(Bedford, Iowa) – Health officials in Missouri report a person infected by a suspected brain-eating amoeba found in a Taylor County (Iowa) Lake, has died. Officials believe a resident from Missouri likely picked up the deadly parasite while swimming at the Lake of Three Fires State Park. The death marks the first reported case of Iowa’s rare and deadly infection.

The beach at the Lake of Three Fires was closed as a precaution on July 7th, and remains closed as the state of Iowa awaits official test results to confirm the presence of the amoeba. The patient, who Missouri health officials declined to identify, was being treated for the infection in an intensive care unit before dying. The official said because cases like this are so rare, additional information about the patient would not be released.

According to health officials, the ameba in question is commonly found in warm freshwater such as lakes, rivers, and ponds.  Since 1962, only 154 known cases have been identified in the United States.

People can take actions to reduce the risk of infection by limiting the amount of water going up the nose. These actions could include:

• Hold your nose shut, use nose clips, or keep your head above water when taking part in water-related activities in bodies of warm freshwater.
• Avoid putting your head under the water in hot springs and other untreated thermal waters.
• Avoid water-related activities in warm freshwater during periods of high-water temperature.
• Avoid digging in, or stirring up, the sediment while taking part in water-related activities in shallow, warm freshwater areas.
  (These recommendations are best practices but not based on scientific testing since the low numbers of infections make it difficult to show effectiveness.)

Those who experience the following symptoms after swimming in any warm body of water should contact their health care provider immediately as the disease progresses rapidly:

• Severe headache
• Fever
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Stiff neck
• Seizures
• Altered mental status
• Hallucinations.

Guthrie County State Bank announces the addition of Tawnia Ganzer to the agriculture lending team. She brings more than 20 years of lending experience to an employee-owned, independent bank with deep roots in the agricultural and business industries in Guthrie County and the surrounding region. Tawnia joined the team in June and will have an office in the Guthrie Center location of GCSB while spending a large percentage of her time meeting farmers and customers in the field and on the farm.

“Adding Tawnia to our lending team bolsters our already deep bench of experienced lenders, especially in the ag category,” said Mike Underwood, president and chief executive officer of Guthrie County State Bank. “She has a unique knowledge of this region as well as existing relationships with most of the farm owners and families in the area. Tawnia is a great addition to GCSB, and we’re looking forward to our customers making connections with her.”

Tawnia Ganzer; Guthrie County State Bank ag lender

Tawnia previously served as a Farm Loan Officer for Farm Service Agency. She started in the Harlan office in 2000, then moved to the Guthrie Center office in 2016. During her tenure with the FSA, she sustained one of the largest direct loan portfolios in the state with almost zero delinquencies while using her knowledge and years of experience to train other lenders. Tawnia participated in a variety of FSA and Iowa State Extension programs including Annie’s Project and Career Days, and she completed Iowa State University Ag Credit School. In the community, she is active as Seely Bobcats 4-H Club leader, has been a Farm Safety Just 4 Kids Coordinator, and a church group leader. Tawnia is a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University with a bachelor of science degree where she majored in animal science with a minor in ag business.

“It’s a perfect next career step for me to take on this new challenge with Guthrie County State Bank,” said Tawnia. “With my 22 years of experience, and the Bank’s already strong team and 90+ years in Guthrie County, we are prepared to assist farmers at every stage of the journey. I’m excited to experience GCSB’s commitment to our community as a team member and to connect farmers to the many solutions we can provide.”

Tawnia lives in rural Guthrie Center with her husband, Kent, and their four active school-aged children. They have a family cattle operation and can often be found cheering and volunteering to support their kids’ activities.

For more information about GCSB’s ag lending team, visit gcsbank.com

County Fairs in Audubon and Shelby County continue through this weekend in Audubon, and Harlan, respectively. Here’s the schedule of activities for Saturday (7/16)….

