(Radio Iowa) — Fire heavily damaged a farm and construction equipment dealership in northwest Iowa early this (Wednesday) morning. Sioux County Sheriff’s Deputy Nate Huisingasays the call came in about 3:20 A-M at Hawke and Company Ag on the outskirts of Alton. “There was flames coming through the roof of the building and as the morning went on, they got that under control,” Huisinga says. “Five fire departments are here assisting and at this point, it looks like they have the fire contained.”

The business was closed at the time the fire broke out. No injuries are reported. Deputy Huisinga says the rain showers weren’t exactly a benefit. “At this point, it’s probably more of a hindrance than it is helping as the conditions aren’t real nice out here,” Huisinga says. “Looks like we’ll have another rain shower go through and hopefully get a little break in the rain.”

There’s no word yet on what may have caused the fire.

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District 21 Representative Tom Moore reports the Iowa House, Monday afternoon, passed a Resolution recognizing the importance of free and fair trade. Moore says HCR 10 is critical to Iowa’s farmers and our economy. According to Moore, “It also encourages Iowa’s federal delegation to work towards and support a trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.” He said he was “Proud to support this resolution and hope Congress acts quickly to provide Iowa farmers with certainty and a fair trade deal.”

The Cass County, Iowa Master Gardeners (CCMG) are offering a $1,000 scholarship to local students, with applications due April 1, 2019. This scholarship is available to students who are graduating seniors or graduates of any of the following Iowa school districts, in which currently reside members of CCMG: Atlantic, AHSTW, Clarinda, CAM, Exira-EHK, Griswold, Harlan, Red Oak or Riverside.

The goal of the Master Gardener program is to support horticulture education and community service. CCMG members provide many hours of volunteer service and gardening education within their local communities. Accordingly, this scholarship is intended to provide post-secondary funds to individuals who are studying, or intend to pursue a career in, a horticulture-related field. The scholarship winner will be selected based upon academic success, history of community service, and career goals related to horticulture. Demonstration of past interest and experience in horticulture will be very helpful.

The scholarship is for those pursuing post-secondary education during the 2019-2020 school year. The recipient will be notified of their award on or before May 20, 2019 for planning purposes. A scholarship check will be issued in January 2020, in the student’s name directly to the academic institution, upon receipt of an official grade transcript for the completed Fall 2019 semester. A previous scholarship recipient may re-apply, but an individual may only receive a total of two scholarships from this program.

The application form is available through the high school guidance departments, or on the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/. Applications should be submitted to the Cass County Extension Office, 805 W 10th St, Atlantic, Iowa 50022, or emailed to keolson@iastate.edu on or before the April 1 deadline for consideration. Questions can be directed to the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132.

The Shelby County Extension will offer the Certified Handlers Continuing Instruction Course (CIC) this Wednesday, March 13th. The program will be shown across Iowa through the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP). The local attendance site is 906 6th Street, Harlan. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the course will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. The registration fee is $45. To register or obtain additional information about the CIC, contact the Shelby County Extension & Outreach office by calling 712-755-3104.

The course will provide continuing instruction credit for certified handlers. Topics to be covered include recognition of sensitive areas as potentially impacted by pesticides, responding to spills and accidents, pesticide labels, and pesticide container handling and disposal. Additional information and registration forms for this and other courses offered by the PSEP team can be accessed at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/psep/.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Just two months after a federal court judge struck down Iowa’s existing law meant to discourage investigations of animal abuse on farms, lawmakers are pushing another so-called ag-gag measure that opponents say would likely land them in court again.

The new bill creates a trespass charge for anyone using deception to gain access to a farm to cause physical or economic harm. It carries a penalty of up to a year in jail.
Sen. Ken Rozenboom, the Republican who will manage Senate floor debate, says it is more narrowly focused than the 2012 law struck down by the court in January and was crafted after other state laws that have survived court challenges.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, which sued over the 2012 law, says the bill under consideration also is unconstitutional and the group is prepared to challenge it in court.

Court documents show plaintiff legal fees in the previous lawsuit exceed $200,000, but the state has appealed to the federal appeals court so costs continue to mount.

On Saturday, March 6th, 2019, 12 members of the Atlantic FFA chapter competed in the District Career Development Events with two advancing to the State FFA Convention in Ames. During the District Business session Juniors Corri Pelzer was elected for the District Sentinel position and Adriana Mendez ran for the District Reporter. Unfortunately Adrian was not elected this year. Hannah Carlson and Tate Den Beste were the chapter delegates for Atlantic FFA at Convention.

Tyler C

Tate and Hannah

Craig Allan Ag Sales

Carli H

Bryan Y

Corri Pelzer

FFA member Carli Henderson competed in the Job Interview category placing 1st earning a Gold and advancing to State. Tyler Comes competed in Extemporaneous Speaking earning a Gold placing 2nd and advancing to State. Bryan York competed in the FFA Creed Speaking CDE placing 4th earning a Gold and will be the alternate to State. Katie York competed in the Chapter Website CDE earning a Silver. In the Ag Impact CDE 8th grade FFA members Jackson McLaren, Chase Vogl, Dan Freund and Dylan Comes presented on the importance of Agriculture in Cass County. This is the first year Atlantic has competed in the contest and the team earned 4th place and a Silver.

