(Atlantic, Iowa) – The 2023 Cass County (IA) Fair begins its week-long run in earnest on Thursday, but some pre-fair activities will be held today, including:

• 4-H/FFA Static Exhibit Judging, and Clover Kids Static Showcase, both beginning at 9-a.m. (those events conclude at 2:30-p.m.)
• 10:30-a.m.: Bucket of Junk Judging will take place.

The Bucket of Junk contest was introduced to the Cass County Fair in 2013 by Superintendent Duane Weirch. With the help of Weirch Welding Plus, LLC in Lewis, this growing contest has been a way for 4-H and FFA members to explore the welding project area and create a unique exhibit for the county fair showcase. Each year, Wierch puts together multiple 5-gallon buckets of assorted metal “junk” pieces. Youth often participate in the contest year after year taking on the new challenge bucket.

The Bucket of Junk contest combines both the technical and creative side of welding, teaching youth a valuable skill and challenging their imaginations in the process. All buckets include the same number of items and are as close to identical as possible. Participants can clean, weld, cut, bolt, fasten, bend, shape, paint or finish the items however they chose to BUT they cannot add any additional pieces. Bolts are the exception and may be used as fasteners but not as decorative items.

Exhibitors will meet with a judge one-on-one to share their finished projects and discuss what they have learned. Contestants will be judged on creativity & artistic style, technical welding skills, percent of “junk” used from bucket, and knowledge of project. Fairgoers can view exhibits from July 27^th to July 31^st and cast their vote for the “people’s choice” award. Winners from judging and people’s choice will be announced at 4:00pm on Monday, July 31^st in the Community Building. Exhibitors have the option to auction off their completed projects at the fair fundraising auction on Monday evening, immediately following the Parade of Champions at 5:45pm in the outdoor show ring.

(Iowa DNR News) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forestry – Fire Program, working in coordination with the US Forest Service, has grant money available for Iowa’s rural fire departments to help battle wildfires. Applications are due on Oct. 16. The grant provides 50 percent reimbursement for wildland fire equipment with a maximum reimbursement grant of $4,500 per department.

The grants offer funding assistance for wildfire suppression equipment, slide-in units, hoses, nozzles, adapters, portable tanks and pumps, personal protective equipment and communications equipment.  Additionally, if a fire department has a special need that can be tied directly to wildfire suppression, this grant allows for such special requests.

Gail Kantak, state wildland fire supervisor for the Iowa DNR, said fire departments should send her a Wildland Fire Report whenever they respond to a wildland fire or provide assistance to a prescribed or controlled wildland fire. Departments actively returning these reports receive priority points in the Volunteer Fire Assistance grant application scoring process.

All Iowa volunteer fire departments were mailed information about the 2023 Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant. The grant application package and the Wildland Fire Report form are available online at www.iowadnr.gov/fire.

(Radio Iowa) – A change in state law on July 1st now allows you to buy raw milk, but if you are thinking about trying it, an expert says you need to be aware of the importance of proper handling. Iowa State University Extension Dairy Specialist, Fred Hall, says those who grew up on a dairy farm know that keeping things clean is key. “And I think that’s one of the difficulties we’re going to find with folks who didn’t grow up with that mindset, the importance of that sanitary routine that you make sure things are clean, because bacteria can get away from you really quick,” Hall says. Halls says you should check out the dairy where you buy raw milk to see that it passes the standard.

“If you’re going to be a consumer, make sure you’re comfortable with the people you’re buying from. “Walk around look at their calves, look at how they milk, make sure that yeah it looks clean I trust this producer,” he says. Hall says raw milk needs to be kept properly cooled, which means you can’t leave it in your car while you are out and about.

“You know, they buy a couple of gallons and decide they have to make a stop at the supermarket or go to the kids’ soccer game. And that milk goes from 40 degrees to 80,” he says. “They’ve introduced an opportunity for that bacteria to grow.” Hall says even pasteurized milk can have problems in left too long in a warm car while you are out during the summer.

(Radio Iowa) – As temperatures in Iowa are forecast to climb into the mid to upper 90s all week, the prolonged heat is hard on people, pets — and plants. Angie Rieck Hinz (REEK-hines), a field agronomist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, says farmers will be watching for signs of crop stress, though she says her region of north-central Iowa is in decent shape heading into the heat wave. She says this area is lucky as it got a little more rain that other areas, though it’s been two weeks since a significant rain and we’re overdue. Some corn hasn’t tasseled yet and Rieck Hinz fears the hot, dry weather might impact pollination.

She says the soybeans in north-central Iowa are doing well this summer, though she’s seen a few diseases on the plants, things like bacterial blight and frog-eye leaf spot. Forecasters say the heat wave will likely last through Friday, and perhaps right into the weekend, with a few outside chances for scattered showers.

(Radio Iowa) – Officials have begun planning for upgrades at a popular, state-owned campground in northwest Iowa. Jake Schaben of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says it’s been decades since there have been major renovations at Gull Point State Park in the Iowa Great Lakes region.”It’s probably been at least 50 years since there have been any real improvements aside from upgrading some rest rooms facilities,” Schaben says. “This is going to focusing on roads and camp pads.” There are 112 campsites at the park, which is near Milford. About half have electrical hook-ups.

