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KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors have a busy meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 17th. During their session that begins at 9-a.m., the Board is expected to receive a monthly report from Cass/Guthrie County Executive Director of Environmental Health, Jotham Arber, and a presentation from officials with Anita Economic Development.
The Supervisors will discuss Landus’ plan for improvements to their newly constructed anhydrous ammonia storage site south of their facility just west of Highway 71 (formerly Wickman Chemical). The plan includes a proposed 90,000 gallon NH3 (anhydrous ammonia) tank that will be relocated from a facility in southern Minnesota and place it just west of the existing 72,000 gallon tank, bringing the total capacity at the site northeast of Atlantic, to 162,000 gallons. The site plan conforms to IDALS requirements. Officials with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship have inspected the site, and according to the agenda comments, have no issues with adding the additional tank.
The Board will consider a counsel proposal from Ahlers-Cooney Attorneys, and act on approving resolutions adjusting the Medical Examiner fees and a Rural Transit System Joint Participation Agreement with SWIPCO/SWITA. Among the action items to come before the Supervisors, is:
DES MOINES, IA – On Friday, Iowa candidate for governor Rob Sand announced every stop of his annual 100-stop tour across Iowa – including Lee County’s two county seats – with the first stops beginning on Wednesday, June 25 in Waukee and Ankeny.
His campaign said in Sand’s news release, the tour will be an opportunity for Rob to hear directly from Iowans about their top concerns, and for Iowans to hear directly from Rob about his vision to lower costs, make government more accountable, and help Iowans live better, healthier lives.
Democratic candidate for governor and State Auditor Rob Sand speaks with residents of Exira about water shortages on June 3, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/ Iowa Capital Dispatch)
“As elected officials, it’s our job to show up and listen everywhere and to every Iowan. That’s what I’ve done every year since taking office as State Auditor, and it’s exactly what I plan on doing throughout this tour,” said Rob Sand. “Too many of our elected officials have left Iowa families behind to instead serve powerful insiders or their donors. I will go anywhere and talk to anyone because I believe we have to bring all Iowans together to solve some of our toughest challenges. I look forward to sharing my vision with Iowans and hearing from them directly throughout this tour. See you on the road!”
You can view the full tour schedule below, including dates, times, and locations, or visit RobSand.com/events.In southwest Iowa, Sand’s schedule includes:
Monday, August 4:
Tuesday, August 5:
Tuesday, August 19:
CEDAR RAPIDS—Paul Pate today (Saturday) announced his plans to run for reelection as Iowa’s Secretary of State. Pate pointed to his numerous accomplishments over the years, including implementing voter ID and post-election audits, paper ballots, award-winning cybersecurity measures, and more. Pate also pointed to his efforts to bring new cutting edge technology to the office’s business services with the launch of the online Fast Track Filing tool and 24/7 call center staffed by Iowans.
(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Friday, released its renewable fuel standards draft rule which, if finalized, would set record high levels of biofuels to be blended into U.S. transportation fuels. Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw said the draft rule, which proposes a total 24.02 billion gallon blending level in 2026, is a “very strong starting point for further discussions.” Shaw said the association will need time to evaluate the proposal, specifically as it relates to changes in credits for imported fuels and feedstocks.
According to the proposal, EPA is considering “several regulatory changes” to the RFS program that would reduce the number of Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs which is the measuring unit for renewable fuel, for imported renewable fuels and renewable fuels produced from imported feedstocks.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins at the Elite Ethanol production facility in Atlantic. (Photo by Cecilia Lynch/USDA)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports imported biodiesel feedstocks, like used cooking oil, tallow and canola oil have all increased over the past several years due to the high cost of domestic feedstocks. According to the same report, in the 2023 and 2024 marketing year, the U.S. consumed nearly 30% of biofuel feedstocks exported globally.
The news to prioritize domestic feedstocks was welcomed by Iowa Soybean Association President Brent Swart, who said biomass-based diesel supports “roughly 10% of the price per bushel of soybeans.” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said USDA and EPA have “never been more aligned” on the demand for domestically grown biofuels.
EPA will host a public hearing on the rules July 8.
Shaw said IRFA plans to work with EPA through the commenting period and to secure a final rule from the agency.
(Avoca, Iowa) – Customers of the Regional Water Rural Water Association (RWRWA) based in Avoca, remain under a “Condition Yellow” water conservation mode, but officials warn the supply of water in their towers was lower as of Friday morning, then they had been all week. They ask their customers to “please continue to monitor water use,” as they head into the warm weekend.
RWRWA says “If the levels in the water towers get too low, Regional Water will shift to a Red Conservation Notice so as to avoid going back into a boil advisory. When we can keep water in the towers and keep the pressure in the system about 20 PSI, we do not have to initiate boil advisory measures.”
The company said also, they “Are pumping around the clock at 740 gpm (gallons per minute) from the plant with all wells on,” including their backup wells. “This is just over 1 million gallons per day, which is [our] average usage for this time of year.” For comparison, Regional Water was able to pump 850 gpm from the wellfield last year, which gave them the same 1 million gallons in just 19 hours, 36 minutes.
