United Group Insurance

Shelby County Extension offers farm transition course for Women in Ag: Managing for Today and Tomorrow

Ag/Outdoor

October 25th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Every successful business has a business cycle, and eventually that business will need to transition to a new business cycle or begin to decline. A farm or ag based business with an effective plan for the future can have a positive start in the next business cycle. To help women involved in agriculture plan for a future farm transition Shelby County Extension is offering Managing for Today and Tomorrow beginning November 2 in Harlan, Iowa. The course will be held on Thursday nights November 2, 9, 16, 30 and Dec 7, from 6-9pm at the Shelby County Extension office at 906 6th Street, Harlan, Iowa.

Topics will include planning for a successful retirement, family and business finances, estate planning terms and methods of transfer. A light meal will be served before the program at 5:45pm. The cost for the course is $75. Pre-registration is required. To register online, visit the event calendar on the Shelby County Extension website. Registration forms are available at the Extension office to register by paper mail. Contact the Shelby County Extension Office with questions by calling 712-755-3104.

Skyscan forecast & weather data for Atlantic: 10/25/17

Weather

October 25th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Today: Mostly sunny & warmer. High 70. W @ 10-20.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low 46. S @ 5-10mph.

Tomorrow: P/Cloudy. High 60. NW @ 10-20.

Friday: Mo. Cldy w/sprinkles or flurries possible. High 40.

Saturday: Mostly Cloudy. High 42.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 54. Our 24-hour Low (ending at 7-a.m. today) will be 38. (As of 6:30-a.m. it was 45) Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 66 and the low was 49. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 85 in 1891 & 1940. The Record Low for this date was 14 in1892.

Iowa loses out on landing Toyota-Mazda manufacturing plant

News

October 25th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has lost out on its effort to land a new Toyota-Mazda manufacturing plant and its 4,000 jobs. State officials had submitted a site in Cedar Rapids for the $1.6 billion project. Iowa Economic Development Authority spokeswoman Kanan Kappelman said Tuesday that the state apparently didn’t meet the project requirements.

Neighboring Nebraska learned earlier this month that it, too, was no longer being considered. The companies haven’t announced yet where the plant will go, but officials have said the three finalists are all situated in the Southeast.

High School Volleyball Regional Scores from Tuesday 10/24/2017

Sports

October 25th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Tournament play continued Tuesday night for the Class 3A, 4A, and 5A with Regional Volleyball Semifinals.

Class 3A Region 2

(3-0) Kuemper Catholic, East Sac County 25-13 25-14 25-20
(3-1) South Central Calhoun, Roland-Story 23-25 25-13 22-25 15-25

Class 3A Region 3

(3-2) Red Oak def. Shenandoah 25-20 25-18 19-25 20-25 15-10
(3-2) Gilbert def. North Polk 25-20 25-16 20-25 23-25 15-11

Class 4A Region 1

(3-0) Bishop Heelan, Sioux City def. Carroll, 25-14 25-13 25-10
(3-0) LeMars def. Storm Lake, 25-9 25-19 25-11

Class 4A Region 2

(3-2) Sergeant Bluff-Luton def. Harlan, 25-16 22-25 27-29 25-17 15-13
(3-2) Glenwood def. ADM, 25-23 18-25 22-25 25-14 15-12

Class 4A Region 3

(3-0) Lewis Central def. Norwalk, 25-8 25-12 25-10
(3-2) Dallas Center-Grimes def. Ballard, 19-25 19-25 25-13 25-19 15-12

Class 5A Region 2

(3-0) West Des Moines Valley def. Southeast Polk, 25-19 25-15 25-17
(3-0) Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln def. Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson 25-18 25-23 25-13

Former Farm Bureau president Craig Lang running for ag secretary

Ag/Outdoor, News

October 25th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Former Iowa Farm Bureau president Craig Lang has filed the paperwork to launch a campaign for state ag secretary. Lang, a Republican, says several months ago he told Governor Kim Reynolds he intended to run if current Ag Secretary Bill Northey resigned. Reynolds will name Northey’s replacement soon after Northey’s wins Senate confirmation for his new federal job.

“I don’t anticipate Governor Reynolds would appoint me, period, so I’ve made the decision,” Lang says. “As soon as Bill is voted affirmatively in the US Senate, I’m going to start my campaign.” That means Lang will likely face a G-O-P primary in 2018 against the governor’s choice for state ag secretary. Lang says he wants to spark a statewide conversation about diversity in agriculture, rather than relying primarily on corn and soybean production.

“We’ve spent so much time trying to develop that infrastructure, and it’s a great infrastructure. There’s none other like it in the world, but it’s not the infrastructure that’s going to support growth of a rural community,” Lang says, “because a rural community needs higher value products directly to the consumer.”

Lang says alternative crops can boost the rural economy and give more young people a reason to live in rural Iowa. Lang, who is 66 years old, farms with his two sons, a brother and his 91-year-old father. “We milk around 650 cows three times a day. We have a small cow-calf operation with about 50 cows and calves and we farm around 1200 acres,” Lang says. “We have corn, soybeans, alfalfa, pasture and cover crops.”

