Knapp was being held in the Adams County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
On Dec. 26th, Adams County Deputies responded to a fight at the Casey’s store in Corning. Upon further investigation, Juan Antonio Gonzalez, of Bridgewater, was arrested for Assault Causing Bodily Injury. Also during the incident, Gregory Dale Welcher was arrested for Harassment in the 1st Degree, Assault while Displaying a Dangerous Weapon, and Disorderly Conduct. Welcher was transported to the Adams County Jail. Gonzalez was transported to the Adams County Jail, also, and later released after posting bond.
And, on Dec. 22nd, a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle resulted in the arrest of 42-year-old Nicholas Lee Huston, of Grand Island, Nebraska. Huston was taken into custody on numerous arrest warrants from eastern Iowa agencies. He was also charged with Possession of Marijuana/3rd offense, Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia, and two counts Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. Huston was also cited for speeding 74 in a 55 zone. He was transported to the Taylor County Jail and held on a $12,300 cash-only bond.
(Radio Iowa) – The 2021 weather year wasn’t one that will end up at the top of the list when it comes to extremes — but there were a few numbers and events to note. State Climatologist, Justin Glisan, says precipitation was two or three inches below normal overall. “Basically right in the middle of distribution — so we would say top 50 driest years on record — but again, right in the middle of the behavior. So, not extremely dry,” Glisan says. He says 2021 came after a very dry 2020. Some areas caught up by the end of the year — while others continue to see rainfall deficits. “In the driest parts of the state anywhere from eight to twelve inches, now these are smaller pockets than where we were last year. Now we do see some pockets in the state — western Iowa and southern Iowa — that are near normal to above-average precipitation,” Glisan says.
One thing 2021 didn’t have was a lot of severe weather — but there were major tornado outbreaks in July and with the serial derecho in December. “The last of which — the December 15th event — is the largest tornado outbreak that we’ve seen on a single day, with preliminarily 43 tornadoes, which broke the record set on August 31st of 2014 of 35 tornadoes,” according to Glisan. “Having a tornado outbreak of that scale is an extreme event. But having that happen in December is unheard of.” Glisan says the December derecho is an event that will be studied for some time. He says the lack of severe weather tied in with the dry conditions. “It’s a reflection of the subsoil and topsoil conditions. Low-level moisture — if it’s not available — you can’t pop up thunderstorms. If you don’t have thunderstorms you can’t have severe weather, no rainfall, drought. So, it does go hand in hand,” Glisan says.
He says the temperature situation was a little unusual as well. “Temperature wise we were almost two degrees above average. It’s hard to get above or below a degree in terms of annual temperature — so that’s another significant thing we saw,” Glisan says. December alone saw temperatures average 32 degrees — which is six-and-a-half degrees above normal. Temperatures rose into the 70s on some days in December.
(Radio Iowa)- Iowa’s economy made healthy gains during December and mirrored strong growth for the nine-state Midwest region, according to a monthly survey from Creighton University. Despite climbing manufacturing numbers, Creighton economist Ernie Goss says supply chain delays worsened during the last month of the year, and the picture for the months ahead isn’t very bright. “Approximately one out of three supply managers expect supply chain bottlenecks to get worse in the first half of 2022,” Goss says, “and more than half of the supply managers reported that the Omicron variant was slowing deliveries, so that’s another concern out there.”
The Midwest’s G-D-P, or gross domestic product, rose during December, although hiring numbers fell during what’s typically one of the strongest months of the year for jobs. “Regional employment is still down about 2.6% from pre-COVID-19 levels,” Goss says. “The U.S. employment is likewise down by about 2.6% from pre-pandemic levels and all nine states are recording employment levels below pre-pandemic levels.”
In the latest figures from Iowa Workforce Development, the state’s unemployment rate fell during November to three-point-seven percent from three-point-nine percent in October. The Creighton survey’s wholesale inflation gauge for December dropped, but Goss says inflation in Iowa and the region remains at its highest levels in more than a quarter of a century of conducting the survey. Looking forward, Goss says several key challenges are emerging. “Economic growth will slow with employment gains slowing for the first quarter,” Goss says. “Short-term interest rates will begin rising and pretty quickly, I think. Supply chain bottlenecks and labor shortages and inflation will be the chief economic impediments in the first half of 2022.”
