(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Farm Bureau economist, Sam Funk, doesn’t expect all the logistics and other issues to be sorted out and bring food prices down as we move into a new year. “You know I really doubt that the prices are going to decrease going into the new year. I really think it’s going to be a longer-term inflationary pressure that we’re still going to feel,” Funk says. Fertilizer prices have been rising — and he says the cost of all other inputs used by farmers are unlikely to drop. “If you think about just increasing the price of fertilizer for our corn and soybean fields even across Iowa — you’ve got to think that that’s probably going to push more and more areas even outside of Iowa or lower productivity acres potentially in the state, they are going to take a hit because they won’t be able to afford to put fertilizer on those areas. We may take back some of that corn acreage or soybean acres,” according to Funk.

“And frankly, with the demand, we’ve seen across the world, and people want to eat better. We will probably see some more inflationary pressure,” Funk says. “Federal policies, if we have any more of these programs out through there, you could see additional dollars that will make it potentially a higher amount of pressure for inflation to go up yet.” Higher energy prices also figure into the equation. “We’ll probably actually see more pressure because we’ll see somewhat of a decrease in the amount of productivity that we can get out of the ground because we’ve got higher energy prices that just won’t be counteracted,” he says.

He says those issues will go along with the logistical problems the country is facing in getting the inputs in and the products out.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are warned to be extra cautious before buying anything online or even in-person on this Black Friday. Consumer protection expert Michael Domke says if you’re shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, you need to read the ads carefully and be aware of each particular merchant’s guidelines on returns, among other things. “There are laws that require certain disclaimers in advertisements and those are typically buried in that fine print,” Domke says, “and in that fine print is where you’re going to find the duration of the sale, whether there’s any terms and conditions, and return policies.”

Online scammers will certainly be out in force on this big shopping day, looking to get your money by offering fake ads for popular items.  “They’re advertising either an item that is typically out of stock,” he says, “a really hot item for the season, and it’s a fictitious website.” Domke says you should be very careful when clicking on coupons or other deals in your phone’s text messages or in social media feeds. “They try to lure more information out of you,” Domke says. “It may be the situation where once you click on it, the malware is going to suddenly infect the device that you’re using and give them access to your personal or banking information.”

It’s buyer beware once you’ve left established websites or stores, he says, as fake items can also being listed on places like Amazon, eBay or Walmart. Take a look at the seller and check reviews before putting down any cash. As always, if a deal seems too good to be true, double-check that link before you double-click.

(Rural Creston, Iowa) – No injuries were reported following a collision on Highway 34, southwest of Creston, Thursday afternoon. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, a 2011 Chrysler 300C driven by 89-year-old Tommie R. Stoner, of Afton, and a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by 33-year-old Maggie E. Stuart, of Creston, were both eastbound on Highway 34 at around 2:54-p.m., near mile marker 86, when Stuart was following to close and failed to pay attention to the speed of the Chrysler, which was ahead of her.

The SUV struck the rear of the car, causing a total of $6,000 damage. Both drivers pulled-off onto the south shoulder of the road following the crash. No citations were issued.

(rural Atlantic, Iowa) – Firefighters from Elk Horn, Kimballton and Marne were dispatched Thursday night to a small shed fire located north of Interstate 80, at 144 Zinnia Road .  The call went out at around 5:48-p.m.  The structure was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

According to Josh Krause with the Marne Fire Department, the shed was nearly destroyed by the time the first crews arrived on the scene. A shed to the south of the burned building was beginning to show signs of smoke, but crews were able to protect it from further damage. He says the blaze apparently started with a brush pile nearby, north of the shed, which spread to the trees.

Atlantic Fire was called to bring a tanker truck to the scene, but told to disregard because Marne’s unit was on the scene. No injuries were reported. (Photo’s submitted)

Google view of the property