Atlantic Parks and Recreation Director Roger Herring Monday evening updated the Parks & Rec Board on the status of fundraising efforts for Schildberg Recreation Area and other park improvements. With regard to a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant, Herring said progress “Is movin.” Herring said they have authorization from the Feds and State to go ahead with the design phase of the Schildberg Lake #2 trail, and he hopes to have bid letting in July. Completion is expected to occur later this fall.

Herring said there was a delay in getting the grant approved, due to red tape with regard to “coding.”

Proposed additional trail around Lake #2 at the Schildberg Rec Area. (File photo from Feb. 2015)

Part of the trail is in the City limits, but since the original request was to have it outside the City limits, the powers that be had to re-evaluate the whole process. In other news, Roger Herring said he and Assistant Parks & Rec Director Seth Staashelm have been putting together a grant request from the Cass County Community Foundation that has to be turned-in by no later than May 31st. The application will be for anywhere from $15-to $20,000, for upgrades to some City Parks.

That includes Harl-Holt Park at 17th and Olive Streets, behind the old YMCA building. Staashelm says they would like to upgrade equipment at the park, including replacement of the basketball court at the park. Instead of replacing the concrete, they could install something called a “Versacourt,” Which is a plastic tiling outdoor system. The Parks and Rec crew can assemble and secure the system themselves, which would save on costs. Another benefit is different types of recreational lines can be placed on the court, including basketball and pickelball, to name but a few. The product has a 15-year warranty.

They also hope to update or replace some playground equipment at the Harl-Holt Park, and retrofitting the swing. Roger Herring said they are also working on a Vision Iowa grant application. Currently, they are soliciting Letters of Support for the grant application. That includes revisiting previous persons or entities that have supported prior grant applications, and a Resolution of Support from the City and others.

The goal is to submit the application by April 14th. In other business, Staashelm and Herring received approval from the Parks and Rec Board to have a special Online Reservations program created so that people can check to see what City Park shelters are available, and make reservations for the use of those shelters. The computer program and services would cost around $700. It would save Herring and Staashelm countless hours in scheduling and confirming shelter house reservations.

Iowa’s corn crop and many other key commodities would be threatened by hot, dry conditions if certain weather patterns continue to develop. U-S-D-A meteorologist Brad Rippey says even though the El Nino pattern is still strong over the entire country right now, there are likely changes on the horizon.

“If you look at all of the moderate-to-strong El Ninos we’ve had over the last 75 years or so, they are almost always followed by a fairly quick transition to La Nina,” Rippey says. “It’s almost like there’s a boomerang effect.” We’re now experiencing the third “super El Nino” weather pattern since the early 1980s and if the pattern holds, a La Nina pattern could emerge soon and bring drought conditions.

“We’re pretty confident and even the two-dozen or so models that try to forecast the ocean and atmospheric states looking ahead to the summer,” he says, “we’ll be in either neutral or La Nina conditions by the latter part of 2016.” Rippey says the La Nina pattern in 1998 never reached Iowa or other Midwestern states but it had an impact on the southern tier of states, bringing very dry conditions that had a major impact on crops. Signs point to a repeat, according to Rippey.

“In 1983, we saw a very wet spring nearly coast-to-coast, but in July and August, as we quickly transitioned into La Nina, we saw a very hot, dry weather pattern develop across the Midwest,” he says. “It led to significant yield declines in crops, including corn.” It’s still too early to pinpoint exactly where the hot, dry conditions will land but he says farmers need to be aware.

(Radio Iowa)

Members of the City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board of Directors will meet Monday evening in the City Council’s Chambers at City Hall, beginning at 5:15.

On the agenda are updates on: the 2017 Budget proposal; the Kiddie Korral at SunnysidePark; Boat ramp project near the Schildberg Rec Area; The Bull Creek/Schuler Elementary School Trail; A Transportation Alternatives Program grant for Lake #2 at the Schildberg Rec Area; a Cass County Community Foundation grant request; Vision Iowa grant; and an update on On-line Shelter Reservations.

Old business will cover an update on the Nishna Valley Connector Trail. And, in his report to the Board, Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring is expected to talk about the parking lot installation at the Dog Park in the Schildberg Rec Area, as well as remind the public Sunnyside Park remains open to sledding, disc golf and walking. The gates to the park remain closed to vehicle traffic, however.

The Shelby County Conservation Board has announced persons interested in reserving cabins at the Nishna Bend Recreation Area or Manteno Park, can do so online. Two cabins are available at Nishna Bend, and one is available at Manteno Park.

You can reserve your cabin online at mycountyparks.com. On the website, there’s an interactive calendar where you can see what dates are available up to 24 months in advance. You can then reserve any open dates and pay for the cabin securely, using a credit card.

Signs will be erected on the camping cabins reminding park users of the reservation system.

Cass County Conservation Dept. personnel are dealing with vandalism that has taken place over the past month. Conservation Director Micah Lee, during his quarterly report, told the Cass County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, that the incidents have taken place along the T-Bone Trail, where people have been run over posts designed to prevent vehicles from entering the trail, at the trail heads.

He says someone is breaking off the two-by-two, 1 ½ inch square tubing. They’re snapped off near the ground, which makes it very difficult for crews to replace. Supervisor Chuck Rieken suggested they use solid railroad-type beams to make it more difficult for vehicles to break the posts. Lee agreed it would cause more damage to the culprits’ vehicle(s) and maybe dissuade them from causing more damage. Micah says other than garbage that’s occasionally being dumped in that area, that’s the first real case of vandalism perpetrated to the T-Bone Trail.