Since the start of the pandemic, Goss says Iowa’s average hourly wages advanced by only eight-tenths of one-percent.
Today: Partly cloudy & windy. High 41. SW @ 10-20 mph.
Tonight: P/cldy to Cldy w/flurries late. Low 7. NW @ 20-40. **Wind Advisory in effect from 6-p.m. today thru 6-a.m. Wed.**
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 12. NW @ 20-40 diminishing late.
Thursday: P/Cldy w/flurries. High 10
Friday: Mo. cldy w/flurries. High 23.
Monday’s High in Atlantic was 35. Our Low was 7. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 40 and the Low was 9. The Record High on this date was 59 in 1939. The Record Low was -29 in 2010.
The Humane Society led the ballot initiative that passed Proposition 12 in 2018 with almost 63% of the vote. Hormel meats said it planned to be compliant by the first of January, while Hatfield plans to be crate-free by December 2022. Tyson says it will come into compliance, but the company’s President and CEO said it was something the company was not excited about in an August earnings call.
Other groups, like the National Pork Producers Council, said the law is unconstitutional and will only drive up prices for consumers in California. Roughly 4-5% of pork producers are compliant with Proposition 12, according to the NPPC, and California consumes about 13% of pork in the United States.
Businesses who don’t comply with the law, and use meat that does not meet the requirements can be fined up to $1,000 and jailed for up to 180 days. The National Pork Producers Council is suing Karen Ross, the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The United States Supreme Court could decide to hear arguments on the appeal of that case as early as Friday.
(Radio Iowa) – The Biden Administration is providing another 800 million dollars to support smaller scale beef, pork and poultry plants and is establishing a new tipline for whistleblowers from the meatpacking industry. President Biden says the four largest meat packing companies are distorting prices for farmers and for consumers. “Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation,” Biden said. “That’s what we’re seeing in meat and poultry — in those industries now.”
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the goal with this new batch of federal grants and loans is to invest in at least 15 small packing plants and to take steps to recruit and train new workers for the industry. “Then $50 million of it is going to be utilized for technical assistance and research,” Vilsack says. “We’re going to need a lot of innovation in this industry. We’re going to need to new business models…and small and mid-sized facilities need to have this opportunity, as opposed to the ‘big four.'”
The ag department and the U.S. Justice Department are creating a new portal to handle reports of anti-competitive behavior in the meatpacking industry. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says the agencies are committed to vigorous enforcement of anti-trust laws. “When we talk about promoting competition in the agricultural sector, we are talking about whether a farmer or rancher will be paid a fair and competitive price for their goods and labor,” Garland says. “When we talk about protecting consumers in this context, we are talking about whether food will be affordable for everyone in America.”
Iowa Farm Bureau president Brent Johnson participated in yesterday’s (Monday’s) White House forum. Johnson urged Biden to work with Iowa’s congressional delegation on a price transparency bill to ensure farmers are paid an honest price for their cattle, hogs and poultry. Several of the Iowans who serve in the U.S. Senate and House said via Twitter that they were pleased to see the bipartisan bill was highlighted during Monday’s summit.
Keegan Murray poured in 35 points and Iowa overcame a 4 point halftime deficit to defeat Maryland 80-75 on Monday night. The Hawkeyes also got 13 points and 8 rebounds from Filip Rebraca as they improved to 11-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten.
Maryland had five players in double figures led by 19 from Eric Ayala but the Hawkeyes outscored the Terrapins 14-5 in fast break points. The Terrapins are now 8-5 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten.
Next up for the Hawkeyes is a Thursday road trip to face Wisconsin. We’ll have coverage on KJAN with pregame at 7:00 p.m. and tipoff at 8:00 p.m. at the Kohl Center in Madison.
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