In the Farm Business Management Test Atlantic FFA had 4 members compete this year. Nathan Behrends placed 4th, Tyler Comes was 6th, Newell was 7th and Adrian Mendez was 11th. In the FFA Freshman Greenhand Quiz, Atlantic FFA had 5 members participate. Bryan York received a Gold. Receiving Silver was Andrew Engler, Aspen Niklasen, Cooper Jipsen, Malena Woodward, and Wyatt Redinbaugh

Seven members of the Atlantic FFA earned the FFA Academic Achievement Award. To earn this award an FFA member must be a member for 3 years and maintain a 3.5 GPA while in high school. This year Halsey Bailey, Nathan Behrends, Connor Pellett, Alana Welter, Sadie Welter, Ashley Wendt and Katie York earned this award.

(Article submitted by an FFA reporter)

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(Radio Iowa) — Lawmakers are considering a second attempt to penalize people who get an Iowa farm job in order to make undercover videos or harm the animals. Republican Representative Jarad Klein, a farmer from Keota, says the livestock industry is the “life blood” of Iowa’s economy and it must be protected from bad actors.

“People that are wanting to cause harm, wanting to lie, wanting to deceive,” Klein says. A federal judge recently ruled a similar Iowa law — passed seven years ago — was unconstitutional. Backers of this new bill say it matches part of an Idaho law that was recently upheld in federal court. Drew Mogler of the Iowa Pork Producers Association says the proposal will safeguard livestock farms from people who intend to “physically or financially” cause harm.

“Recently Mercy for Animals was running advertisements in Iowa, seeking undercover investigators who are committed to Mercy for Animals objective, which is to eradicate the food animal system,” Mogler said, “and we believe they are willing to take any measure to destroy that system.” Daniel Zeno of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa says while the bill appears to be narrower than the 2012 law, it likely would be challenged in court.

“Our goal is not to undermine the security, the protection of agricultural facilities. That is an important interest,” Zeno said, “…but we can’t do that by taking away free speech.” Representative Bruce Bearinger of Oelwein, a Democrat, says the bill could help deter “bio-terrorists” who seek to spread disease in swine herds and poultry barns.

“Dishonest access to those properties is a huge risk,” Bearinger said, “and I believe that this bill helps prevent any undue problems that can occur from it.” This new bill will be considered in the House Agriculture Committee today (Wednesday). It would let people be prosecuted for seeking a job working with Iowa livestock, in order to inflict financial damages.

Officials with the Loess Hills Missouri River Region will share the organization’s accomplishments of 2018, with the public during a Year in Review Celebration at Uncle Buck’s Grill at Bass Pro Shops on Friday, March 8th  from 4-until 5-p.m.  It’s been a year since Governor Reynolds, the Iowa Parks Foundation, and the Loess Hills Missouri River Region (LHMRR) Board and stakeholders gathered at the Field House in Council Bluffs to announce MidAmerican Energy Foundation’s $500,000 commitment to the Loess Hills Missouri River Region Parks to People Plan, and the board has been busy with regional outdoor recreation projects ever since.

The Loess Hills Missouri River Region Parks to People Plan was created by a group of stakeholders from Harrison, Mills and Pottawattamie Counties and the Friends of Lake Manawa, who first assembled in 2014.  The Plan, in partnership with the Iowa Parks Foundation, supports collaborative, regional projects to enhance economic development and tourism; public health and social vitality; natural resources, parks and trails; and overall regional vibrancy. The initiative intends to attract and retain young people interested in an active lifestyle, which will stimulate Iowa’s economy and promote business growth.  A primary goal is to offer a fully connected 21st Century parks system, in time for the Iowa Parks Centennial in 2020.

In 2018, the LHMRR Board officially designated its first round of priority projects for funding from the MidAmerican Energy Foundation’s $500,000 challenge grant to the Parks to People Plan. $338,000 has been dedicated towards the following priority projects: Harrison County Conservation Board’s Willow Lake Nature Center and Overland Hiking Trail; Lake Manawa’s Dream Playground; Mills County Trails Board’s Glenwood Trail Project; Mills County Conservation Board’s Pony Creek Expansion; Lewis & Clark Today Route signage and the Green Hill Ranch conservation area. The projects represent over $10.6 million in planned recreational improvements to the tri-county region. To date, over $5 million of this has been secured or pledged towards implementation.

The public is invited to attend the Year in Review Celebration from 4-until 5-p.m. Friday, at Uncle Buck’s Grill (2901 Bass Pro Drive).  At the celebration, organizers will present a history of the initiative, outline the process for setting priority projects, overview progress on current priority projects and unveil the concept design for the new logo, branding and website.  Project leaders will be available to answer questions and provide information about priority projects.

The LHMRR is coordinated by Golden Hills RC&D, a nonprofit organization with a mission “to develop and promote sustainable cultural and conservation projects that enhance the quality of life and preserve the assets of rural western Iowa.”  More information about the Loess Hills Missouri River Region Parks to People Plan, Annual Meeting and Year in Review Celebration, visit goldenhillsrcd.org/lhmrr or at facebook.com/loesshillsmissouririverregion.