Officials with the CAM School District said Tuesday (today), there will be an informational meeting held on Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at the CAM North Elementary gym in Anita, at 6:30p.m regarding the November 2nd bond election. All five of the CAM CSD Board of Education members may be in attendance. This is an informational meeting only and no action will be taken.
Des Moines, Iowa – Get ready for sticker shock on the bill for natural gas prices. Officials with MidAmerican Energy today (Tuesday) said the utility is telling Iowa customers that higher natural gas prices will impact their monthly heating bills this winter. The company said natural gas market prices have more than doubled from this time last year. MidAmerican said increased global demand coupled with both limited production and inventory have heavily increased the cost for the company to purchase natural gas.
MidAmerican said based on the market prices for natural gas over the last month, customers in MidAmerican’s service area can expect their total bills to increase by 46% to 96%. In a news release, Peggi Allenback, MidAmerican Vice President of Market Operations and Supply, said “We’re not seeing signs of supply challenges this winter, but we do expect to see higher customer bills because of higher commodity prices.”
Allenback says “We don’t mark up what we pay for natural gas, rather the cost of the commodity is a straight pass-through to customers. We purchase a portion of gas in advance at the best possible price, and in warmer months, when gas is generally cheaper, we store it for use in winter to help protect our customers financially. Despite these efforts, though, we want our customers to understand that natural gas bills will still be higher this heating season.”
According to MidAmerican, the higher market prices will affect a customer’s gas supply charge, which is the cost of the natural gas the customer uses. Market price fluctuations do not affect rates, which include fixed administrative costs, as well as costs associated with maintaining infrastructure and ensuring safety.
The company said actual bill impacts will vary by customer due to usage as temperatures get colder and market prices continue to fluctuate. MidAmerican offers budget billing to customers and offers tips on how to save energy.
The Iowa Energy Office recommends turning thermostats back 7 to 10 degrees for eight hours per day for an annual savings of 10%.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday morning, approved by a vote of 3-to 2, a Bond Counsel Agreement with Ahlers Cooney. Supervisors Hartkopf and Pettinger voted against the agreement. On a related note, the Board passed by a vote of 3-2, with Hartkopf and Pettinger again the Nay votes, a Resolution setting October 29th at 9-a.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing, on a revised proposition to authorize a loan agreement not to exceed $2-million, and the issuance of notes to evidence the County. The bonds would be used to pay for the addition of radios and the construction or addition of a radio tower, to increase the area of coverage for law enforcement and emergency communications through the ISIC System.
Originally, it was proposed the bond asking would not be in excess of $3-million, but the Board felt $2-million would be enough to cover any contingencies. Board member Steve Green on the origin of the $3.5-million original figure:
Board member John Hartkopf asked “How quickly will this technology be taken out?” He said he thinks it will be obsolete and that the future will not likely be emergency communications by radio, it’ll be something along the lines of a cell phone.
In his report to the Board, Cass County Conservation Director Micah Lee said “It’s been a super busy year at Cold Springs State Park.
He said they installed new playground equipment in September, including spring toys. The teeter totters and metal slide were removed at the suggestion of ISAC (Iowa State Association of Counties) representatives, because they are safety issues (Metal slides can cause burns. Teeter totters can cause lower body/spine issues when they hit the ground). Rubber curbing and pea gravel has been installed in the area help to prevent fall injuries.
The campground at Cold Springs will be closed at the end of October. Micah spoke also about the T-Bone Trail, but because of certain ongoing discussions, there wasn’t much he could say, publicly.
County Engineer Trent Wolken said his crews are still working on installing a box culvert on Indian Creek Road, north of Highway 6, and, their road maintenance work.
AMES, Iowa — Following the recent U.S. Supreme Court Alston vs. NCAA decision and approval from the Big 12 Conference Board of Directors, the Iowa State Athletics Department will unveil the Cyclone Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Program for the 2022-23 academic year, Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard announced today.
The Alston verdict, coupled with a recent change in NCAA legislation, now allows student-athletes the opportunity to receive up to $5,980 per academic year as financial awards related to classroom success. The Big 12 Board of Directors approved its members to provide these incentives to student-athletes in all sports who are receiving athletically related aid.
“The Cyclone Student-Athlete Academic Achievement Program will afford the opportunity for Iowa State student-athletes to accrue incentives, based upon their performance in the classroom each semester, that will be paid to them upon graduation from Iowa State University,” Pollard said. “We believe that the intent of the academic incentives should be tied directly to our department’s core mission of educating and graduating our student-athletes.
“By providing these incentives at the time of graduation, we believe it will allow our student-athletes to get off to a great start when they move beyond Iowa State and into the next phase of their life,” he added. “Studies have shown that the value of a college degree can add another $2 million in compensation over one’s lifetime, and it is our desire to reward those Cyclone student-athletes who are investing in themselves by successfully completing their degrees.”