AUDUBON COUNTY FAIR:
7:30 AM-Noon Farmers’ Market
8:00 AM Clover Kids Poultry Show
4-H/FFA Poultry Show, Open Class
9:00 AM Baby Contest-Hoop
10:00 AM Big Wheels Races-Hoop
10:00 AM-3:00 PM Ima Clown – Hoop
10:00 AM 4-H/FFA Beef Show
Show Order:
Bottle Bucket Calves
Feeder Calves
Breeding Heifers
LUNCH BREAK
Cow/Calf Pairs
Pen of Three
Market Heifers
Market Steers
Showmanship
11:00 AM-9:00 PM Inflatable Attractions
11:00 AM Chris Short Puppet Personalities Show
11:30 AM Non-sanctioned Kids Pedal Pull
11:30 AM-1:00 PM Lego Logo – Agrihall
12:30 PM Chris Short Puppet Personalities Show
12:30 PM Clover Kids Stuffed Animal Show – Hoop
2:00 PM Chris Short Puppet Personalities Show
2:30 PM Clover Kids Bottle Bucket Calf
3:00 PM Clover Kids Sheep
4-H/FFA Sheep Show
5:30 PM Mutton Bustin’
7:00 PM IRCA Rodeo
9:00 PM Live Music-Outlaw Creek

SHELBY COUNTY FAIR:

8:00 am……………….Sheep, Goat and Rabbit Exhibitors Meetings
8:00 am……………….Open Class Saddle Horses and Ponies in place
8:30 am……………….Judge 4-H/FFA Sheep, Goats & Rabbits
8:30 am………………APPLE PIE MORNING – Senior Citizen Morning (Open Class Apple Pie Contest) – Tent
8:30 am………………Registration for Shelby County Baby Contest – $1 entry fee (Starts at 9:00a.m.)
9:00 am.-1:00 pm….Show & Shine Car Show
9:00 am.-4:00 pm….Antique Tractor/Machinery Show
9:30 am………………Horse Exhibitor Meeting (4-H and FFA)
10:00 am…………….Judge 4-H/FFA Horses (Open Class Horse/Pony Show to follow)
10:00-10:30 am……Strolling Act – Amazing Arthur
10:00 am-6:00 pm…Little Hands on the Farm Exhibit
11:00 am…………….Bingo – Harlan Lion’s Club – Tent (following Apple Pie Morning)
10:30-11:30 am……Kids’ Contests
11:30 am……………Stuffed Animal Show – Show Ring
12:00 pm……………Pie/Muffin Auction – Show Ring
1:30 pm……………..Ag Olympics – Show Ring (following Pie/Muffin Auction)
2:00 pm……………..Pee Wee Cookie Decorating Contest
3:00 pm……………..4-H Presentations – Exhibit Building
3:00 pm……………..Bill Riley Registration (4:00 pm Bill Riley Show)
3:00-3:30 pm………Strolling Act – Amazing Arthur
3:30 pm……………..Harlan Community Band Performance – Tent
4:00 pm…………….Bill Riley Talent Search (register at 3:00 pm)
4:00 pm………….…Carnival
4:00 pm…………….Shelby County Fair’s Cook-Off Contest
4:00 pm-4:30 pm….Strolling Act – Amazing Arthur
5:00 pm……………..Registration for Mutton Busting
6:00 p.m……………Mutton Busting – Show Ring
6:30 pm……………GRANDSTAND: Auto Races
7:00 pm……………..Family Fun Night Games – Tent
4-H & Open Class Buildings open 10:00a.m-9:00p.m
Nishna Valley Model Railroad open 1:00 – 9:00p.m.

(Radio Iowa) – An official with Summit Carbon Solutions says landowners so far have agreed to let its carbon pipeline run through nearly 40 percent of its proposed path through Iowa. Jesse Harris is director of public affairs for the company. “There’s obviously a lot of questions people have about the routing of the pipeline, about construction, repair of drainage tile, so we want to make sure we address those in a thoughtful way, but we’re very encouraged,” Harris says. “Right now we’re at nearly 40% of the route secured through voluntary easements.”

The pipeline route would stretch nearly 670 miles across Iowa on its way to North Dakota, where the captured carbon from Midwest ethanol plants would be stored underground. In mid-April, Summit officials said they’d secured about 20 percent of the route through Iowa. “Our hope is to be in construction in 2023 and be in operation in 2024,” Harris says. “There’s still several months more that we’re going to be talking to landowners and addressing their questions and continuing the process of securing those voluntary easements, so throughout the course of this year I think we’ll try to secure the bulk of those. This is an ongoing process.”

Summit hosted an invitation-only open house at a northwest Iowa ethanol plant this week. Chris Boshart is the General Manager for Corn L-P in Goldfield, which would be linked to the pipeline. “Our plant is a stand alone 80 million gallon plant. We have 35 local employees here. We have partnership with the local partnership that’s owned by local farmer members, so we have 3000 member farmers that are part of this project,” he says. “We’re very excited about this project and the direction is allows us to pursue in the future of ethanol.”

