Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh reports that on Saturday, March 13th, the Anita Town and Country will be hosting a USDA Farmers to Families Food Box distribution at the Anita Community Center (805 Main St.), from 12:00 – 1:00 PM, or as supplies last.

Anyone is welcome to visit the drive-through food box pick-up, and no documentation or proof need is required. Boxes will be given away at no cost or donation. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. The USDA Farmers to Families Food Boxes are likely to contain fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and meat.

For more information, contact: Jodi Irlmeier, Anita Town and Country, 712-762-4234.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture is co-chair of what’s called the Hypoxia Task Force, which works to reduce the size of the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico through cutting nutrient runoff in the Mississippi River basin. Mike Naig says the group, which represents 12 states in the region, recently sent a letter requesting support from President Biden and his administration.

“The federal government can help us with some resources and some regulatory relief, too,” Naig says. “The letter that we sent to the Biden administration, as they come in and set up shop and get their policies underway, that they remember and we encourage them to focus on and be a good partner to the Hypoxia Task Force.” Naig says Iowa launched its nutrient reduction management strategies in 2013 as a way to reduce the size of the hypoxia zone, which covers 21-hundred square miles of the gulf.

“You’ve got states all across the Mississippi River Basin that are implementing their nutrient reduction strategies,” Naig says. “That’s what we want to see, states being proactive, doing what makes sense in their state, working with all of their partners. We want to continue to see that great progress all across the region.” Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen and in the gulf, it means plants die and marine life either dies or moves away. Naig says Iowa farmers are using techniques that are having a beneficial effect on the environment and in battling problems like hypoxia.

“We continue to focus on implementing conservation practices like no-till, reduced tillage, cover crops, building wetlands,” Naig says. “Those are some of the practices that we know, the science tells us those things work. If we see that change on the land, we know we’ll see an improvement in water quality.” The group’s action plan has a near-term target of reducing nutrient loading to the Gulf of Mexico from the basin by 20-percent by 2025.

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen, Friday, announced the winners of the Park and Rec Snow Sculpture Contest. Rasmussen said they had an amazingly close race.

Winning Sculpture by Acacia Macias

The first place winner, with 36 votes, was Acacia Macias, with her huge bear. Acacia won $25 in Atlantic Chamber Bucks. Helping to create the Snow Bear, was Kycas, Serenity and Lily Macias, and Zoey, Auten, Ian and William Cosgrove.

Patrick Garland’s “Snow Train.”

Ryan Kenneth Means’ “Snow Shark”

Second place, with 33 votes, went to Patrick Garland, who created a Train snow sculpture, that looked like it could have been ridden. And, with 32 votes, a Shark sculpture by Ryan Kenneth Means, took third place. The contest began February first and concluded Feb. 28th.

Votes were tabulated virtually Thursday night, by members of the public.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — This year is shaping up to be drier than normal throughout the Missouri River basin, and the risk of flooding is generally below normal throughout the region because conditions remain dry and snowpack levels are below average. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday officials expect only about 84% of the normal amount of water will flow down the Missouri River this year. The Corps said it has increased the amount of water flowing out of Gavins Point Dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border slightly, but the river remains at a low level heading into spring.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa lawmaker who’s been trying to legalize psychedelic mushrooms for medical use got a statehouse hearing on the idea today (Wednesday), but Representative Jeff Shipley’s bill was defeated in subcommittee on a zero-to-three vote. Shipley, a Republican from Fairfield, says psilocybin — the chemical found in so-called “magic” mushrooms — should be legalized as treatment for things like depression, addiction and end of life care. “I just want to thank everyone for coming out for a great discussion,” Shipley says. “I think that we’ve had some powerful testimony that there is indeed some medical value to these substances.”

Todd Mulford of Hampton told lawmakers psilocybin helped him break a decades-long addiction to meth and he’s been sober for five years. “Without strong plant medicines that naturally occur in nature — effective, beneficial, non-harmful, safe medicine — there’s no way that I can even sustain my sobriety,” Mulford says. Brent Russell of Ankeny says he suffers from anxiety and went to the Netherlands for treatment with psilcybin, where it’s legal. “For at least six months after that first use, I could feel this relief off my shoulders. My wife said the same thing,” he said. “I’ve been back a few times to use psilocybin. We can’t do this in Iowa, because it’s illegal.”

Shannon Myers, a certified rehabilitation counselor in the Des Moines area, says she is Iowa’s only psychedelic integration provider.  “I’m here to decriminalize nature,” she told lawmakers. Myers says psilocybin helped her five years ago after an auto immune reaction that 20 doctors were unable to diagnose and treat. “I’ve seen it beneficial for those with complex trauma, PTSD…It’s great for smoking, alcohol addiction,” she said. “I don’t even drink anymore. I’m totally sober. I just love being alive and that was from just one interaction.” Chuck Hurley, a key lobbyist for conservative causes in the legislature, testified at the hearing on his own behalf.

Hurley says having been a drug addict himself 40 years ago, he’s open to the discussion. “I Timothy 4:4 says, ‘For everything God created is good if it is received with thanksgiving,’ and so I just think there’s got to be a way to use these things that can help people with severe depression,” Hurley says, “without leading to more abuse of it.” The subcommittee members who defeated the bill all said they wanted to learn more about clinical trials of the drug, but prefer that the state wait until the Food and Drug Administration clears psilcybin for medical use in the United States.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Each year, the Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation hosts a fundraising auction to advance the future of Iowa’s beef cattle industry. This year’s event will be held virtually through Show Circuit (SC) Online Sales. Bidding will open at 7 a.m. on March 9 and end at 7 p.m. on March 11. Participants will need to register to bid or donate this year at sconlinesales.com.

