Today: Patchy fog early; Mostly sunny. High 82. E @ 10.
Tonight: Fair to P/Cldy. Low 58. SE @ 5.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 84. S @ 10.
Friday: P/Cldy w/scattered showers/thunderstorms. High 80.
Saturday: P/Cldy w/scattered shwrs & tstrms. High 78.
Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 83. Our Low this morning, 58. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 89 and the Low was 64. The Record High on this date was 108 in 1936. The Record Low was 38 in 1897.
(Radio Iowa) – The Democratic Party’s nominee for state ag secretary says the Iowa Department of Agriculture needs to represent both producers and consumers. “We have to have an eye on the world and where the world is going and maybe think about the secretary of agriculture as the secretary of food, land and water.” John Norwood is a business consultant and currently serving as a Soil and Water Commissioner in Polk County.
Norwood says Iowa’s ag industry is tremendously productive, but there’s an imbalance and the state’s voluntary approach to reducing farm chemical run-off isn’t working. “We send a billion pounds of nitrates down our Mississippi and Missouri River systems and into our reservoirs like Saylorville Lake here and that creates major drinking water issues, water recreation issues, access to water issues,” Norwood says. “Over half of our state waters are impaired.”
Norwood’s first job out of college was at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority which handled drinking water and wastewater. Norwood has not proposed specific limits on nitrogen and phosphorus application on cropland. He says innovative thinking is needed to improve Iowa’s water quality AND reduce top soil loss. “We have among the richest soils in the world here in Iowa and in some cases we’ve lost a third of the top soil, ten times the rate of loss that we make in any particular year,” Norwood says. “That’s unsustainable.”
Norwood says if Iowa is to weather more frequent floods and droughts, it needs healthy soil — and more acres planted with cover crops like oats, barley, rye and hay. “That might mean bringing more livestock, outdoor livestock which are important to soil health,” Norwood says. Norwood says Iowa needs to dedicate more ag land to crops that aren’t corn and soybeans. “We should be thinking about how do we feed 3.2 million Iowans and the 80 million people who live within a day’s drive Iowa,” Norwood says, “because places like California, which supply more than half of our fruits and vegetables is facing…drought.”
Norwood worked with cattle ranchers, nut growers and other farmers in California before settling in Iowa in 2002. Norwood made his comments on the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. Current Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig (NEGG, rhymes with “egg”), a Republican, has been in office since the spring of 2018 and in this year’s election he’s seeking a second full term.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Republican party held a special nominating convention, Monday (Aug. 15), to nominate the Republican candidate on the November ballot for the position of Cass County Auditor, as required by the State of Iowa. Kathy Somers, of Atlantic, was elected as the party’s candidate to be placed on the ballot for the November election.
Somers has local government experience, having served on the Atlantic City Council for 12 years. She has served on the Atlantic Personnel & Finance Committee, the Landfill Board, and the Cass County Public Safety Commission. 
She has experience with human resources, labor laws, payroll, employee benefits, and insurance. She has been an active volunteer in the community and the Republican party.
Somers has been employed as the HR & EEO Officer/Safety Coordinator at A.M. Cohron & Son, Inc. for 13 years. In April, 2022, the Cass County Board of Supervisors appointed Sara Harris to the post, following the resignation of long-time Auditor Dale Sunderman.
Harris’ term expires at the end of the year.
The Atlantic cross country teams are hosting a midnight glow run at the end of Wednesday, August 17th into early Thursday, August 18th at the Trojan Bowl. Atlantic head cross country coach Dan Vargason said it’s simply a way to generate some excitement around the season and have a little fun.
The event will start with a kids run (400M) lap around the track at midnight. That will be followed by the open mile for anyone that wants to come up and run at 12:05 a.m. The boys cross country team will then run their mile at 12:20 a.m., followed by the girls team at 12:35 a.m.
Anyone in the community is welcome to come and enjoy the event and there is no cost.