Jim Pirolli, Summit’s Chief Commercial Officer, emphasized the scope of the overall project. “The investment itself will create about 11,000 high paying construction jobs while we’re building the system and about 1100 hundred well-paying jobs once we’re in operation.” Three companies have now proposed carbon capture pipelines through Iowa. The ethanol plant in Goldfield signed onto Summit’s plan in February of 2021. Pirolli says it’s important to de-carbonize the ethanol industry, which is the market for 40 percent of U.S. corn. “This is one of 32 ethanol plant partners that we’ve joined with to build the world’s largest carbon capture and storage project,” Pirolli said, “so a several billion dollar project that is aimed to support the ethanol industry and production agriculture in the U.S.”

Pipeline opponents say private property rights will be sacrificed for corporate profits if developers are allowed to seize land from unwilling property owners through eminent domain. Earlier this year, the Iowa House passed a moratorium that would have prohibited companies like Summit from applying for eminent domain until at least February of 2023. The bill did not pass the Iowa Senate, however. Iowa Utilities Board officials told key senators they will not begin the formal process of considering applications for eminent domain until next spring.

(Audubon, Iowa) – Officials with the 2022 Audubon County Fair have announced that due to the heat and lack of livestock, the Audubon County Fair’s livestock judging contest scheduled for 3:00 p.m. today is canceled. There are still other things to see and due at the Fair this afternoon:

The Audubon County Fair runs through Sunday, July 17.

(Radio Iowa) – The head of the nation’s largest agricultural cooperative is encouraging Iowa farmers to prepare for liquid propane shortages this fall. C-H-S C-E-O Jay Debertin says the foreign export market for propane has grown by leaps and bounds.”CHS doesn’t export propane, we consume it here, but it is impacting the market,” Debertin says, “so I think supply planning for propane is going to be really, really key.”

He says farmers can’t afford to wait until they know with certainty what propane drying needs are going to be at harvest. “Because by then it may be too late to get supply plans put in place and have it when you need it,” Debertin says, “because it’s such a short season, and it goes so fast.”

Debertin is more confident about fall fertilizer supplies but says prices could remain elevated.

Jaci Christensen was selected to represent Audubon County as 2022 Fair Queen Thursday night.  Christensen, the daughter of Dan and Jill Christensen, will be attending Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge this fall.  The First Runner-up is Sienna Albertsen, the daughter of Mike and Crystal Albertsen.  The Second Runner-up is Abigail Brooks, the daughter of Mike and Allie Brooks.

2022 Audubon County Fair Queen, Jaci Christensen; 1st Runner up Sienna Albertsen
2nd Runner up Abby Brooks (Photo via the Audubon County Fair FB page)

Girls were judged on community involvement, personality, poise and speaking ability during a dinner and interviews with judges Richard and Bev Goshorn of Harlan on July 6.

Christensen will represent Audubon County at the Iowa State Fair Queen competition August 10-13 in Des Moines, which will include several days of interviews, pictures, touring the fair grounds and having fun.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The Cass County Tourism planning committee is working to revitalize their group and develop a cohesive county-wide strategy for tourism promotion. The group is particularly interested in increasing representation from areas of the county outside of Atlantic. Anyone interested in promoting Cass County as a destination worth a visit is invited to attend the Cass County Tourism committee’s next meeting on Monday, July 18, from 9:00-10:00 AM at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce (102 Chestnut St. Atlantic, IA 50022).

According to spokesperson Brigham Hoegh, for more than a decade, Kenner Baxter of Marne has led Cass County Tourism as a volunteer. For the past number of years, the Cass County Board of Supervisors have provided $5,000 in funding to Cass County Tourism annually. The funding has been used primarily for county event marketing including brochures, print ads, and radio ads about events such as the county fair, mud races, Whaletown, and Cass County Parks and Conservation events. Minimal funding has also been used to reimburse Baxter for the costs of attending regional and state tourism events, where she has represented Cass County. 

Participants in Cass County Tourism’s meetings over the past few years have included representatives from the Hitchcock House, A.R.I.S.E., Cass County Conservation, Produce in the Park, the Cass Atlantic Development Corporation, SHIFT ATL, the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Mayor of Atlantic, in addition to others. As of Spring 2022, Baxter has shared she plans to step away from Cass County Tourism. However, before she departs, she’s working to ensure there is a plan for tourism promotion in the county to continue and grow. At the July 18 meeting, the group will be discussing potential long-term strategies for coordinating Cass County tourism promotion after Baxter’s departure.

Those interested in attending the meeting are encouraged to RSVP to Kenner Baxter at kennermc@metc.net.