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation focuses on education, advocacy, and financial assistance, in an effort to provide opportunities to young Iowans in the cattle business and enhance the public perception of the industry. Mary Greiman, Youth and Outreach Coordinator at the Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation, says this is one way the Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation has made a diligent and committed effort to enhance and grow youth programs and scholarships. “Our Youth Beef Team membership has more than doubled in size and we are offering more opportunities every year for our youth to learn about and grow the beef industry. Our annual auction is one of the main ways we raise funds to do these things. Please help us continue to grow and support our youth by participation in our auction.”

Auction proceeds will help support youth programs and fund numerous scholarships. The Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation is able to fund these activities and more through the generosity of cattle producers and supporters.  The auction will feature a $500 Trans Ova Genetics service certificate, two Tim Cox prints, 10 pounds of the famous Cedar County Cattlemen’s pit beef and more. To participate in this year’s online fundraising event, view items and register to bid, click here.

The Cass County 4-H Endowment committee is hosting the annual 4-H Endowment Pancake Supper with a twist this year. The 2021 event, set for Thursday, March 18, will offer drive-through meals only, from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on the Cass County Fairgrounds in Atlantic.  The Pancake Man will be dishing up fresh pancakes and sausage to go, with a choice of juice, milk or water. Supporters can drive through the fairgrounds and enjoy a pancake meal to-go for $7 per plate ($5 for youth under 6). Pancake patrons should enter the fairgrounds from 10^th street via Fair Avenue, on the west side of the fairgrounds by the Sunnyside Park tennis courts. Signs will direct cars through the grounds to the pickup location at the back of the community center.

The annual silent auction will be moved to an online format this year. Bidders can find auction packages and learn more on the Cass County Extension website- www.extension.iastate.edu/cass – or Facebook page (@CassCoIAExt). The auction is expected to be live online by Monday March 8 to give bidders time to view packages and place their bids. The auction will remain open through the pancake supper, with winning bidders able to pick up items from the Extenison office the following week.

Proceeds from the 4-H Pancake Supper and silent auction directly benefit the Cass County 4-H program.  The money raised goes to the Cass County 4-H Endowment, a fund to offset the 4-H Program Development Fee, support scholarships, and provide dollars for youth programs including Clover Kids and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities.

The 4-H Program Development Fee is $30 per youth each year to enroll. Instead of having individual 4-H’ers and families take on that expense, the Cass County Extension Council, and the 4-H Endowment Committee pick up this expense. The Cass County 4-H Endowment also offers opportunities for youth to get involved in the 4-H program by attending camps and conferences and offering scholarships to graduating seniors.

For more information on the Pancake Supper, Endowment or 4-H program contact the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 or xcass@iastate.edu.

w/Kate Olson.

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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An Iowa company is leading a $2 billion effort to capture carbon dioxide from Midwestern ethanol plants and pipe it to North Dakota where it would be buried deep underground. The greenhouse gas is generated during the fermentation process and contributes to climate change when it’s released into the atmosphere. Summit Carbon Solutions says the plan is to gather carbon dioxide from at least 17 ethanol plants and pipe it to North Dakota where it would be injected into wells and stored underground.

The carbon dioxide would be compressed into liquid form at the ethanol plants where feeder pipelines would send it to a larger pipeline that would extend across the Upper Midwest to North Dakota.

(Radio Iowa) – While some Iowans avoid winter weather at all costs, many others enjoy the outdoors at this time of year through paddling, which can provide exercise, solitude and a chance to see the amazing beauty of nature. While there will be plenty of melting with this week’s above-normal temperatures, many of the state’s lakes, rivers and streams are still iced over, but Susan Stocker at the Iowa D-N-R says kayakers are discovering plenty of open water. “There actually is and on portions of the Des Moines River, there is open water and even on the sloughs of the Mississippi, just not far from the channel,” Stocker says. “Yeah, avid paddlers are finding open water.”

Forecasters are calling for highs in the 40s for the rest of the week across northern Iowa, with 50s in central and southern Iowa. Even when air temperatures are above average, the water is still dangerously cold, so she says paddlers should dress for the water temperature, not the air — and expect to go into the water. The piece of outerwear known as a “float coat” may be a good option, she says, as it’s essentially a life jacket that looks like a typical winter coat. Stocker says, “Though float coats may not be the perfect gear for them, make sure that they have a life jacket and/or a dry suit which can serve as flotation.”

Spring won’t arrive until March 20th, and while you may spot a few canoes during the Iowa winter, Stocker says they’re more of a rarity now. “It’s kayakers this time of year, single or double kayaks, and then they add skirts to keep the water out and keep them a little drier,” Stocker says. “It’s a few more pieces of equipment to adapt to the cooler temperatures.”

Especially during the winter, don’t paddle alone, she says, use the buddy system. Also, bring a change of clothes in a dry bag, a first aid kit and a protected cell phone, and Stocker adds, let a friend or loved one know where you are going and when you are expected to return. Find the DNR’s interactive paddling map at: www.iowadnr.gov/Things-to-Do/Canoeing-Kayaking/Where-to-Paddle