In an update to election results in Cass County, the Auditor’s Office today (Wednesday) reports the write-in votes have been tabulated, and the winner for the Mayor’s Office in Wiota, is J. Ford Lillard. Philip Pryzchodzin was elected Mayor of Massena. Griswold City Council winners include Kirk Stapleton and Greg Lightner. The results remain unofficial until canvassed by the Board of Supervisors, and, the candidates will need to accept the position after the canvass is made official.

(Radio Iowa) — State officials have distributed more than three MILLION dollars in federal grants to nine communities for water and sewer system upgrades. The federal money comes to Iowa in the form of a block grant. Twenty-one Iowa cities and towns applied for a chunk of it. Madrid and Oelwein are each getting 600-thousand in grant money. The communities of Brighton, Kimballton, Maxwell, Pomeroy and Schleswig are each getting 300-thousand. Just over 200-thousand in grant money is going to Rembrandt. Bernard got 112-thousand. Iowa Economic Development Authority director Debi Durham says these sort of projects aren’t the most visible or exciting, but water and sewer systems are critical to the success of a community.

According to the Iowa Economic Development Authority:

• Kimballton’s grant is for a water main replacement project.
• Schleswig is receiving funds for Sanitary Sewer System improvements.

Atlantic, IA – SHIFT ATL, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, will host a Turkey Trot on Thursday, November 28, 2019 with registration beginning at 7:30-a.m., in front of the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 102 Chestnut Street. Races will begin at 8-a.m. sharp. Athletes of all ages and abilities are invited to enjoy either a 5k or a 1 mile route. The courses for both will begin and end at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. Prizes will be awarded to the first place male and female. Post-race refreshments and treats will also be served.

Registration costs are:

• Kindergarten and under without Turkey Trot Sweatshirt: Free
• Kindergarten and under with Turkey Trot Sweatshirt: $25
• Kindergarten to 8th grade without Turkey Trot Sweatshirt: $5
• Kindergarten to 8th grade with Turkey Trot Sweatshirt: $30
• General Registration: $10
• General Registration with Turkey Trot T-Shirt: $20
• General Registration with Turkey Trot Crew Neck Sweatshirt: $35

Participants can register online at getmeregistered.com/AtlanticTurkeyTrot. Registrations including a crew neck sweatshirt will be taken until November 12th, all other registrations will be taken up until the day of the event. Funds raised during the event will be put towards the matching funds required for the Community Catalyst Grant SHIFT ATL will be applying for early next year. That grant, and the matching funds, will cover the cost of the majority of the renovations that will be done inside the group’s first economic development project, the previous Downtowner building the group bought earlier this year.

For more information about SHIFT ATL or the Turkey Trot, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/shiftatl or by email at shiftatlantic@gmail.com.

(Radio Iowa) — While many Iowans are spending a large portion of time toiling in their yards with the chore of raking leaves, an environmental expert suggests they leave the leaves alone — at least some of them. Jill Utrup, a biologist with the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service, says create a pile of leaves at the edge or your yard or behind the house and just — leave it. “By not raking your leaves, you’re actually leaving a lot of beneficial habitat for many of our beneficial pollinators,” Utrup says. “One pollinator in particular that we’re concerned with is the rusty patched bumblebee, which is a federally-endangered species.”

If you’re concerned about having a hive of unruly insects in the vicinity of your home, she says not to worry. “Only a single queen will actually overwinter, the rest of her colony will die off and she will overwinter,” Utrup says. “She uses what we’d typically see as an unkept spot, leaf piles and brush piles — that type of thing, is what they’re looking for.”

Don’t worry about getting stung next spring, either. She says this is among the first insects to emerge once the snow melts. The rusty patched bumble bee was designated as endangered in 2017 and special teams fanned out in Iowa and several other Midwestern states during 2018 to search out the insect and determine its status here. Their findings were something of a surprise. “They’re thriving still in people’s backyards, believe it or not,” Utrup says. “Whereas a lot of our endangered species we’re finding in more pristine and intact habitat, the rusty patched is more of a generalist. We’re still learning about its requirements and the threats to the species as well.”

The bees were confirmed in multiple Iowa counties and in several metro areas, including: Ames, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Iowa City, Le Mars, Sioux City and Waterloo. Learn more at www.bumblebeewatch.org.

(Radio Iowa) — An Iowa State University study finds farm equity across the state is on the decline. The study of more than 200 mid-size Iowa farms found 44-percent could be classified as having vulnerable liquidity in December of 2018. That percentage was just 31-percent in December of 2014. I-S-U Extension economist Alejandro Plastina says several factors have led to the fall. “There’s been trade issues as of recently, there’s been uncertainly about crop prices,” Plastina says. “In 2019, pushing liquidity even further down, weather issues prevented planting and delayed planting.”

Those factors combined put a lot of stress on farm operations, he says. The average loss of working capital on Iowa farms and ranches between 2015 and 2017 is about 189-dollars per acre. Plastina says, “Mostly all farms lost substantial amounts of working capital and the slight increase in working capital over 2018 was not enough to compensate the loss in working capital since 2014.” Without government assistance last year, including 646-million dollars in Market Facilitation Program — or M-F-P — payments, he says economic conditions on Iowa farms would have been even worse.”In 2019, we saw a small increase in liquidity from 2017 levels but still, liquidity levels are low compared to the last ten years,” Plastina says. “Most of that increase in liquidity, unfortunately, is not coming from crop revenue or livestock revenue, but from government payments.”

Plastina expects the numbers for 2019 to be poor as well. He’s advising producers to secure their operating loans for the next year or two and to do as much as they can to protect their working capital.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines reports “Confidence is very high in well-below temperatures across Iowa next week. Normal high temperatures for this time of year are generally in the low to mid 50s, and normal lows are in the mid 30s.” Meteorologists say as of now, there is potential for high temperatures on next Monday and Tuesday to struggle to make it into the 20s for much of Iowa, after low temperatures in the single digits. Those values would be around 20 to 30 degrees below normal for this time of year.

With highs potentially reaching the 50s, this Saturday (11/9) will likely be the “warmest” day of the next week, so if you have outdoor activities, Saturday may be the day to get them done!

A Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy responding Tuesday afternoon to disturbance in rural Crescent, arrested 55-year old Dale Margaret Mitchell, of Crescent. Mitchell was taken into custody for Assault without intent to cause Bodily Injury or Mental Illness. Her bond was set at $1,000. And, Deputies responded at around 2:40-p.m. Tuesday to a report of an armed subject at a residence in Underwood. Taken into custody for Assault w/use or display of a weapon, was 38-year old Elijah Luke Emery, of Underwood. He was being held in the Pott. County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Courtesy KNOD) – Members of the Harlan Community School District’s Board of Education Monday, asked Interim Superintendent Lynn Johnson to stay on another year.

(She said the Board announced their intention to open the position up to a permanent search, next November.)

Johnson said she accepted their invitation to stay on for another year.

Johnson was hired as Harlan’s Interim Schools Superintendent on July 15th. She served as the Arlington, Nebraska District Superintendent before retiring from the district on June 30, 2019.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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