ELLSTON, Iowa (AP) — Bargain hunters beware! A four-bedroom farmhouse in southern Iowa listed online for free comes with a catch: The new owner must move the building from the current owners’ land. Roger and Linda Dolecheck say in a Craigslist ad that the Ringgold County home will be torn down this winter if no one takes up their offer.

The Des Moines Register reports that the Dolechecks have been trying for years for sell the house where they raised their four children. The two-and-a-half-floor farmhouse is assessed at $52,700, even after the Dolechecks invested $150,000 in repairs. It also has historic value as the home to landmark hybrid corn innovation in Depression-era Iowa.

Roger Dolecheck says he just needs to find somebody who would like to live in an old house with character.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say beginning today (Friday), you can purchase your Iowa 2018 hunting and fishing licenses! Find a nearby Iowa license vendor, or get your license on the DNR’s online sales site.  A hunting or fishing license also makes a great gift for the holidays. You’ll just need the recipient’s social security number AND birthdate. Or you can call the DNR customer service desk at (515) 725-8200 for assistance looking up a person’s license information to make the purchase.

Here’s a list of popular licenses from which to choose:

Angler’s Special 3-Year License: $53.00 — save $4.00 compared to the price of three annual licenses
Hunter’s Special 3-Year License: $86.00 – save $10.00, and includes hunting with habitat fee
Outdoor Combo: $47.00 — annual hunting, fishing and habitat fee included
Annual Resident Fishing License: $19.00
Annual Resident Hunting License: $19.00 plus $13.00 habitat fee required
Visit the DNR’s license page for a complete list of licenses available. We hope you enjoy Iowa’s outdoors in 2018!

Six fire departments helped battle a fire that destroyed three hog barns early this (Thursday) morning in Emmet County. Gruver Assistant Fire Chief Wes Baddeley says the fire was reported around 1:30 a-m southeast of Dolliver. Baddeley says when firefighters arrived on scene the center building was completely engulfed in flames, fire was coming from the east building and smoke from the west building. Firefighters were on scene for about six-and-a-half hours.

Baddeley says the damage was so extensive that a cause of the fire could not be determined. The three hog buildings were a total loss. About 25-hundred sows and four-thousand piglets inside the buildings were killed. Baddeley says the total dollar loss is estimated at about ten million dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES — For the first time since September, abnormally dry conditions have returned to the state following a dry November, according to the latest Water Summary Update from the Iowa DNR.  Iowa received only 0.43 inches of precipitation in November, much below the normal of 2.05 inches. However, streamflow levels are running at close to normal across much of Iowa. Groundwater conditions remain good in most locations, with the exception of southeastern Iowa, where levels are rated in slight drought conditions.

Tim Hall, the DNR’s Hydrology Resources Coordinator, says “This ranks as the 15th lowest November total for precipitation among 145 years of records and the lowest calendar month total for any month since November 2007.” For a thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends, go to www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate.

The report is prepared by technical staff from Iowa DNR, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering, and the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Farmers in Alabama and Nebraska have joined a Nebraska-based fair trade group to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the agency’s cancellation of rules that would have made it easier for farmers to demand better treatment when contracting with meatpacking companies. A lawsuit filed Thursday in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seeks to reverse the October USDA decision vacating the rules.

The rules would have made it easier for farmers to sue over contracts deemed unfair, discriminatory or deceptive. They were proposed during President Barack Obama’s administration and canceled after Donald Trump took office. Nonprofit-based legal group Democracy Forward sued on behalf of Lincoln, Nebraska-based Organization for Competitive Markets; Nebraska farmer James Dinklage; and Alabama farm couple Jonathan and Connie Buttram.

A USDA spokesman declined comment.

w/Beth Kujalla.

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BRITT, Iowa (AP) — Officials in northern Iowa say high winds have blown the roof off a grain bin in Britt, causing the bin to collapse onto power lines and knocking out power to the area. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that no one was injured in the collapse Wednesday morning at Hancock County grain elevator. North Central Co-op site manager Tom Grant says 10,000 to 15,000 bushels of grain spilled onto the ground when the bin collapsed. Alliant Energy said power remained out Wednesday afternoon for a dozen customers in the Hutchins area west of Britt.

The National Weather Service says gusts in the area on Wednesday topped 50 mph.

The man who conducts the annual Iowa State University Extension land value survey says he doesn’t see many things in the proposed federal tax reform that would impact land values. Economist Wendong Zhang says tax policy is one of the things he is keeping an eye on as an impact to land values next year. Zhang says he will be watching to tax polices and if the renegotiation of the NAFTA trade deal impacts trade. He says both could impact land values.

Zhang reported a a two percent increase in land values this year and says it was due mainly to the lack of available land that caused the increase. Zhang says the federal tax bill being discussed now doesn’t look to have any big impact.”Given what I’ve heard from the proposal, it seems that we are not getting rid of any of the tax provisions that affect agriculture,” Zhang says. He says tax issues involving depreciation aren’t changing, and that will give farmers little reason to sell their land right now. Zhang says that will likely give farmers more incentives to buy new equipment and could discourage the sale of land.

The increase in land values in this year’s survey was the first after three years of declines in value.

(Radio Iowa)

FEDORA, S.D. (AP) — Officials are investigating the deaths of more than 40 cattle on a farm south of Fedora. The Daily Republic reports that the Miner County Sheriff’s Office says 42 heifers and 1 bull died between Nov. 1 and Nov. 7 on the farm. Authorities say the deaths are suspicious, but a cause isn’t clear. Tissue samples from dead cows have been sent to Iowa, and water samples from the farm have been dispatched to North Dakota.

w/ Kate Olson.

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