(Radio Iowa) – As electronics and toys are upgraded this holiday season, officials with landfills and recycling centers across Iowa are particularly worried about what happens to the old stuff. An E-P-A report says household waste increases by about 25-percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Alongside food and cardboard packaging, a lot of what winds up curbside contains rechargeable batteries. John Foster, the solid waste administrator for Black Hawk County, says the uptick in improperly disposed batteries creates dangerous headaches for landfills.

“The issue we run into is those are heavy metal batteries that are typically in there,” Foster says, “so as they break open or as they’re exposed to oxygen and water, they’ll heat up and they’ll cause fires.” He says that in addition to the seasonal increase in household waste, disposal sites are under additional stress because of those improperly disposed rechargeable batteries.

“Whether it’s at a recycling facility or a landfill, as those batteries break open, they’ll kind of start a fire,” Foster says, “and with a lot of combustible material around it, just a little fire can turn into a big fire pretty quick.” Foster also says fires caused by improper disposals are amplified by the prolonged drought, as his landfill has been putting out several small fires a week on average.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Former President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, will deliver remarks to a Team Trump Iowa Commit to Caucus Rally in Atlantic, 2-p.m. Saturday, January 13, 2024. The event takes place at the Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10th St.).

President Trump signed a sweeping new Farm Bill into law that provided support and stability to Iowa’s farmers, expanded crop insurance, significantly increased how much farmers can borrow, and helped open new markets for agricultural goods.

Additional details are posted below:

Timeline of Events

11:00AM – Doors Open and Commitment Kick Off

2:00PM – 45th President of the United States Donald J. Trump Delivers Remarks

General Admission Tickets

REGISTER HERE

(Radio Iowa) – The Trump campaign event on Friday, January 5th will not be on the Dordt University campus as originally announced and has been moved to an event center in Sioux Center. Dordt University has released a statement, saying these kind of campaign events are intended to be educational and include questions directly from Dordt students to the candidates.

Dordt officials say they were under the impression nothing would not be publicized until a format was agreed to, but the Trump campaign is planning a rally in Sioux Center and the visions Dordt and the Trump campaign had for the event were incongruent.

Earlier this month, Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra hosted four presidential candidates for a forum on the Dordt campus and students submitted questions. In January of 2016, Trump spoke to a crowd on the Dordt campus and delivered the oft-quoted line that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue in New York and shoot somebody and not lose any voters.