AMES, Iowa – The application window is opening July 17 for the fall 2023 Master Gardener training cohort, which will be offered in 55 counties or extension regions. The training will benefit Iowans wanting to deepen their understanding of gardening and horticulture. Area counties offering fall training include: Adams, Dallas, Guthrie, Madison, Mills, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Taylor and Union.

Iowans wishing to complete Master Gardener training choose a county to complete training through, participate in online learning modules and attend at least four in-person training sessions organized by the county office. After completing the 10-week training, trainees put their knowledge to work with a 40-hour internship in their training county. Applicants have from July 17 to Aug. 18 to apply for the fall session. Training for the fall session begins Sept. 5. Learn more about the program online or through your county extension office.

Alicia Herzog, Master Gardener statewide coordinator with ISU Extension and Outreach, says “Many people have misconceptions about what the Master Gardener program truly is. The Master Gardener training program is about more than just learning how to grow your best garden, although you will learn that as well. Trainees use knowledge gained in training to grow food for those in need, partner with area organizations to design green spaces and present programs in their local communities.” Master Gardeners are volunteers who use research-based information to educate people and coordinate projects that promote healthy communities.

Master Gardeners embody the slogan “Learn it. Grow it. Teach it.” in their various volunteer roles. Presenting public programs is just one way Master Gardeners impact their communities.

Local extension staff can help anyone with questions about joining Master Gardener training this year, including details of when and where in-person meetings will take place in their county or extension region. Iowa State has offered Master Gardener training for over 40 years, engaging more than 15,000 people in learning about gardening best practices.

For more information, Herzog can be reached at 515-294-3627, or aherzog@iastate.edu.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Thursday, said they were notified on July 10th, of a fish kill on the lower Des Moines River. DNR staff from the Fisheries Bureau investigated and found an estimated 20,000 dead shovelnose sturgeon in a 60 mile river stretch from near Ottumwa to Farmington in southeast Iowa. Freshly dead fish collected on July 11 were submitted to Iowa State University for testing. The investigation began with determining the start and end of the fish kill. DNR fisheries staff collected water temperatures and dissolved oxygen levels at nine locations along the fish kill path and sampled for ammonia. Using the American Fisheries Society (AFS) guidelines, staff started counting dead fish at bridge accesses and then expanded their count to free-flowing areas.

Mark Flammang, Iowa DNR fisheries biologist, said “We didn’t find low levels of dissolved oxygen or high levels of ammonia which is usually indicative of some sort of spill, so it comes down to high water temperatures coupled with the low flows that we are experiencing at present.  Water temperatures are in the upper 80s and exceed levels known to cause shovelnose sturgeon mortality. It was also limited to shovelnose sturgeon; no other species were impacted.”

Shovelnose sturgeon (IA DNR photo)

Shovelnose sturgeon are relatively abundant below Ottumwa, as many of these fish move from the Mississippi River into this section of the Des Moines River during the spring and summer. “Ottumwa has one of the largest populations of shovelnose sturgeon in the world,” Flammang said. The shovelnose sturgeon population is a unique resource in the Des Moines River. According to Flammang, “Many of these fish are over 40 years old. It will take several years to repopulate this long-living fish.”

The affected section of the Des Moines River has had sizable fish kills over the years caused by low water levels and high water temperatures, with the most recent in 2012.  DNR fisheries staff partnered with Missouri Conservation to research the cause of that kill and learn more about the effects to shovelnose sturgeon populations.

If you see dead or stressed fish at a lake or river, call the DNR’s 24-hour spill line at 515-725-8694 as soon as possible. Quick reporting can help DNR staff identify the cause of a fish kill and potentially stop a fish kill in progress.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Fair is underway through Monday, in Harlan. Today’s schedule of activities/events include:

7:00 a.m……………………All Exhibitor Breakfast by Agriland FS
7:45 a.m……………………Swine Exhibitors Meeting
8:00 a.m……………………Judge 4-H/FFA Swine
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m….Little Hands on the Farm Exhibit
12:30 p.m………………….Rabbit Agility Exhibitor’s Meeting
1:00 p.m……………………4-H Rabbit Agility – Tent
2:45 p.m……………………4-H Working Exhibitors’ Meeting
3:00 p.m……………………4-H Working Exhibits – Tent
3:00 – 6:00 p.m…………..Little Hands on the Farm Exhibit
4:00 – 4:30 p.m…………..Strolling Act – ‘The Flying Debris Show’
4:00 p.m……………………Carnival
5:00 – 5:30 p.m…………..Strolling Act – ‘The Flying Debris Show’
6:00 p.m………………….Double S Extreme Bull Riding (horse arena)
8:00 – 8:30 p.m…………..Strolling Act – ‘The Flying Debris Show’
8:30 p.m………………….Concert – ‘Casey Muessigmann’
Dark……………………….Fireworks Show – Shooting off North of Grandstands
4-H & Open Class Buildings open 10:00 AM.- 9:00 PM

(Audubon, Iowa) – The Audubon County Fair is currently underway. The Fair wraps-up Sunday. There are still many activities and events taking place the next few days. Today’s schedule includes:

7:30 AM Clover Kids Swine Show
4-H/FFA Swine Show
9:00 AM Judging Open Class Static & Antiques Entries
10:00 AM 4-H/FFA Horse Show
3:00 PM Cornhole Tournament-Livestock Pavilion
4:00 PM-9:00 PM Inflatable Attractions
5:00 PM Clover Kids Rabbit Show
4-H/FFA & Open Rabbit Show
5:00 PM Pork Feed – Hoop
7:30 PM Figure Eight Races

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Fair continues through Sunday. Here’s a look at today’s schedule of events/activities:

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources received an increase in this year’s budget from two million dollars to five million for infrastructure repairs at state parks. D-N-R director, Kayla Lyon, was asked at today’s (Thursday) Natural Resources Commission meeting how the money will be spent.