Schaben says the upgrades at Gull Point State Park may be similar to what was done at state owned campsites that are about 10 miles away. “Two years ago we finished up with a campground renovation up at the Marble Beach State Recreation Area on Spirit Lake,” Schaben says. “Got a lot of complements on the results we got with that by kind of expanding campsites and full-hook-up amenities and some 50 amp electricity.”

Gull Point State Park is the second most popular park in the state-owned park system. In 2021, one-point-six MILLION people visited the park. The D-N-R will host an open house at the lodge in Gull Point State Park on August 22nd to discuss the proposed campground upgrades with the public.

(Radio Iowa)  – A new museum will open on the Osceola County Fairgrounds next year. Beth Thole, who’s been working on the project, says the McCallum Museum in Sibley, which holds artifacts from the pioneer and Civil War era, was built in 1957 and has run out of space. “We’ve been fundraising for about four-and-a-half or five years,” Thole says, “and with the costs of everything — materials and labor — escalating, we came up with an idea that we proposed to the fair board members of using a historic building on the fairgrounds as a museum for agriculture.”

Thole, who is a member of the McCallum Museum Board, says some changes have already been made to the 99 year old Commercial Building on the fairgrounds. “We have done some structural work on making things handicapped accessible, creating a balcony for displays, put eight new fans in, Thole says. “We’re well on our way.”

The Osceola County Fair wrapped up this weekend and Thole says they’ll start moving artifacts into the building soon. The goal is to have a grand opening of the museum during the 2024 Osceola County Fair.

AMES, Iowa – July 24, 2023 – The 2023-2024 Iowa Bicycle Map is now available in both paper and digital formats.

You can get your free paper version of the map at all Iowa Department of Transportation rest areas and Iowa welcome centers. You can order a paper copy online.  The digital versions of the map are available at Iowa Bikes (Bike Map) – Iowa DOT.

This popular publication highlights bike-friendly routes when traveling on two wheels through Iowa by identifying bike trails and traffic levels on all paved roads. The map also includes insets of Iowa’s 16 largest cities.

If you are riding your bicycle on a public road, you have all the same rights as motor vehicle drivers. You are also required to know and obey all the same traffic laws and rules of the road. A section of the map is dedicated to highlighting some of the rules of the road to help you understand your rights and responsibilities. Safety is always the first priority, so if you are riding, please always wear a helmet, use lights at night, and watch out for road hazards like parallel-slat stormwater grates, gravel, sand, and debris.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The 2023 Cass County (Iowa) Fair begins this Thursday (July 27th), and continues through August 1st.  Thursday, evening, 14 youth are competing for a place in the royal court. Preliminary judging was held on Monday, July 17th at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic where each candidate was interviewed by two judges. Candidates vying for the title of queen: Rachel Becker, Sydney Becker, Natalie Behnken, Ryleigh Harrison, Cecilia Hensley, Rio Johnson, Claire Pellett, Natalye Scholl, Quincy Sorensen, Trista Swain. The candidate selected as queen will advance to the Iowa State Fair, where she will compete in the statewide competition for the title of the 2023 Iowa State Fair Queen.
King candidates include: Dylan Comes, Tristan Becker, Parker Brock, and Brett Dreager.

Judging criteria is based on leadership, citizenship within the community, poise, charm, appearance, personality, attitude, and the ability to communicate openly with honesty about current youth issues. Candidates competing for the Queen and King Position voted amongst themselves for a Miss Congeniality and Mr. Congeniality.

The crowning of the 2023 Cass County Fair King and Queen will take place in the north garden of the Cass County Community Center at 7:30-p.m., Thursday. The evening will kick off at 7:00 pm with the Little Miss and Mister contest. Cass County youth ages 5-8 can participate by signing up in the Extension Office by noon on Wednesday, July 26^th.  All contestants introduce themselves to the crowd before a winner is drawn out of a hat.

Chris Parks and Cass/Adair County Conservation Officer Grant Gelly talk about all things outdoors. This week they talk about summer fishing, atv/utv usage, turkey sightings, new deer reporting regulations, and an upcoming hunter education opportunity.

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(Radio Iowa) – Fourth District Congressman Randy Feenstra says he’s focusing part of the new Farm Bill on the cost of crop insurance.

Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, says the expense of crop insurance is a major barrier to young farmers who are just getting started in production agriculture.
“There’s this big push where China and other countries are buying our farmland and the reason that’s happening is because that next generation cannot afford or cannot buy that land from their parents,” Feenstra says. “One of the big problems is the input costs.”

Feenstra says he and the other members of the House Agriculture Committee are considering discounts on crop insurance for those farmers who are just starting off. “A new beginning farmer for the first five years, you get up to a 15% discount on their crop insurance to lower that input, so we can keep that farmland in Iowa and with the Iowa farmer,” Feenstra says, “and then it slowly ratchets down after five years, four years, three years, it goes from 15% down to 10%.”

Crop insurance is one of the biggest input costs farmers pay each year and he says some may choose 85% coverage, or even as low as 70%.
“Because of the costs, a lot of farmers are going down to that lower amount and that’s where operational loans from the bank, they get a little concerned,” Feenstra says. “You have a big hail out or a catastrophic event, then all of the sudden, you put yourself in peril because you only have X-percent of coverage for that crop.”

Feenstra says the largest part of the Farm Bill is food programs, including SNAP. He says farm state members of the committee want to make the program more efficient as SNAP payments have exploded in recent years.