In other news, Lee said the main thing they’re working on during the off-season, is renovating the inside of their offices near Lewis. At the West Nodaway Recreation area near Cumberland, they’ve removed some Cedar Trees in hopes of bringing back some native grasses in the future. And, there are plans for the Outdoor Classroom shelter near Massena to be expanded to include running water, thanks to donations and grants secured from a non-profit Friends group.

No County funds will be used for the upgrades. The Conservation Board gave its blessing to the project, which will include a mini-kitchen and wildlife/nature-related resource library. The improvement’s he said, will add somewhere from 300-to 500-feet to the shelter.

w/ Kate Olson.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge says the Iowa Supreme Court should settle legal questions about whether farmland drainage districts can be held liable for water pollution downstream before a lawsuit filed by a Des Moines water utility can proceed. Questions such as immunity for drainage districts and which constitutional protections might apply to parties challenging drainage systems have not been decided by state or federal courts in Iowa. The drainage districts have been around since the late 1800s.

Judge Mark Bennett said the novel legal issues deserve the attention of the state’s highest court. The decision comes in the lawsuit that Des Moines Water filed last year against three northwest Iowa counties that oversee 10 agriculture drainage districts. Farm drainage district attorneys say Iowa’s constitution has long protected them from legal liability.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced today (Monday), that three projects focused on expanding the use and innovative delivery of water quality practices have been selected to receive $1.92 million in funding through the Iowa water quality initiative over the next three years. In addition to the state funds, the three projects will provide over $2 million in matching funds to support water quality improvement efforts as well as other in-kind contributions.

Among the projects, is the Taylor County Water Quality Initiative. The $1.58-million  project received a $611,705 grant award. Project partners AgSolver, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa Cattleman’s Association, Taylor County Cattlemen, Southern Iowa Forage and Livestock Committee, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, will work with farmers in Taylor County by promoting alternative land management practices on farmed areas identified to be marginal or unprofitable.

The project will work with producers on an individual basis to evaluate the specific production levels and goals within their farming operation by utilizing several tools to evaluate current farm scale profitability combined with conservation practice and land use alternatives. Rather than focus on the entire field, the project will demonstrate which areas of a field should be considered for alternative forms of production, thus making them more profitable and more sustainable.

In addition to the three new projects, 29 demonstration projects are currently located across the state to help implement and demonstrate water quality practices. This includes 16 targeted watershed projects, 4 projects focused on expanding the use and innovative delivery of water quality practices and 9 urban water quality demonstration projects. More than 100 organizations are participating in these projects. These partners will provide $16.72 million dollars to go with the $11.11 million in state funding going to these projects.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said Friday night, it was investigating reports of land application of process wastewater potentially entering a stream after receiving numerous telephone calls from concerned citizens. A contractor was land applying wastewater from Essentia, a processing facility in Harlan (Shelby County) under its chapter 200 license, which is issued by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. However, the DNR received reports that the processed wastewater was entering the West Nishnabotna River after it was applied.

DNR staff collected samples on Friday to determine if any of wastewater reached the river. Prior to DNR staff leaving the site, the contractor installed an earthen berm to prevent any further discharge. The investigation is ongoing. The DNR will consider appropriate enforcement action, if necessary. Jessica Montana, supervisor of the DNR’s Environmental Services field office in Atlantic, said “We really want to thank the people who took time to call us and alert us to this situation. The quicker we can get on the scene of a situation like this, the better chance we have of getting the accurate data we need to properly assess the potential impact, but more importantly, the quicker we can work with the responsible party to get material contained.”

Montana said it is important to avoid land application of wastewater and manure when conditions are not favorable like when the ground is saturated because it can result in the material being carried to surface water through runoff.

A reminder today, that Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will offer the Crop Advantage Series to producers at 14 locations across Iowa during January 2016. Locally, a meeting will be hosted on January 19th at the Cass County Community Center, 805 West 10th Street in Atlantic.

Each year, ISU Exension and Outreach specialists and field agronomists present the lastest crop production research and information for the upcoming growing seasons to producers, agronomists and industry leaders. This year’s Crop Advantage Series will focus on the importance of risk management programs and controlling costs.

Each location features a full agenda of workshops that attendees can choose from to develop a personalized agenda. ISU Extension and Outreach field agronomists will present program topics focusing on local needs and production issues.

In addition to discussing the economic returns of crop production, extension field agronomists will present program topics focusing on local needs and production issues. Topics will include: crop market outlook, farm bill decisions, corn disease update, corn rootworm management, nitrogen recommendations, managing soybean Sudden Death Syndrome, herbicide and weed control, and many more.

Over 2,000 producers participate in the regional Crop Advantage Series meetings each year. All meetings are approved for Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) continuing education credits, and every location offers the opportunity for private pesticide applicators to receive continuing education credits.

Early registration for each location is $50; late registration made less than seven days prior to the meeting or at the door is $60. Registration includes lunch, printed proceedings, private pesticide applicator recertification and CCA credits. Online registration and additional information is available at http://www.cropadvantage.org/ or from your local ISU Extension office.

For statewide locations, times, and program content, contact your local ISU Extension Office or visit www.cropadvantage.org. Local dates include:

January 13 – Ames
January 14 – Honey Creek
January 19 – Atlantic
January 28 – Carroll

Crop Advantage Series is presented by ISU Extension and Outreach with support from the Iowa Soybean Association and from the North Central SARE Program–Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. For questions, contact ANR Program Services at (515) 294-6429, anr@iastate.edu, or contact your local Iowa State University Extension field agronomist, Aaron Saeugling at clonz5@iastate.edu or (712) 769-2650.