(Iowa DNR; Des Moines, Iowa) – Several Iowa state parks are still looking for campground hosts for the 2024 season. If you enjoy the outdoors, camping and meeting new people, consider becoming a volunteer campground host and spend your summer in a park! Campground hosts volunteer 20 – 40 hours per week, including weekends and holidays, while living in a free campsite in the park or forest.

Campground host positions available at:

• Backbone
• Clear Lake (May 1 – July 8 and August 1 – October 31, due to renovations that will close the campground in July)
• George Wyth
• Maquoketa Caves
• McIntosh Woods
• Springbrook

Learn more about how to apply on the DNR’s volunteer page.

Or for more information, email or call Elizabeth Thacker: Elizabeth.Thacker@dnr.iowa.gov; phone number (515) 444-9164.

The DNR is also hiring seasonal park aides to work in Iowa state parks and forests this summer. If you have a passion for the outdoors, are looking for an active job and enjoy helping people, consider spending your summer in one of Iowa’s most beautiful natural spaces. Learn more on the DNR’s employment web page or contact a specific state park office to inquire about summer jobs at that location. Come join our team!

Parks needing seasonal employees:

• Brushy Creek State Recreation Area, Lehigh
• Clear Lake State Park, Clear Lake
• Dolliver State Park, Lehigh
• Elk Rock State Park, Knoxville
• Geode State Park, Danville
• Honey Creek State Park, Moravia
• Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Keosaqua
• Lake Ahquabi State Park, Indianola
• Lake Anita State Park, Anita
• Lake Manawa State Park, Council Bluffs
• Lake of Three Fires State Park, Bedford
• Lake Wapello State Park, Drakesville
• Maquoketa Caves State Park, Maquoketa
• McIntosh State Park, Ventura
• Nine Eagles State Park, Leon
• Springbrook State Park, Guthrie Center
• Walnut Woods State Park, West Des Moines
• Wilson Island State Recreation Area, Missouri Valley

Application deadline is March 31, 2024, or when positions are filled.

• KJAN, Atlantic  .32″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .24″
• Massena  .17″
• Elk Horn  .32″
• Villisca  .1″
• Corning  .09″
• Neola  .4″
• Manning  .62″
• Missouri Valley  .37″
• Carroll  .6″

INDIANOLA, Iowa — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig has announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has awarded 26 ‘Choose Iowa’ Value-Added Grants to Iowa farmers, small businesses and non-profits in 22 counties totaling $463,000. Those grants will help leverage a total investment by grant awardees of $1,993,190.47. The announcement came at the Cortum Farms & Co. Barn just north of Indianola. This farm was a recipient of a $25,000 grant, which is part of a $51,000 project to work on the barn structure and electrical system, so it can be used to sell ag products.

This year’s grants will support a wide variety of projects including delivery and cold storage for direct-to-consumer meat sales, fruit production and processing, vegetable processing, packaging equipment, cider and wine canning and bottling, farm store and food hub construction, honey production, culinary herb, lavender and cut flower production, warehouse capacity, cover crop seed distribution, agri-tourism opportunities, and much more according to a news release from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

“Consumers are continually looking for more Iowa food, beverages, and ag products to enjoy and these Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants will help Iowa farmers, small businesses, and non-profits build that supply,” said Secretary Naig in a news release. “We are so pleased to provide these Choose Iowa cost-share investments because they will enhance the availability of Iowa products while creating positive economic activity in communities, big and small, across our state.”

Choose Iowa Value-Added Grants awarded this week include the following projects in western/southwest Iowa (for a listing of the other projects, click HERE) :

Breda Ag Solutions | Carroll | $25,000.00
Increase seed and grain packaging capacity with new palletizing and specialty bagging equipment to reach new export markets.
Total project budget: $954,350.84

Champion Steaks LLC | Creston | $25,000.00
Add on-site cold storage and refrigerated transportation for value-added cattle feed to produce premium-grade beef.
Total project budget: $99,250.00

Ebersole Cattle Co. | Kellerton | $25,000.00
Develop a new food hub in Southwest Iowa and offer home deliveries of beef, pork and poultry.
Total project budget: $60,000.00

Golden Outdoors LLC | Adel | $25,000.00
Customize an existing building for aquaculture and add infrastructure to raise Pacific white shrimp.
Total project budget: $70,000.00

Long Walk Farm | Council Bluffs | $25,000.00
Construct an on-farm store to increase sales of Iowa ag products and build market access for multiple Iowa farms.
Total project budget: $68,948.22

One Farm LLC | Logan | $3,590.00
Expand frozen and refrigerated retail display space to offer additional local ag products.
Total project budget: $7,180.00

Vintage Beef by Gress Family Farms | Charter Oak | $20,000.00
Convert a historic railroad depot into a community farm store with cold storage, packaging and retail space.
Total project budget: $49,130.00

Wills Family Orchard | Adel | $22,927.00
Convert a portion of an existing warehouse into cold storage to extend the seasonal availability of apples.
Total project budget: $45,854.00.

