(Atlantic, Iowa) – Thursday evening during Produce In the Park, you can enjoy a free Country concert by Brad Morgan. The concert held in the downtown Atlantic City Park, is presented by Rolling Hills Bank. While you’re listening to the music, you can shop the more than 25 vendors, who will be offering fresh produce, local meats, farm-fresh eggs, honey, baked goods, arts and crafts, and more.

Brad Morgan will be performing at Produce in the Park August 14

Food trucks include Tikka Talk (Indian), Firehouse Family Food (BBQ), and Lucky Wife Wine Slushies. Extra activities include putt-putt, frisbee golf, and kids’ crafts. Visiting community organizations including: Zion Integrated Behavioral Health Services, Healthy Cass County, Atlantic Lions Club, Atlantic Disc Golf Club, and more.

Organizers want to thank PIP’s August Sponsors: Zion, Gregg Young Chevrolet of Atlantic, City of Atlantic, 1st Whitney Bank, Cass Health, Cass County Tourism, Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and Nishna Valley Family YMCA. For more information and to apply to be a vendor at our farmers markets visit https://www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com 

(Radio Iowa) – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says Iowa may be a destination for U-S-D-A jobs being moved out of Washington D-C. “We are working to save billions of dollars to most of the headquarters of USDA out of Washington and closer to the people. The first round of announcements included North Carolina, Colorado, Utah, Missouri, and Indianapolis,” Rollins said. “No Iowa, but there are more announcements coming.”

Rollins says there are a lot of U-S-D-A employees in Iowa already. The U-S-D-A has “Service Centers” in Iowa’s 99 counties for the operations of the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resource Conservation Service and U-S-D-A Rural Development. Ames is home to the National Centers for Animal Health, a 523-acre campus with 93 buildings. About 90 percent of U-S-D-A employees work in offices around the country. About 46-hundred are currently based in Washington.

“Listen, I love the USDA buildings in Washington. They are beautiful. They are right on the National Mall. It’s inspiring to walk up every day, but but do we really need three massive buildings for USDA on the National Mall?” Rollins asks. “One of the buildings has 6000 offices and only about 800 to 900 people actually come to work there on a good day.”

U-S Ag Sec Brooke Rollins with Atlantic’s Glen Smith on her right. Smith was announced as Rollins’ nominee as USDA Undersecretary of Rural Development. (Radio Iowa photo)

Rollins made her comments during a news conference at the Iowa State Fair, where (As KJAN reported Saturday) she announced President Trump is nominating Glen Smith of Atlantic to serve as U-S-D-A Undersecretary of Rural Development. “Glen served as chairman of the Farm Credit Administration during President Trump’s first term and will continue to be an incredible leader and a resolute voice for farmers here in Iowa and across the country in this new role.”

(As KJAN also reported) Rollins also announced the U-S-D-A is making a 152 MILLION dollar investment in 19 rural development projects in Iowa.”This unprecedented, coordinated rural development project will help boost the rural economies, develop rural infrastructure and encourage private investments,” Rollins said.

The Guthrie County Hospital is getting a 37-million dollar U-S-D-A loan to expand and renovate the facility. Four Rural Electric Coops are getting U-S-D-A loans for projects. U-S-D-A grants are going to 11 Iowa cities and two rural water systems to improve wastewater and drinking water utilities. And Halbur, a Carroll County town with about 230 residents, is getting half a million dollar loan from the U-S-D-A for street improvements.

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports the Adams County Communications Center received a 911 call at around 1:10-p.m. Sunday, about a tractor on fire at 170th and Orange Avenue. Upon arrival Deputies saw flames coming out of the tractor by the muffler. Deputies used a fire extinguisher to control the fire until the Fire Department arrived.

The Adams County Sheriffs Office was assisted by Corning Fire Department, Prescott Fire Department and Adams County EMS.

The cause of the fire was determined to be isolated to the cab of the tractor caused by hay under the cab.

