(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic FFA Advisor Eric Miller says on Saturday January 8, 2022, FFA members Clarie Pellett, Chris Keegan, Roth DenBeste, Brock Henderson, DJ Shepperd, Brett Dreager, Mia Kloewer, Lola Comes and McKenna Sonntag, traveled to the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny, Iowa to attend the Ignite and Amplify FFA Leadership Conferences. Members from all over Iowa attended the conference, which taught them about leadership and student development.

left to right: Mia Kloewer, Lola Comes and McKenna Sonntag

IGNITE Conference focuses on the Endless Opportunities: Careers in Agriculture What’s Behind Door #1, discovering FFA Opportunities. The next workshop was Fuel Up! Managing Emotional Fuel Tanks. Common Ground workshop was learning Diversity & Similarity Among FFA Members. Next is Pay It Forward learning how Servant Leadership and Service Planning can help our community and finally, Follow the Leader: Leading with Integrity. “The Ignite Conference helped me continue to build my leadership skills. It also gave me the opportunity to meet new people that share agricultural interests with me.” said Comes.

Front Row Left to right
Clarie Pellett, Chris Keegan, Roth DenBeste, Brock Henderson, DJ Shepperd, Brett Dreager

AMPLIFY Conference focuses on student development. This year the conference focused on Purpose: Connect. Care. Create. Establishing a purpose as a daily practice and draft a leader purpose statement. Discovering how people are connected to purpose and identify their talents. Members also learned to discover what it means to live to serve as a leader and examine methods for serving others while pursuing purpose. All of this while Identifying the value in practicing practical self-care as a leader and discovering the difference between living with purpose and completing action items. To wrap up the conference, each member drafted a personal purpose team and identified how to live out a purpose plan at home. ““I learned a lot about different ways you can lead. There was so many different people from different backgrounds that were each leaders in their own way.”” said Pellett.

Eric Miller said, “These conferences are important to help develop the kind of leaders that we need in our school and community. I am glad the Iowa FFA provides us with the opportunity and the students are so willing to give their time to become better leaders.” The members that attended the conference enjoyed their time. Chris Keegan said “I learned new ways to meet people and met lots of new people at the conference.” Mia Kloewer also said “I really liked the stuff we learned about and I met so many people there.” All around everybody had a good time and would recommend going again. And, McKenna Sonntag said ‘I really recommend this FFA conference because it really helped me get out of my comfort zone and meet new people and learn how to be a better leader and FFA advocate..”

(Story & photos courtesy Eric Miller)

(Radio Iowa) – Bicycling advocates are urged to trade their spandex for suits and head for Des Moines this (Wednesday) morning as it’s Iowa Bicycling Day at the Capitol. Mark Wyatt, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, says they’ll be lobbying state legislators on a range of cycling-related issues, with a headquarters set up in the Legislative Dining Room between 8 and 9 A-M. “If you’re not able to make it, that doesn’t mean you can’t participate,” Wyatt says. “We’re holding a virtual lobby day for bicycling. Go to our website, iowabicyclecoalition.org, sign in there and if you’ve never taken action before, this is the day to take action and let your legislators know what your priorities are.”

One key measure Wyatt says they’ll be pushing for is called I-WILL, for Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy, to further expand the state’s already-stellar bike trail system. “There’s a proposal in the Senate to enact IWILL, which is the Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources Trust Fund,” Wyatt says. “This is what was approved (by voters) about 12 years ago so there’s a proposal right now to fund IWILL and that will produce probably nine-million dollars in trails.”

The legacy is to be funded with a sales tax increase under the Senate proposal. Another piece of legislation would require any cell phone use while driving to be done in hands-free or voice-activated mode. Wyatt says drivers who spend the greatest amount of their driving time interacting with a cell phone have the highest rates of near-crashes and crashes. “Distracted driving caused six deaths on Iowa roads last year and one of them was a bicyclist and possibly two,” Wyatt says. “We’re continuing to be concerned about distracted driving and anything we can do to reduce that is a good thing. Requiring the phone to be in a hands-free or voice-activated mode while you’re driving we think is a positive step forward.” The coalition also wants to see a standard set of penalties in fatal crashes. Under the current Iowa Code, fatal or serious bike crashes are not subject to the same enhanced penalties that apply to fatal or serious injury crashes involving motorists, motorcyclists or pedestrians.

(UPDATE 10-a.m.) The senator who is the floor manager of the education funding and parents’ bill of rights bills is ill and these bills will NOT be debated in the Senate today.