(Radio Iowa) – While parts of Iowa saw up to two inches of rain on Monday, it may be too little, too late for many of the crops that have been critically damaged by the long string of hot, dry days. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, says there are big differences in corn crop conditions across the region, especially compared to areas in northwest Iowa that are in extreme drought.
“We really have done the damage already and things are looking pretty bleak in some places,” Todey says. “We have some places that we could maybe still help limp through a little bit, but it’s interesting because in contrast, you go up to northeast South Dakota or eastern Iowa, parts of Minnesota, conditions are pretty good.” While any more rain that falls on Iowa this week may green up our lawns a bit, Todey says precipitation at this stage on the calendar will be of limited help to farmers.
“There are still some chances for some rainfall, some hit-and-miss rainfalls, that could help some soybeans still, but we’re late enough now, the chances of being able to help much are not great,” Todey says. “Then the overall outlooks, they’re not terribly optimistic for great improvement.” The latest map from the U-S Drought Monitor shows moderate drought now stretches all the way from Iowa’s eastern border to the western border and that about 64 of the state’s 99 counties are in some form of drought.
“The other thing we’re concerned about now is starting to look towards fall soil moisture recharge,” Todey says. “We’re going to need some rainfalls in the fall to get some moisture back in the soils.” The climate outlooks show above-normal temperatures and below-normal rain for most of the region through much of September.
(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Department of Education says 900 Iowans with remaining federal student loans from the defunct I-T-T Technical Institute will get the balances deleted. Iowa borrowers owed almost 16-million dollars to the chain of schools, which closed in 2016. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller joined his counterparts across the country in seeking to get the loans forgiven. He says I-T-T was involved in significant fraud, including job placement.
“And then there were claims about the quality of education that just didn’t bear out. One of the real problems was that ITT’s quality of education was just not very good- they represented it as much better than that,” he says. Miller says students should consider a community college instead of for profit schools – – which he says can be less expensive and provide a higher quality of education.
(reporting By Tony Sarabia, Iowa Public Radio)
DES MOINES, IA – A man from Des Moines was sentenced Tuesday (Today) to 12 1/2-years in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says in addition to his sentence, 56-year-old David Alan Callison must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
In April 2019, Callison was the sole back seat passenger of a car stopped by law enforcement. In a bag next to Callison, law enforcement found over 600 grams of methamphetamine, more than $13,000, and a digital scale. The investigation revealed that Callison repeatedly obtained large quantities of methamphetamine for redistribution. Callison was on parole for a state of Iowa drug conviction when he committed this offense.
Last year, Callison’s co-defendants were sentenced. Angel Luis Toledo Castillo, age 37 of Des Moines, received a 162-month sentence, after he was found guilty by a jury in November 2019 of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Demetrio Cortes Montano, age 46 of Des Moines, received a 139-month sentence for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Gustavo Martinez, age 30 of Des Moines, received a 120-month sentence for conspiracy distribute methamphetamine.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Des Moines Police Department investigated the case, assisted by the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
JOSEPH BURG, 61, of Bridgewater, died Tuesday, August 16, 2022, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. A Mass of Christian Burial for JOSEPH BURG will be held 10:30-a.m. Monday, Aug. 22nd, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Massena. Lamb Funeral Home in Massena has the arrangements.
Open visitation will be held at the funeral home, on Sunday, Aug. 21st, from 2-until 6-p.m., with the family greeting friends from 4-until 6-p.m.; Online condolences may be left to the family at www.lambfuneralhomes.com.
Burial is in the St. Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery in Massena.
Memorials may be directed to the Joseph Burg Memorial Fund to be established by the family at a later date.
JOSEPH BURG is survived by:
His son – Joseph Leo Burg and wife Mary, of Bridgewater.
His daughters – Crystal Lunsford of San Antonio, Texas, and Angela Burg of Boone, Iowa.