Adams County S/O photo

(Des Moines, Iowa) – U-S Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, today (Saturday, Aug. 9 2025) announced an Atlantic man, Glen R. Smith, is her nominee for Undersecretary of Rural Development. Rollins made the announcement Saturday afternoon during the Governor’s Steer Show at the Iowa State Fair. (Audio courtesy O. Kay Henderson, Radio Iowa)

Glen R. Smith (right) listens as Ag Sec Brooke Rollins introduces him as her nominee for Under Secretary of Rural Development (Photo courtesy O. Kay Henderson – Radio Iowa)

Glen R. Smith has spent most of his life in rural America, engaged in farming and agri-business. In recent years, Glen has served on the Board of Directors of the Farm Credit Administration in Washington D.C. He is a graduate of Iowa State University. Glen and his wife Fauzan have four grown children and six grandchildren.

In 1982, Smith co-founded Smith Land Service, a company that specializes in farm management, land appraisal, and farmland brokerage services. He also owns and serves as president of Smith Generation Farms, Inc., a family farm operation in western Iowa that includes 2,000 acres of corn and soybeans.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says swimming is not advised at 17 public beaches, all of which have E. coli readings that exceed acceptable levels. The DNR conducts weekly tests at more than three dozen public swimming beaches between the week before Memorial Day through Labor Day.

15 DNR Monitored Beaches with an E. coli Advisory:
Backbone Beach (Dundee, Delaware County, IA)* 
Beed’s Lake Beach (Hampton, Franklin County, IA)* 
Brushy Creek Beach (Lehigh, Webster County, IA)*
Bobwhite State Park (Allerton, Wayne County, IA)* 
Crandall’s Beach (Big Spirit Lake, Spirit Lake, Dickinson County, IA)*
Emerson Bay Beach (West Okoboji Lake, Milford, Dickinson County, IA)* 
Lake Ahquabi Beach (Indianola, Warren County, IA)*
Lake Darling Beach (Brighton, Washington County, IA)*
Lake Manawa Beach (Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, IA)* 
Lake of Three Fires Beach (Bedford, Taylor County, IA)* 
Lower Pine Lake Beach (Eldora, Hardin County, IA)*
Nine Eagles Beach (Davis City, Decatur County, IA)* 
Pleasant Creek Lake Beach (Palo, Linn County, IA)* 
Prairie Rose Beach (Harlan, Shelby County, IA)* 
Union Grove Beach (Gladbrook, Tama County, IA)*

2 DNR Monitored Beaches with a Microcystin Advisory:
Lake Darling Beach (Brighton, Washington County, IA)*
Viking Lake Beach (Stanton, Montgomery County, IA)*
_______________________________________________________________________________________

4 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Monitored Beaches with an E. coli Advisory:
North Overlook Beach (Lake Red Rock, Pella, Marion County, IA)**
Sugar Bottom Campground Beach (Coralville Lake, Coralville, Johnson County, IA)**
West Overlook Beach (Coralville Lake, Coralville, Johnson County, IA)**
Whitebreast Beach (Lake Red Rock, Pella, Marion County, IA)** 

Note: George Wyth Beach is closed due to flooding. Monitoring has been suspended at Lake Keomah due to renovation activities. McIntosh Woods Beach is closed due to park storm damage. From the Army Corps of Engineers, Oak Grove Beach was not sampled due to high water elevations.

*This data is from the Iowa DNR State Park Beach Monitoring Program
**Data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District

(Radio Iowa) – A top executive in the ethanol industry says there have been key policy victories this year for ethanol producers — including the E-P-A’s proposed eight percent jump in biofuels production obligations for 2026. Emily Skor is C-E-O of Growth Energy, a trade association that represents nearly 100 ethanol plants — including 28 in Iowa.

“I would go back to day one of the Trump Administration and that is the first time that we had an executive order specific to ethanol and biofuel,” Skor said. “The president really enshrined biofuels as part of his domestic agenda.” In April, the Trump Administration waived the E-P-A’s ban on summertime sales of E-15 in about half the country. Then, in mid-June, the agency proposed 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into gasoline next year, along with increased production of soybean-based biodiesel.