(Radio Iowa) – A dairy industry official from Iowa who works in Washington D-C is urging members of Congress to get moving on the creation of a new Farm Bill. Matt Wohlman is senior director of state and industry affairs for the farmer-owned cooperative Land O’ Lakes. “The 2018 Farm Bill has been a really pretty good farm bill for farmers and rural communities and we need to get that Farm Bill reauthorized,” Wohlman says. “It did expire in September of last year and then Congress did a continuing resolution on it until September of this year, but we need to move forward and get this Farm Bill passed.” Wohlman, who’s a fifth-generation family farmer, says there’s little “new money” in the Farm Bill but some tweaks are needed.

“Folks are wanting to make some adjustments to the farm safety net programs, particularly the Price Loss (Coverage) and our PLC programs, adjusting those reference prices that are in the Farm Bill,” Wohlman says, “and then bringing some of the conservation investments that were made over the last few years, bringing those into the Farm Bill programs.” He says the nutritional programs also need to be brought into the conversation.

There’s much partisan bickering in Congress that’s led to an impasse on the Farm Bill over issues like the limiting of climate funding and social safety net programs.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Rec Advisory Board met Monday afternoon. During their regular monthly session, the Board received an update from Parks and Rec Coordinator Jeff Christensen, with regard to the Harl Holt Park “Pour and Play” playground safety equipment and installation.

Christensen said the advantage of the Pour and Play safety product over wood chips, is that it doesn’t dissolve, and is long-lasting.

Christensen reported also, a new pump and sand for the Sunnyside Pool have been ordered.

Atlantic Parks & Rec Advisory Board meeting, 3-20-24 (Left to right: Jeff Christensen, Ali Pieken, Kevin Ferguson, Mike McDermott, Dolly Bergmann, Emily Kennedy, and (Center) Rich Tupper.

The Parks Advisory Board received a request from Carrol Garrett, for a model solar system to be installed at the Schildberg Recreation Area, dedicated to memory of her husband John.

Christensen said some initial discussions have taken place about where sculptures of the planets could be located.

While the big picture will eventually be hashed-out, the Parks Advisory Board the budget should be set at no more than $6,000. And, Frank Saddlemire reported to the Advisory Board that a couple of distance signs for the Schildberg Recreation Area that had been installed years ago, became very weathered and faded. They had been removed. Saddlemire missed them, and graciously donated new signs to replace those that were outdated and removed.

The signs are specifically designated for each end, with mileage included from each point.

On another note, the Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department and the Atlantic Animal Shelter will host their annual Easter Egg Bone Hunt on March 30th. The event takes place at the Buck Creek Dog Park in Atlantic, beginning at 10-a.m. Dogs will hunt for eggs with treats in them, and the cost to participate is $1 per dog. Proceeds go to the Atlantic Animal Shelter. All dogs must be on a leash, and dogs should be up to date on their vaccinations. Owners should bring a bag to carry all the treats their dogs find, and prize drawings will also be held during the event.

Jim Field visits with Cass County Master Gardener Judy Kennedy about the Master Gardener Scholarship program.  Applications are due April 1, 2024.

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(Radio Iowa)- I-S-U Extension horticulture specialist Aaron Steil says plants that started popping out or blooming early in the recent above-normal temperatures should be okay as the cold returns.

“Most plants that come out relatively early in the spring, especially things like our spring bulbs like daffodils and tulips, they tolerate below freezing temperatures, especially in the upper 20s, fairly well and often come through with very little if any damage,” Steil says. He says temperatures well below normal would impact how the plants bloom. “Down into the lower 20s or teens then yeah, those flowers probably would be damaged and it would cut the bloom time short,” he says, “but many of those plants that bloom early in the spring are used to kind of fluctuating spring temperatures and can tolerate light freezes with very little damage.”