While details of the ISU plan are still being finalized, Cyclone scholarship student-athletes potentially could each receive up to $23,920 upon graduation, provided they also maintain good standing on campus and within the community.
In the most-recent NCAA graduation metrics, Iowa State’s institutional Graduation Success Rate score of 92 percent ranked second in the Big 12 Conference, and nine programs recorded perfect marks of 100 percent.
OA-BCIG Bob Saunders XC Classic
10/11/2021
Girls Team Scores
Girls Individual Top Ten
Boys Team Scores
Boys Individual Top Ten
Full results HERE.
(Radio Iowa) – A congressional field hearing on drug abuse in Iowa will be held in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, hosted by U-S Senator Chuck Grassley. The hearing will offer testimony to the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Grassley, a Republican, says one focus will be on opioids, which are responsible for a rising number of overdose deaths in Iowa in recent years. Grassley says, “We have tremendous problems with opioids generally, but an increasing problem because of fentanyl.”
According to Grassley, the field hearing will provide insight and information on the needs of Iowa and local communities when it comes to federal drug control policy. “I think the problem is worse in eastern Iowa than in other parts of the state,” Grassley says, “but don’t let me downgrade any discussion of the problem by saying it’s not only in Iowa but it’s throughout the country and in some parts of the country, even worse than Iowa.”
The list of witnesses includes experts and professionals from the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, Iowa Alliance of Coalitions for Change and CRUSH (Community Resources United to Stop Heroin) of Iowa. In a statement, Grassley says, “The testimony we hear will provide important insight on Iowa’s drug control efforts, and how Congress can work to support Iowans as both legislative and executive branches develop a comprehensive approach to an ongoing and ever-changing problem.” “It’s very important that we prioritize the safety and wellbeing of Iowa families,” Grassley says, “and that’s doing it through enhancing drug control, prevention, education, law enforcement and international interdiction.”
The hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa in Cedar Rapids.
(Radio Iowa) – Bugs are starting to become more of a nuisance as we head into fall. Iowa State University Entomology Professor, Donald Lewis, says minute pirate bugs help the environment until this time of year when they can cause humans pain.
Pirate bug (ISU Extension photo)
“Now there’s not much out in the field for them and they wander around looking for something moist,” Lewis says. “And if you happen to be on your ladder in your short-sleeved shirt painting the white side of your house — they’re going to find you, and they’re going to be attracted to the reflective light. They are going to taste you to see if are you an insect egg, or are you a source of moisture. And that’s why they bite.”
Lewis says boxelder bugs can also cause nuisances this time of year as they prepare to hibernate during the winter. “One cheap and easy way to control boxelder bugs outdoors is to spray them with soapy water,” he says. That keeps them under control in the short term. “Now that has no residual. That will not control the boxelder bugs that come an hour later. But the ones that are there now, the ones that are massed in the late afternoon, you can kill them with a soapy spray, but you are going to have to do it probably every day for best results,” according to Lewis.
Lewis says the Minute Pirate Bugs will die once the freezing temperatures come.
Boxelder bug (ISU Ext.)
Western Iowa Conference XC Meet
10/11/2021
Manning and Manilla Golf Course
Girls Team Scores
Girls Individual Top Ten
Boys Team Scores
Boys Individual Top Ten
Full results HERE.
Western Iowa Conference Tournament
Pigtail Match
(3-0) Audubon 25-25-25, IKM-Manning 8-21-9
Quarterfinals
(3-0) Treynor 25-25-25, Audubon 8-8-12
(3-0) Underwood 25-25-25, AHSTW 23-19-19
(3-0) Missouri Valley 25-25-25, Logan-Magnolia 19-7-17
(3-0) Tri-Center 26-25-25, Riverside 24-18-4 (R: Ayla Richardson 17 assists, 5 digs, 2 kills. Veronica Andrusyshyn 11 kills, 10 digs)
Tuesday’s Semifinals @ Treynor
Missouri Valley vs. Tri-Center 5:30 p.m.
Treynor vs. Underwood (after first match)
Rolling Valley Conference
(3-2) Exira-EHK 25-25-24-26-15, Coon Rapids-Bayard 19-22-26-28-4
Pride of Iowa Conference Tournament
(3-0) Bedford 25-25-25, Central Decatur 16-15-20
(3-0) Southeast Warren 25-25-25, Bedford 18-13-15
(3-1) Nodaway Valley 25-23-25-25, Martensdale-St. Marys 11-25-20-21
(3-0) Mount Ayr 25-25-25, East Union 21-23-17
(3-0) Southwest Valley 25-25-25, Lenox 20-14-15
Lenox def. Wayne
Semifinals and Finals Tuesday in Mount Ayr
(Corning, Iowa) – Officials with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office report four recent arrests. Three arrests took place last Saturday (Oct. 9th):
And, on Oct. 8th, Adams County Deputies arrested 38-year-old David Christopher Yazell, of Corning, on an active warrant for four counts of Failure to Appear. He was transported to the Adams County Jail and held pending an appearance before a Magistrate.
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