“That’s the strongest proposed volumes that we have seen out of the agency,” Skor says. “We saw in that proposal a commitment to really prioritize domestic feedstocks, which is a big part of our conversation with the administration right now. That’s important to our growers and to our plants as well.” Under the proposed rule, the credits used to enforce compliance with the Renewable Fuels Standard would be heavily tilted to favor domestically produced biofuels.

Imported ethanol as well as imported corn, soybeans or other feedstocks used to produce biofuels here would have half the value. The E-P-A’s proposed Renewable Fuels Standard rules for 2026 and 2027 may become final by the end of October. Skor, a Minnesota native, has been C-E-O of Growth Energy since 2016.

(Radio Iowa) – Democrat Rob Sand says Iowans are justifiably frustrated about water quality issues and he might call for new regulations if he’s elected governor — but Sand says he’s investigating the issue before releasing a water quality plan.  “I think people would be right to be frustrated with me if we hit fall of next year and I didn’t have a specific plan for what I was going to do on this issue, but that’s not going to happen,” Sand said. “We’re putting together a plan. We’re taking time to learn.” Sand spoke with reporters after visiting the Des Moines Water Works this (Thursday) morning.  “This, to me, is part of the process,” Sand said. “I think that if you are going to be a candidate for governor, but if especially you are going to be a governor, you have got to have a really good understanding of the facts.”

Earlier this week, researchers who worked on a report about water quality and nitrates in the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers called for regulations to limit run-off from ag land.  “Those are some of the folks that I’ll be talking to and I want to hear what they have to say,” Sand said, “but I want to also make sure that I’m listening to lots of other voices and putting together a plan that is realistic and well-informed and achievable, where we know we can just make a difference instead of just necessarily shouting at each other.”

Republican Kim Reynolds, Iowa’s current governor, says regulation of farming practices is hardly ever the answer to water quality issues in the state. Sand isn’t ruling out regulations, but Sand says he doubts there’s a one-size-fits-all solution.”I think we’ve hit a new high for the magnitude of this problem and the folks in charge in Des Moines are literally moving in the wrong direction,” Sand said. “The legislature just defunded nitrate monitoring systems across the state of Iowa…so people who are frustrated should be frustrated. I’m frustrated. I want to be able to take my kids tubing where we’re home in Decorah in the Upper Iowa River without having to hesitate.”

Sand is the only Democrat currently serving in statewide office. He was elected state auditor in 2018 and reelected in 2022.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa State Fair opens its 11-day run today (Thursday) in Des Moines. Fair spokesperson Mindy Williamson says a big change this year allows you to bring in your own drinks. “You can now bring in your beverages excluding alcohol. You cannot bring in alcohol, but if you want to bring in your water, iced tea, Gatorade. coffee that you purchased on your way in, you can do that this year,” she says. Williamson says you can also bring in a soft-sided cooler with food. “If you have, you know, a special diet that you’re trying to stick to, or if you need snacks and things for your children, we feel like you know the fair is a family friendly place, and we want you to be as comfortable as possible. And so we made that change this year.” Williamson says.

There are parking lots outside the Fair, homeowners who charge you to park in their yards, or you can park at three pickup points and take a bus. “The Capitol and then west of the capitol, and then at Southeast Polk (High School). And you can easily ride those into the fairgrounds. It’ll drop you off at gate. ten which is near the Craft Beer Tent and the little kids rides, and then it’ll pick and then you can walk back there and ride it back to your car easily without the traffic,” she explains.

Williamson says there are several new things at the Fair. “People will not want to miss our new Shivers Plaza, which is the area right to the South of JR’s South Pork Ranch, and right across from our pavilion,” she says. “And it’s an area like a food court where there are vendors, there’s picnic tables and shade. There’s new restrooms.”

The Iowa State Fair gates open at 8 a-m. You can find out more about the schedule and daily events at iowastatefair.org.