(Ames, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, this week, said swimming is not recommended at beaches at 10 separate Iowa State Parks due to high levels of E.Coli (fecal) bacteria. Sources of E. coli can include untreated human sewage, failing septic tanks, livestock agriculture, pets, wildlife, and illegal connections from home sewer systems to surface water. When E. Coli exceeds the permissible level in recreational water, it results in the closing of beaches, ponds, lakes, and swimming and fishing areas.

The bacteria standard for Iowa’s recreational waters consists of two components:

• A geometric mean standard based on 5 samples in a 30-day period (126 colony-forming units of E. coli bacteria per 100 mL of water).
• A one-time maximum standard based on a single sample (235 colony forming units of E. coli bacteria per 100 mL of water).
  

  Swimming is not recommend for Beaches/Parks w/yellow dots; Blue dots indicate insufficient data; Red indicates closed; Green is OK for swimming.

In our area, the last, single sample taken from Prairie Rose Beach in Shelby County (July 6), was well above the one-time standard, coming in at 310/mL, and a mean of 122.67. Lake Manawa State Beach in Pottawattamie County was tested (July 6) at 110/ml in the last five-sample, with a Geometric mean of 130.7. And, the Lake of Three fires near Bedford in Taylor County, is temporarily closed to swimming, but the Lake of Three Fires State Park is still open. The DNR said last week a swimmer from Missouri may have contracted a rare brain-eating amoeba from the water.

The most commonly reported symptoms of E.Coli are stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and low-grade fever. More information about beach monitoring, including an interactive map, can be found at the Iowa DNR website here.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The 2022 Shelby County Fair is underway, in Harlan. There are lots of activities and exhibitions to view, along with the livestock. Here is the schedule for today and tomorrow (July 14-15)…

THURSDAY, JULY 14
9:00 am……………..Judge 4-H/FFA Cats & Small Pets
9:00-9:30 am………Enter Bottle Animals – All livestock is to unload at dock and be inspected by a Veterinarian.
9:30 am……………..Judge 4-H/FFA Feeder Calves, Beef Cow/Calves, Breeding Beef, and Dairy Cattle
10:00 am-1:00 pm..Little Hands on the Farm Exhibit
10:30 am……………Pie & Muffin Baking (Check Green Book for your scheduled time.)
12:30 pm……………Bottle/Bucket Calf and Bottle/Bucket Calf Plus One Exhibitor Meeting
1:00 pm……………..Judge 4-H/FFA/Clover Kids Bottle Bucket Calf Show
2:30 pm…………….Open Class Bottle Show
3:00-5:00 pm………Little Hands on the Farm Exhibit
4:00 pm……………..Carnival
6:00 pm…………….Shelby County Fair PARADE – ‘New Beginnings, Lasting Memories’
7:00-7:30 pm………Strolling Act – Amazing Arthur
7:30-9:00 pm………Little Hands on the Farm Exhibit
8:00-8:30 pm………Strolling Act – Amazing Arthur
8:00 pm……………..Show Ring: Crowning of 2022 Shelby County Fair Queen and Hall of Fame Recognition
9:00-9:30 pm………Strolling Act – Amazing Arthur
4-H & Open Class Buildings open following judging to 10:00p.m.
Nishna Valley Model Railroad Building open from 4:00p.m. – 9:00p.m

FRIDAY, JULY 15
7:00 am………………..Exhibitor Breakfast by Agriland FS for all exhibitors
7:45 am………………..Swine Exhibitors Meeting
8:00 am………………..Judge 4-H/FFA Swine
10:00 am-1:00 pm…..Little Hands on the Farm Exhibit
12:30 pm………………Rabbit Agility Exhibitor’s Meeting
1:00 pm……………….4-H Rabbit Agility – Tent
2:45 pm……………….4-H Working Exhibitors’ Meeting
3:00 pm……………….4-H Working Exhibits – Tent
3:00-6:00 pm………..Little Hands on the Farm Exhibit
4:00-4:30 pm.……….Strolling Act – Amazing Arthur
4:00 pm……..…..…..Carnival
5:00-5:30 pm………..Strolling Act –  Amazing Arthur
6:00 pm………………Double S Extreme Bull Riding
8:00-8:30 pm.……….Strolling Act – Amazing Arthur
8:30 pm………………Concert – ‘Finding Dixie’ (Grandstand)
Dark…………………….Fireworks Show – Shooting off North of Grandstands
4-H & Open Class Buildings open 10:00a.m.- 9:00pm
Nishna Valley Model Railroad 1:00-9:00 pm