Steil says there are a few things you can do to protect smaller plants. “With perennials or spring bulbs, we might put an extra layer of mulch around them to protect them from some cold or even put a frost blanket over, and that’s not really practical or possible with larger plants like trees and shrubs,” he says. “And so, the good news is that they fare just fine long term. It’s just they get some damage, they see shorter flowering, they may have to send out a second flush of leaves because the first flush was damaged.” Steil says it is not fun to have the time you can enjoy spring flowers cut short.

“That’s always hard to see and disappointing, especially if flower shows are cut short,” he says. Steil says the good news is those flowers will be back next year.

(Pottawattamie County, Iowa) – Following 31 years of service, Mark Shoemaker, Executive Director of Pottawattamie County Conservation has announced he will retire on August 30, 2024.
Shoemaker made the announcement at the Board of Supervisors meeting on March 19th. He began his career with the County in 1993 and has been in a leadership role for Pottawattamie County Conservation since 1997. In announcing his retirement, Shoemaker said “It’s time for me to focus on my family and my own well-being as I move into this next chapter of my life. I know there are extremely qualified individuals that will carry on the vision and operations of Pottawattamie County Conservation, and that makes the transition a little easier.”

Officials with the Pott. County Conservation Department say under Shoemaker’s guidance, Conservation has flourished. At the time of his arrival, department staff consisted of just seven employees. These days, Conservation oversees vastly expanded efforts with twenty full-time staff members and approximately 160 seasonal employees. Shoemaker says “As we’ve broadened our reach in land preservation, educational programs, and outdoor recreation, our staff has grown. That evolution is in large part due to the support of our Conservation Board, the Board of Supervisors, and the citizens of our county, and I’m grateful for that.”

The surge in popularity of Hitchcock Nature Center, and the future of Mt. Crescent, are among the items mentioned when asked about his proudest achievements. Retaining valuable employees, revered regionally for their expertise, tops his list. Shoemaker said “It has been a pleasure to work with a truly incredible staff throughout my career. I would and will do anything in the line of duty and personally for these people that I have come to know as family.”

Pott. County Exec. Director of Conservation (Photo submitted)

Outside his work for Pottawattamie County, Shoemaker has been a fixture in the community, serving area organizations and agencies in a variety of roles. Amongst them, he has served on the Council Bluffs Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors since 2016, being appointed Vice President in 2020, before becoming Board President in 2022. County leaders say Shoemaker’s impact will long be felt, not just due to his years of service, but because of his authentic personality.

Susan Miller, Chairperson for the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors, said “The campground improvements at Botna Bend, Arrowhead, and Olde Town Park that have been  implemented under his watchful eye, are just a few of the great things I’ve been able to witness in my year and half with the County.The significance of merging Hitchcock Nature Center and Mt. Crescent into a Western Iowa destination has been possible because of a team of caring and gifted individuals with great leadership.”

Conservation Board members say Shoemaker’s legacy is one that will continue to inspire for years to come. Board President Eric Hough said “On behalf of the entire Pottawattamie County Conservation Board, I want to express our deepest gratitude for Mark’s years of dedicated service. “His impact on our organization and our county is immeasurable, and his presence will be sorely missed.”

Jim Field visits with Kylie Peteson of the Iowa Beef Industry Council about the finalists for the Iowa Best Burger Contest for 2024.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCAU) — A lawsuit against the Biden administration seeking the year-round sale of E15 gasoline has now ended.

The suit, brought about by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, was ended due to the EPA’s new rule allowing drivers in eight states in the Midwest to have E15 all year. The rule goes into effect in April 2025, and ends a ban during the summer, on sales of gasoline with 15% ethanol. Representatives of the biofuels industry, Mid-States governors, and farming groups have sought an end to the rule for years. Bird said the win is long overdue.

Meanwhile, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds released a statement on the lawsuit ending.

“As governor of the nation’s top ethanol producing state, it is my responsibility to ensure our hard-working farmers have access to every market available. I appreciate Attorney General Bird joining this fight to provide Americans cheaper, cleaner burning E15 year-round. While ending this lawsuit is a victory against the Biden Administration and their attack on American Energy Independence, there is still more work to be done. The Biden Administration’s delay of year-round E-15 for 2024 not only hurts American consumers, but also Iowa producers. I will continue to push the EPA to expand the market for Iowa biofuels.”