(Radio Iowa) – An array of education-related bills will be under consideration at the Iowa Capitol today (Wednesday). The Senate is tentatively scheduled to debate a bill that would increase per pupil spending on Iowa’s public schools by two-and-a-quarter of a percent, slightly less than Governor Reynolds recommended. Senator Jackie Smith, a Democrat from Sioux City, says it isn’t enough to address the workforce crisis in Iowa’s K-through-12 public schools. “School districts across Iowa have thousands of open positions,” Smith says. “…Districts need more money to attract, hire and retain more staff and pay more attractive wages.”

Smith says Iowa ranks 40th in per pupil spending. Senator Julian Garrett, a Republican from Indianola, says there are other ways to evaluate the state investment. “As a rule, when you take into account cost of living, Iowa’s more or less in the middle as far as education funding and teacher salaries,” Garrett says.

House Republicans are proposing a two-and-a-half percent increase in the state’s per pupil allocation to K-through-12 schools — the same as Governor Reynolds — and plan to debate it tomorrow. Republican Representative Cecil Dolecheck of Mount Ayr says Republicans have been careful not to over-promise. “That we can be guaranteed to school districts that we will provide every dollar to the education system that we have promised,” Dolecheck says, “never go back on those promises.”

The Senate’s also scheduled to debate a “parent’s bill of rights” today (Wednesday) that would require schools to get parental consent before a student could access content that could be considered obscene. There will be a subcommittee hearing in the HOUSE on a bill that would force Iowa schools to install cameras so every class could be live-streamed and monitored by parents. House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights says Republicans are villainizing teachers.

“They are giving the impression that teachers need to be watched all the time, that teachers can’t be trusted, that teachers are enemies,” Konfrst says. “…Let’s thank teachers. They’ve been working their tails off the last two years and they’re burned out.”

Another bill to be discussed at the Capitol tomorrow (Wednesday) would require the Iowa and Iowa State football teams to play one another each year. It’s scheduled for initial review in a House subcommittee at noon.

(Radio Iowa) – The governor’s plan to require that most Iowa fueling stations sell gas with a 15 percent ethanol blend has cleared the Senate Ag Committee — without any debate. Republican Senator Dan Zumbach of Ryan was the only person to speak about the bill before a subcommittee AND the Senate Ag Committee voted to advance it. “Good bills come with questions. Good bills come with controversy. Good bills come with answers,” Zumbach says. “This bill answers a lot of questions. Does it create some? Absolutely, but this bill is about doing what Iowans do and that’s supporting Iowans.”

Last year, Governor Reynolds proposed an Iowa Renewable Fuels Standard, but the state’s fuel industry warned motorists would see higher pump prices as stations spent money upgrading equipment to handle higher blends of ethanol as well as biodiesel, which has a soybean-based additive. This year’s revised proposal includes waivers for smaller stations which can show they cannot afford to upgrade fuel handling systems to handle E-15, E-85 and B-20. “It’s about making corn and soybeans worth more,” he said, “and having great fuel access everywhere.”

The bill easily cleared the Iowa House last week and its next stop in the Senate is the Ways and Means Committee.

(Radio Iowa) – The four Iowans who serve in the U.S. House have voted in favor of a bill that directs the U.S. Postal Service to continue delivering the mail six days a week. The bipartisan bill also provides a significant financial boost by getting rid of a requirement that the Postal Service pre-fund health care benefits for current and retired employees for 75 years. That’s something no other government agency or business is required to do. Congresswomen Cindy Axne of West Des Moines, Ashley Hinson of Marion and Marinnette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa all issued written statements.

They described the mail as a vital service, particularly in rural Iowa, and all three said the bill is a way to safeguard the future of the Postal Service. Congressman Randy Feenstra of Hull also voted for the legislation. A similar bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.

The Postal Service hasn’t turned a profit in 14 years. Last March, the Postmaster General proposed reforms, including delayed delivery of first class mail.

(Radio Iowa) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing one-billion-dollars in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions on farms, ranches and forests. U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the initiative will help farmers generate more profits and make America more competitive in markets abroad. “We need to get there first,” Vilsack says. “We need to be able to say to the world, ‘We have led in this effort,’ in order to maintain and expand those export markets.” The secretary says the funding will go toward projects such as cover crops and manure management.

Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, is asking for ideas on how to execute practices like no-till farming and nutrient management on a large scale.  “We’re trying to incentivize the creation of climate-smart commodities that hold higher value in the marketplace,” he says, “that farmers can generate additional profit from, and capture value for the farmer.” Local and state governments, nonprofits and small businesses can apply for the federal money.

The Biden administration is trying to slash greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in half by 2030. Vilsack announced the program Monday at Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City.

(Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved new rules that align with a change by state lawmakers determining when a car or truck involved in a wreck needs a salvage title. D-O-T Motor Vehicle Division director, Melissa Gillett, presented the change. “This legislation increased the threshold for issuing a salvage vehicle title designation when the cost of the repair of a wrecked or salvaged motor vehicle exceeds 70 percent of the fair market value of the vehicle,” she says. Gillett says it ups the damage needed for a salvage title.

She says the threshold for a salvage title previously required damage of up to 50 percent of the cost of the vehicle. Gillett says the rules also clarified how the damage will be figured. “The changes also incorporate comments received from insurance auto auctions and Copart to clarify that damage levels will be confirmed by the direct entity with direct knowledge of the damage — such as an insurance provider or vehicle repair facility,” according to Gillett.

The Transportation Commission approved the change at its meeting today (Tuesday) in Ames.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – An open burning ban will be in place for Pottawattamie County starting today (February 8, 2022) at 2:00 p.m. The ban prohibits all open and controlled burning in Pottawattamie County, including all incorporated city limits within the county. The current weather forecast and environmental conditions indicate a very high fire danger for today with a warm/dry pattern continuing over the next couple of weeks. Under the current dry conditions, dead and drying vegetation is the perfect fuel to spread fires rapidly.

Emergency Management Director Doug Reed says “Pottawattamie County has seen the devastating effects of fire in extreme conditions and we want to do everything we can to help mitigate incidents like that from occurring.” During these dry conditions, citizens are reminded to not throw out cigarettes from moving vehicles and to discontinue burning yard waste, piled tree debris, grass/agricultural ground and set-asides or other items during the ban.

Small recreational camp fires are permitted only if they are conducted in a fire place of brick, metal or heavy one-inch wire mesh. Any camp fire not in an outdoor fire place is prohibited.
Violation of a burn ban can subject a person to citation or arrest for reckless use of fire or disobeying a burn ban.

For updated information on burn bans and the law you can find further information on the Pott. County EMA Facebook, Twitter, and web pages. The ban will remain in place until environmental conditions improve

(Radio Iowa) – Traffic on the state highways was down some at the end of the year. Stuart Anderson of the D-O-T gave a report today (Tuesday) to the Transportation Commission. “Did drop a bit in December, we were about two percent below the December 2019 levels. So again, still hovering right around our levels from pre-COVID,” Anderson says. He says rail traffic saw a similar pattern. “January was down three percent from January 2021 rail carload levels. That is driven really across the board,” Anderson says.

“The one sector that has shown some growth herein recent months is on the coal side. We are seeing with the high natural gas prices some shifting to coal, which is doing a little bit of a rebound from a long-term trend of being down for the amount of coal being shipped on the rail system.”

He says the shipment of grain continues to be strong. “They’re lower than January of 2021 — but January ’21 was a really high point — it was the highest since 2015 in terms of the amount of grain shipped on rail, 2022 was the second-highest since 2015. So, still pretty good news on our grain shipment,” Anderson says. Anderson says air travel continues to hold around 88 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

(Radio Iowa) – A key lawmaker is taking steps to launch an investigation of a northern Iowa judge accused of manipulating the process for nominating a district court judge. House Judiciary Committee chairman Steven Holt of Denison, a Republican, has introduced a resolution that would give his committee authority to investigate Judge Kurt Stoebe of Humboldt. “If these allegations are true, then they go beyond just an individual’s service on a commission and speak to their integrity on the bench,” Holt says.

Governor Reynolds says other members of the nomination commission told her Stoebe coached a candidate and make negative comments about another who was applying to be a district court judge. The governor ordered the commission to reconvene to redo the process in November and Stoebe stepped down as the commission’s leader. Holt says serious allegations have been made against Stoebe and the legislature needs to exercise its oversight authority to seek more information and, if necessary, issue subpoenas to get it. “If indeed a judge is willing to commit these acts in order to advance a favored candidate, including lying about one of the candidates withdrawing their name from consideration, how can an attorney or a citizen come before this judge and have faith in the integrity of the process?” Holt asks.

Holt says his proposal is not an impeachment resolution, but an attempt to discover whether the allegations against Stoebe are true and whether he faces sanctions for his conduct. Representative Mary Wolfe, of Clinton, is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. Wolfe says the legislature has the authority to impeach, but she says this investigation is unprecedented. “We have some concerns that it is opening a door that has never been opened before,” Wolfe says, “and we’re not sure, at this point, what might be on the other side.”

Wolfe says she has no doubt the Judicial Qualifications Commission is reviewing the allegations against Stoebe and a legislative investigation would duplicate those efforts. “Unnecessarily wasting taxpayer dollars and legislative time,” Wolfe says.

Separate bills pending in the House and Senate are proposing changes in the commissions nominating district court judges.