(Atlantic, Iowa) – A reminder from KJAN that the Sweetheart Market – another Produce in the Park event – takes place Saturday, February 8 from 10am-1pm at the Nishna Valley Family YMCA in Atlantic. Market Manager Ciara Hoegh says the theme for this year’s Sweetheart Market is appropriately entitled “Bee Mine, Honey!”

Local vegetables, honey, meats, eggs, baked goods, Kringles and desserts, along with home made soups, candles, home decor and gifts will be available, in addition to everything you need to know about honey how it’s made, including products with bees wax.

The vendor with bees wax products is Woodland Wildflower Apiary, whose farm is north of Atlantic. There are more than 30 vendors who will set-up their tables in the YMCA gym. There are some other, first-time vendors at the market, as well.

The Sweetheart Market features face-painting for kids, all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage and drinks in the rear of the gym by the Pancake Man. The cost for the meal is $8 per adult and $5 per child (Under the age of 18). There is other food available for you to take home, as well.

Homemade loaves of sourdough bread will be available at the Sweetheart Market, but get there early as they are in limited supply!

Produce In the Park markets accept SNAP EBT. Visit www.ProduceInTheParkAtlanticIowa.com for more information.  There is NO CHARGE to attend the market. All proceeds will be directed to Cass County Food Pantries. Local organizations, including Cass County Tourism and Healthy Cass County, will be at the market sharing information about community events and opportunities. Sweetheart Market 2025 is sponsored by the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, Cass County Tourism, Cass Health, City of Atlantic, First Whitney Bank & Trust and Nishna Valley Family YMCA.

For the latest information on Sweetheart Market, and all Produce in the Park markets, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/).

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic, Wednesday evening, passed a couple of resolutions affecting the City’s Parks and Recreation Department policies. The Council first passed a resolution “Adopting a Policy for the Parks and Recreation Department Regarding Donations, Relocations and Removals.” Councilman Mike McDermott is a Council liaison on the Parks Advisory Commission.

For many decades, the Parks and Rec Department has had mainly verbal agreements with donors and those who wish to place, move or remove a memorial – such as a park bench. Any paper documents regarding those donations/memorials have long since been lost, according to City Administrator John Lund.

The Council passed also, a resolution pertaining to the adoption of a “Policy for the Rental of Park Shelters.” Councilpersons Emily Kennedy and Mike McDermott, explained why the Commission wanted to change the policy.

The policy increases the shelter fee to $50. Again, that allows a shelter to be used for a whole day instead of just a few hours. In other business, the Council discussed the merits of a City-Wide Cleanup Day, and associated costs. Having been unable to come to a viable solution Wednesday night, the Council opted to send the matter to the City’s Beautification Committee, who, along with input from the City’s Attorney, will hash-out the details and make a recommendation to the full Council at a later meeting.

(Radio Iowa) – State wildlife officials are asking Iowans not to skip over the Fish and Wildlife Fund this tax season, what’s popularly known as the Chickadee Check-off. Stephanie Shepherd, a state wildlife diversity biologist, says contributions on your state tax form go to the Iowa DNR to help conserve non-game species across the state. “It’s how the DNR is able to have staff dedicated to working on songbirds, raptors, frogs and toads, turtles, bumble bees, butterflies,” Shepherd says, “and so we work on all of those things on a statewide basis.”

Along with habitat restorations, the fund helps DNR staff train volunteers to monitor wildlife populations in the state. For example, volunteers recorded nearly 1,200 bumble bees representing ten species during last year’s inaugural Iowa Bumble Bee Atlas. “Our program works on all the wildlife you can’t hunt, fish and trap out there,” Shepherd says, “so, that’s thousands of species.”

American Tree Sparrow (Photo by Karl Schilling of Des Moines)

Avian ecologist Anna Buckardt Thomas is tracking the migration patterns of the wood thrush, a forest songbird that’s population has declined 50-percent since the 1960s. “They have this really beautiful flute-like sound,” she says. “If you’ve ever heard one, it just stops you in your tracks.”

Iowa taxpayers contributed around $134,000 to the Chickadee Check-off last tax season. It’s roughly half of what Iowans contributed in 1982 when the state legislature created the fund.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is reminding anglers, that ice fishing shelters, left unattended, must be removed from state-owned lands and waters, including parking lots and boat ramps by Feb. 20th. Ice fishing shelter owners who camp in a paid campsite within a state park can remain past the February 20 deadline. Ice fishing shelter owners are encouraged not to wait until the last minute to get their shelter off the ice. If a shelter falls through the ice, the owner is responsible for getting it out of the lake.

On a separate note, the DNR says the walleye fishing season on Spirit, East and West Okoboji lakes is open through Feb. 14th.  It will close after that date and reopens on May 3. Those are the only Iowa lakes that have a closed season for walleye. For more information on fishing regulations, go to www.iowadnr.gov/fishing.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig presented reports for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to an appropriations subcommittee Monday, highlighting the ongoing struggles with the highly pathogenic avian influenza, as well as successes with the Choose Iowa program and conservation efforts.  Naig appeared in front of the Iowa House Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee to share information on IDALS’ budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year.

According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, he began with an update for the subcommittee on the ongoing threat of the highly pathogenic avian influenza which jumped from birds to dairy cattle in 2024 and since 2022 has impacted nearly 30 million commercial and backyard birds in Iowa. “It’s just a reminder that, unfortunately, foreign animal disease is a constant threat, a year-round threat,” Naig said. “We need to be staffed and prepared to respond to it.”

The governor’s recommendations for FY 2026 include a $500,000 appropriation to the department for foreign animal disease vaccine development.  Naig highlighted the conservation work of the department in 2024, sharing that Iowa had nearly 4 million acres planted with cover crops and set another “record year” for conservation cost-share programs. “We always say a state dollar doesn’t act alone,” Naig said, noting that “$27.1 million worth of state investment was matched with $41.2 million in private sector dollars.”

Representatives on the subcommittee, and Naig, expressed enthusiasm about the Choose Iowa program, which helps to market and support locally made foods and products. The program has more than 170 members in 72 Iowa Counties and Naig said he hopes to expand to 300 members this year. The Choose Iowa program issued grants for value-added farm products, to dairy innovation and recently the department announced an allocation for butchery innovation. The initiative also had a pilot program aiding local food banks, and beginning this spring, from local schools.

Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids, noted recent moves from the Trump administration to put tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada, both of which have been postponed by a month, and asked Naig how this would affect Iowa farmers. Naig said he is “not a fan” of tariffs in general, but said the president is using the tariffs as a “tool” to support his border and immigration policies.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Gov. Reynolds today (Monday) authorized a disaster proclamation for O’Brien County, Iowa effective immediately through March 5, 2025. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed a positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial layer chickens.

This proclamation allows state resources from Iowa Homeland Security, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and other agencies to assist with tracking and monitoring, rapid detection, containment, disposal, and disinfection. The proclamation also waives regulatory provisions related to commercial vehicles responding to affected sites.

The recent HPAI detections in birds do not present an immediate public health concern, and it remains safe to eat poultry products. If producers suspect signs of HPAI in their flocks, they should contact their veterinarian immediately.