“We have a five-year capital plan for all of our infrastructure projects and so when we get increased funding we just chip away further at that at that capital plan,” Lyon says. Lyon says they talk with lawmakers about their needs during the budget process.

“We talk about all of the projects that we need to do, people don’t think about how we have to do wastewater treatment upgrades in addition to all of our regular infrastructure, so we do have conversations with the legislature,” she says. She was asked how much of an impact the additional dollars will have on the infrastructure needs and what will remain afterward.

“It’s very hard to answer that question with a number,” Lyon says. Lyon told the commission they can get some more information for them on infrastructure needs. She says it is okay for commissioners to talk with legislators about what they think is needed in the budget.

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters are calling for temperatures to climb back in the upper 80s and low 90s for the next several days, and Iowans who will be out enjoying the summer weather need to remember to take precautions with their picnics. Kristi Zweifel, a dietician at Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City, says it’s wise to keep hot foods hot, and cold foods cold. “Normally, perishable foods can be left out for about two hours before they need to be chilled or discarded,” Zweifel says. “That keeps your food out of that danger zone too long. That’s where germs can grow and cause foodborne illness.” Zweifel says to take particular care with foods like chicken salad, potato salad and desserts, especially when it’s getting steamy.

“In the summertime, it’s hot and it’s humid outside, so then that the time amount changes,” she says. “We really don’t want you to leave your food out longer than an hour if the temperatures are above 90 degrees.” Larger entres might be safe for a while in a casserole container with built-in freezer packs, but most everything else needs to go in a cooler.

Picnic food safety (US FDA photo)

“When you’re serving food outside, extra cold sources to keep that food cool,” Zweifel says. “Packing your coolers with bags of ice, gel packs, or even freeze some bottles of water to keep it cold so that food stays cold and safe for as long as possible.” The F-D-A says cold, perishable food should be kept in the cooler at 40-degrees or colder, while hot food needs to be kept hot, at or above 140-degrees.

DES MOINES, Iowa, July 13, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director in Iowa Theresa Greenfield today announced that USDA is making $21 million in technical assistance grants available through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses access federal funds for renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements. The USDA Rural Development state office in Iowa will be allocated between $400,000 and $500,000 to award in a competitive process to providers of REAP technical assistance.

“This technical assistance grant opportunity will provide hands-on support to farmers, ranchers and rural small business owners seeking federal funds for renewable energy systems,” said Director Greenfield. “The Biden-Harris Administration is helping ag producers and rural small businesses lower energy costs by championing climate-smart technologies, including wind, anaerobic digesters, geothermal, and biomass systems in Iowa.”

The application window for the technical assistance grants opens July 15, 2023, and closes on August 15, 2023.

Eligible recipients for these grants include state, Tribal or local governments; colleges and universities; electric cooperatives and utility companies; and for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Recipients may use the funds to:

• Help rural agricultural producers and small business owners apply for REAP funding.
• Provide information on how business owners and agricultural producers can improve the energy efficiency of their operations and use renewable energy technologies and resources.
• Conduct required energy assessments and audits.
• Help agricultural producers and small business owners plan, build or develop renewable energy or energy efficiency projects.

This announcement is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and the Bidenomics strategy to grow the American economy from the middle out and bottom up by rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, driving over $500 billion in private-sector manufacturing investments, creating good-paying jobs, and building a clean-energy economy to tackle the climate crisis and make our communities more resilient. REAP is also part of the Justice40 Initiative, which is advancing environmental justice by ensuring that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments reach disadvantaged communities that are marginalized and overburdened by pollution and underinvestment.

USDA will give funding priority to applicants proposing to assist disadvantaged communities, applicants pursuing projects using underutilized technologies and applicants seeking grants under $20,000.

The Rural Development state office in Iowa will hold a brief webinar regarding this announcement on July 13, 2023, at 3 p.m. Central Time. Click on this hyperlink to participate virtually: https://usdard.zoomgov.com/j/1600323028?pwd=UVo2TEcrVGZidWpyV0s1dTQybjkwdz09

• KJAN, Atlantic  .29″
• Atlantic Airport  .19″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .4″
• Massena  .56″
• Anita  .67″
• Elk Horn  .45″
• Oakland  .43″
• Manning  .15″
• Guthrie Center  .05″
• Red Oak  .51″
• Corning  .72″
• Clarinda  .42″
• Carroll  .15″
• Logan  .17″
• Missouri Valley  .56″

(Audubon,Iowa) – The Audubon County Fair rolls on through Sunday. The schedule of events/activities today (Thursday, July 13th), are as follows:

7:00-8:00 AM 4-H/FFA Swine check in
8:00- 9:00 AM 4-H/FFA Sheep & Goat check in
9:00-10:00 AM 4-H/FFA Beef check in
9:00 AM-6:00 PM Commercial Exhibit set-up
9:30AM-11:00 AM 4-H/FFA/Open Class Rabbit/Poultry check in
11:00 AM 4-H/FFA Horses must be stalled
11:30 AM Farm Bureau Meal – Hoop
Agriland Ice Cream
12:00 PM Open Class static must be entered
1:00 PM 4-H/FFA Exhibitor Meeting
4:00 PM Open Class exhibits must be in place
5:00 PM Sponsorship Dinner-Tent by Agrihall
4-H Pie Auction
Queen Coronation: Contestants include Emily Foran, Rylee Brittian, Elly Schultes, Sienna Albertsen, Michelle Brooks, and Ashlyn Pruitt.

2022 Audubon County Fair Queen Jaci Christensen (Center) & the 2023 candidates.