His sisters – Georgia Yearington, of Osceola; Diana Daugherty, of Massena, and Debra (Wayne) Nichols, of Atlantic.
His brothers – Charlie (Connie) Burg, of Atlantic, and Michael Burg, of Pella
5 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; other relatives and friends.
ATLANTIC, IA – Market Manager Brigham Hoege reports Produce in the Park will welcome two new food trucks to the park this Thursday, August 18. Reyes Tamales and Soulshine are both much anticipated food vendors. Soulshine operates with the motto, “If we don’t think our food will make your soul shine, we won’t serve it.” On August 18, Soulshine will be selling a variety of gourmet hot dogs and BBQ-inspired foods, such as mac and cheese topped with smoked pulled pork, chili dogs, and hot dogs topped with BBQ and mac and cheese, in addition to traditional smoked pulled pork sandwiches and hot dog kids’ meals.
Reyes Tamales will be selling their homemade tamales in pork, chicken, and veggie (a customer favorite), along with refreshing cold drinks made with fresh produce (cucumber and pineapple are expected). While tamales will make
for a delicious meal Thursday evening, Arturo also sells them wrapped up and ready for the freezer (tamales freeze well and are easy to re-heat weeks later).
Family business Reyes Tamales will be selling tamales and refreshing drinks at Produce in the Park on August 18
In addition to fabulous food vendors, this week Produce in the Park offers a free concert in the park by Jason Reed, and Guest Chef LaVon Eblen will be providing free samples of Caprese Salad on a Stick. Caprese Salad is a simple, delicious salad made with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. The salad will be served on a stick in celebration of State Fair time.
Fresh, local produce at park this week includes tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, garlic, eggplant, peppers, and more. Vendors will also be selling local meat (chicken, beef, pork, and lamb), honey, farmfresh eggs, popcorn, fresh-squeezed lemonade, pastries and desserts, and a variety of crafts, plants, and jewelry. Activities at the park this week include a park scavenger hunt, yard games, and water games.
Details for Produce in the Park August 18
Time: 4:30-6:30 PM
Location: Atlantic City Park (10 W. 7th St. Atlantic, IA 50022)
Live Music: Jason Reed
Food Trucks: Reyes Tamales, Soulshine Food Truck
Activities: Yard games and more with Atlantic Parks and Recreation, Scavenger hunt with Produce in the Park
Fresh local produce: Tomatoes, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Onions, Garlic, and more!
Guest Chef: LaVon Eblen will be serving Caprese Salad on a Stick
Fresh Produce: Tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, garlic, Meats: Beef, pork, lamb, chicken
Staples: Honey, farm-fresh eggs, granola
Treats: Kringle, pastries, fresh-squeezed lemonade, popcorn
Crafts and More: Jewelry, candles and melts, bath salts, art prints, plants
Free drawing for Mums (donated by Sue’s Country Garden) and farm-fresh eggs (sponsored by the Cass
County Local Food Policy Council)
Payment methods accepted: All vendors accept cash. Many accept credit cards, Venmo, and Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Senior and WIC checks. All qualifying food vendors accept SNAP/EBT (also known as food stamps). All fresh produce vendors both accept and distribute Double Up Food Bucks (coupons given for SNAP/EBT purchases of fresh produce).
Produce in the Park August 2022 farmers markets are sponsored by the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission, Cass County Tourism, Cass Health, First Whitney Bank and Trust, the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and Deter Motor Co.
For updates on Produce in the Park, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark) or Instagram (www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/), or visit the Produce in the Park website to sign up for the e-newsletter at www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com.
For information on vending at the park, contact Market Manager Brigham Hoegh at produceintheparkatlanticiowa@gmail.com or 712-249-5870.
(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report the arrest on Tuesday (Today), of 27-year-old Corey Wentz. The man from Council Bluffs was arrested on a charge of Forgery. His bond was set at $5,000.
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