With regard to the water supply, RWRWA says “The creek along Highway 6 needs to be bored again due to unanticipated soil conditions. Once complete, Regional Water will continue moving forward with conducting required pressure testing and collecting samples to ensure there is no bacteria. Once the pressure testing passes and bacteria sampling results come back negative, the next step is to turn the temporary pump station on. Turning the pump station on will include the chemical feed into the system. This allows the appropriate chlorine levels into the system to ensure the water is safe to drink. All crews are working as diligently as possible to get the temporary booster station online.”
And, the water company says “In an effort to provide additional methods to communicate with customers and communities served by Regional Water, [we] have partnered with the Pottawattamie County GIS Department and other stakeholders to develop and provide an online dashboard that will provide up-to-date tower status and service area information.
The community can access the dashboard on the RWRWA website and various websites of the county and municipal government entities within the Regional Water service areas. Go to https://rwrwa.org/operations-status-dashboard-2
(Lead, South Dakota) – Information coming out of South Dakota this (Friday) evening indicated a 59-year-old man has died from a gunshot wound stemming from an altercation near the town of Lead.
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the incident was reported at around 5:22-p.m. Thursday, when the Lawrence County Dispatch Center received a call about an altercation that was occurring at a residence on Highway 385. During the fight, a weapon was produced and discharged.
The bullet struck a 59-year old male who was pronounced dead at the Lead-Deadwood, SD hospital. Authorities did not deny or confirm information KJAN has received from several sources, that the two individuals allegedly involved in the altercation, were from Audubon (IA).
Deputy Tavis Little said the investigation is ongoing, and more details will be released at a later date.
(Radio Iowa) – The Amana Colonies will host two simultaneous festivals this weekend that revolve around complementary elements: brass bands, beer, and bratwurst, along with side attractions including a wiener dog race using dachshunds.
Todd Bransky, director of the Wurst Brass Festival, says they’re bringing in brass bands — from Iowa and four surrounding states — that will compete in a European-style musical tradition that dates back to the 1870s.
“It happens one time a year where bands from all over the country descend on just a couple of communities and they play marches — it’s all marches — and they perform for judges and they can win prize money,” Bransky says. “We’ve adopted that because there hasn’t been that type of competition for brass bands in the United States, so we brought it to the Amanas.”
The judged competitions will be underway later today at three different locations in the Amanas, while the full concerts begin tomorrow morning. 
“We’ll start at 10 AM and we’ll just keep rotating the bands up on stage until about 6:30 PM,” Bransky says. “We’ve got German-style food, bratwurst and German potato salad, and it’s just a really, really fun time. The bands play very entertaining music for kids and for adults and families.”
Most Iowans will recognize the songs, as he says it won’t all be old-fashioned “oompa-oompa” polka music. “What you’ll hear is marches. You’ll hear show tunes. You’ll hear jazz. You’ll hear rock. You’ll hear Broadway show music. You’ll hear stuff from Disney. You’re going to hear overtures. You’re going to hear a great variety of everything and probably very few polkas at all,” he laughs.
The 32-member brass bands will be performing in what Bransky says is the British-style of instrumentation.
“We don’t use trumpets, we use cornets. We use a flugel horn. We use a soprano cornet. Instead of French horns like we have in the U.S., they use tenor horns,” Bransky says. “There are euphoniums, and there are baritones and there’s different music written for each of those, and then in the tuba sections, you’ll see E-flat tubas and B-flat tubas and trombones like you’re used to seeing in bands here.”
In addition to the Wurst Brass Festival, there’s also the Amana Colonies Wurst Festival, two separate events, both underway essentially across the street from one another.
(Radio Iowa) – The Environmental Protection Agency is recommending a Renewable Fuels Standard for 2026 that would be a record amount — 24 billion gallons of biofuels produced for blending with petroleum based fuels. Iowa Renewable Fuels Association executive director Monte Shaw says it would continue corn-based ethanol production at 15 billion gallons next year — along with a big increase in renewable diesel and biomass-based diesel.
“The last Biden rule that they did for three years really underestimated the growth in biodiesel and renewable diesel, so it really hamstrung the growth in the industry from being what it could have been,” Shaw says. Soybean-based biodiesel is produced in Iowa. Renewable diesel is generally made by the petroleum industry. The public can now weigh in on the E-P-A’s recommended production levels for renewable fuels.
“We like most of what’s in here,” Shaw says, “but we will still be engaging in the public comment period.” Shaw says that’s because the final rule for biofuels production has been adjusted in the past based on public reaction. The Trump Administration’s proposal includes some provisions to limit bio-fuels imports.
Iowa is the nation’s top producer of ethanol and biodiesel. The proposed Renewable Fuels Standards for 2026 as well as 2027. Iowa elected officials are praising the proposal. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says the E-P-A’s announcement sends a welcome and optimistic growth signal to an important industry.
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