The milk from their farm near Brooklyn is sold to a dairy in Newton where Maytag Blue Cheese is made. Lang’s family plants cover crops on soybean ground and in fields right after corn silage is harvested. Six-hundred thousand acres of Iowa farmland is seeded with cover crops today. Lang says, as state ag secretary, he’d like to set a goal of having cover crops on five MILLION acres.

“We can improve the water quality of the state,” Lang says. “We can retain the nitrogen and the phosphorus because of less erosion.” And Lang says the science now shows soil health improves when cover plants like rye are used and it improves the yields from traditional crops planted on the same ground. Lang was the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s president from 2001 through 2011.

He also served as president of the board that governs the state universities, but Democrats in the Iowa Senate refused to reconfirm Lang to that post after the conflict about the Tom Harkin Institute for Public Policy at Iowa State University. The institute is now located at Drake University.

(Radio Iowa)

Villisca teen escapes injury during pickup rollover accident

News

October 25th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

The teenage driver of a pickup truck escaped injury when the vehicle went out of control and rolled over Tuesday evening, in Montgomery County. The Sheriff’s Office reports 14-year old Kaden Edward Jacobs, of Villisca, was traveling southbound on Vine Avenue near 250th Street at around 5:45-p.m., when the 1998 Dodge Ram truck he was driving went out of control and entered the west ditch before rolling over. No injuries were reported immediately after the crash. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $8,000. Jacobs was cited for Violation of his school permit.

Teen cited into Juvenile Court for Montgomery County burglary

News

October 25th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

An investigation into a vehicle burglary at the Villisca Middle School, Tuesday, resulted in a boy being cited into Juvenile Court. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies arrested a 13-year old male in the 300 block of S. 3rd Avenue in Villisca at around 8:20-p.m., for Burglary in the 3rd Degree. The teen was summoned into Juvenile Court and then released to a parent. The boys’ name was not released.

Midwest Sports Headlines: 10/25/17

Sports

October 25th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Barring a turnaround that doesn’t seem like it’s coming, Iowa’s 2017 season is tending toward forgettable. The Hawkeyes have scored 19 points or less in three of its first four league games and lost all three. Iowa hosts Minnesota on Saturday in a game that’s crucial for bowl eligibility instead of the Big Ten West title.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby believes the federal investigation into corruption in college basketball has brought to light a seedy underbelly of the sport that people have known about all along. He also thinks the investigation that has brought down Louisville coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich is not going away soon.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Fourth-ranked TCU can likely solidify its playoff positioning with a win at No. 25 Iowa State on Saturday. The surprising Cyclones are ranked for the first time in 12 years. TCU is the Big 12’s only undefeated team going into the last weekend before the initial College Football Playoff rankings of this season are released. When TCU last played Iowa State before CFP rankings, the Frogs won by 52 points in the 2014 regular season finale. But they dropped out of the top four and missed the playoff.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a drag racer from Kansas has died following a crash at a California track. The Kern County coroner’s office says Brett Henry struck a wall during a race Saturday at Auto Club Famoso Raceway north of Bakersfield. KBAK-TV reports the 50-year-old died the next day at a hospital.

Iowa early News Headlines: Wed., Oct. 25th 2017

News

October 25th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has temporarily blocked part of a new state law that requires a woman to wait three days before getting an abortion. The court granted a motion Monday that extends an injunction on the 72-hour waiting period until a lawsuit challenging the provision is resolved.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A state audit is questioning Iowa State University’s use of donations to buy an airplane used largely by former President Steven Leath to work on his piloting skills. Auditors say the school failed to get required written permission from the executive director of the Board of Regents and that the plane flown by former President Steven Leath was rarely used for “clear business purposes.” The university says the purchase was appropriate.

DENISON, Iowa (AP) — A man convicted for causing a crash that killed a teenage girl will be sentenced in December, when he faces up to 109 years in prison. The Sioux City Journal reports that a judge set Ramon Hernandez’s sentencing hearing for Dec. 8 in Crawford County District Court. A Crawford County jury convicted Hernandez of vehicular homicide, three counts of distribution of a controlled substance to a minor and five other counts.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — West Des Moines police will soon join other Des Moines-area departments in requiring its officers to wear body cameras. The Des Moines Register reports that West Des Moines officers will begin wearing the cameras Nov. 1. Officers will wear them at all times, but the cameras will only record in certain cases, including during investigations and some contact with the public.

S.W. IA woman arrested on theft charges

News

October 25th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Sheriff’s officials in Fremont County report the arrest on Tuesday of a woman on Theft charges. 43-year old Kara Lorimor, of Sidney, was taken into custody following an investigation into items stolen from separate apartments in the 100 block of Main Street, and an associated disturbance.

Kara Lorimor (Adams County S/O photo)

Deputies determined Lorimor allegedly took the items in question. She was arrested and charged with two counts of Theft 5th Degree. Lormior is being held in the Fremont County Jail on a $600 bond.