(Atlantic, IA) – The Cass County 4-H Endowment committee is hosting the annual 4-H Endowment Pancake Supper on Tuesday, March 3 from 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic. The Pancake Man will be dishing up fresh pancakes while 4-H members serve sausage, milk, juice, and coffee. The public is welcome can enjoy all you can eat pancakes, at a cost of $10/adult and $6/youth 10 & under.

There will also a silent auction going on throughout the evening. The local 4-H clubs in Cass County, as well as additional friends of 4-H and local business supporters can donate items. If a community business is interested in supporting the Pancake Supper with a Silent Auction donation, please contact the Extension Office.

Cass County 4-H members help serve drinks at the 2025 Annual Cass County 4-H Endowment Pancake Supper. Left to Right: Hunter Kardell, Lynsie Kardell, Gentry Waters.

Members of Griswold Clubsters 4-H Club help clean tables, replace placemats, fill water and coffee cups along with refilling syrup bottles at the 2025 Annual Cass County 4-H Endowment Pancake Supper. Left to Right: Sawyer Chambers, Blaine Buffington.

“The silent auction is a fun added activity to the event. When we make final announcements about closing down bidding, people and pens really get to moving!” says Katie Bateman, Cass County Youth Coordinator. “We will be featuring the baskets on our Cass County 4-H and Extension social media pages ahead of the event. Be sure to check out the previews and make plans to bid on your favorites!”

Proceeds from the 4-H Pancake Supper directly benefit the Cass County 4-H Program. All funds raised go to the Cass County 4-H Endowment. Our committee then distributes money to cover the 4-H Program Development Fee for all Cass County 4-H and Clover Kid members, financial aid for out of county events, senior scholarships, and start-up dollars for innovative youth programs.

The 4-H Program Development Fee is $40 per youth each year to enroll. Instead of having individual 4-H’ers and families take on that expense, the Cass County Extension Council and the 4-H Endowment Committee pick up this cost for our members. It is free for youth to join 4-H in Cass County because of this. “We are very fortunate in Cass County that our 4-H Endowment covers this cost for all members. That would not be possible for us to continue without the outstanding support from our community.” stated Bateman.

For more information on the Pancake Supper, Cass County 4-H Endowment or how to join 4-H, contact Katie Bateman, Cass County Youth Coordinator, at 712-243-1132 or kbateman@iastate.edu.

(Radio Iowa) – During a visit to the Iowa Beef Expo this weekend, Republican Randy Feenstra repeated his promise to make Iowa the most ag-friendly state in the country if he’s elected governor.

Feenstra was at the Beef Expo to visit with junior high student Colton Griffin from Moville. Feenstra first met Colton five years ago after one of the boy’s eight-year-old classmates died. Colton led the entire second grade class in showing the girl’s calf at the Woodbury County Fair. “Ever since we get together when he’s showing and today he did great,” Feenstra said. “He got second in show.” Feenstra said he’ll start showing details of his own policy proposals for state government soon. “We’ll roll out more specific ideas,” Feenstra said. “…That’ll come out here in the next several months.”

In answer to a Radio Iowa question, Feenstra said as governor he would sign a bill to shield the makers of Roundup from lawsuits over the product’s safety if the label follows E-P-A guidelines. “I’m all about science and facts,” Feenstra said. President Trump issued an executive order last week that seeks to provide some legal immunity to Bayer’s — Roundup’s manufacturer — under the Defense Production Act and ensure an adequate U-S supply of Roundup’s main ingredient, glyphosate.

That’s sparked criticism from the Make American Healthy Again movement within the president’s Make America Great Again coalition. Feenstra says the focus should be on the facts about glyphosate. “I think it’s always good to have this great discussion of what is safe and what is reliable and what makes sense and that’s what I’ll do as governor,” Feenstra said. “I’ll make sure we look at all the facts and make the right decisions from there.” Feenstra, who will remain a member of the U-S House for the rest of the year, also responded to President Trump’s latest plan to impose 15 percent tariffs globally.

“I just believe that congress has to work with President Trump to hold countries accountable, but also make sure we that have more markets for our beef, soybeans, corn and things like that,” Feenstra said. “I sit on Ways and Means, I also sit on Agriculture — the only person who sits on both, and we understand how important it is not to get checks, but to get more open markets. We want more markets for our commodities.” Feenstra also indicated a bill that would resolve the dispute between the oil and ethanol industries will be released later today that would allow E-15 to be sold year-round.

Cass County: Corn $4.02 Beans $10.81
Adair County: Corn $3.99 Beans $10.84
Adams County: Corn $3.99 Beans $10.80
Audubon County: Corn $4.01 Beans $10.83
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.81
Guthrie County: Corn $4.04 Beans $10.85
Montgomery County: Corn $4.04 Beans $10.83
Shelby County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.81

Oats: $2.91 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s ice anglers have been able to keep pulling in fish by moving north to the Great Lakes region, but the ice there is deteriorating now and the season is coming to a close. The D-N-R’s Mick Klemesrud says the lack of snow is the main culprit. “In a usual winter we’re going to have some snow cover that’ll act as insulation to protect it from these warm-ups in January and February, but this year we don’t have snow,” he says. Klemesrud says the lack of snow protection lets the other elements weaken the ice. “Between the warmer temperatures and the high winds, it really erodes the ice and causes a lot of unevenness. Most ice is uneven to begin with, but this makes it even more pronounced,” he says.

Klemesrud says the deterioration led to a U-T-V breaking through the ice on East Okoboji Lake, a pickup truck broke and a wheel house-style ice fishing shelter also broke through the ice on West Okoboji Lake. “Everything happened super fast. And so that makes it makes it weaker in places that were really, you know, pretty good ice quality a day or two before suddenly had deteriorated to the point where it couldn’t support the heavier ice shacks or vehicles,” Klemesrud says. “So you know, we’re telling people if they’re going to go out, they should be testing the ice frequently, bring your safety equipment with you.” Klemesrud says the cold weather that’s moving in now won’t provide enough continuously cold overnights to build the ice back up before it warms up again.

He says earlier subzero cold stretches this winter did create ice that was ten inches or more think across the state. “And so we did have a lot of thick ice. I mean, Twelve Mile (Lake) down in Union County, we had a lot of good reports, Three Mile (Lake), so those are southern Iowa lakes. And so we did get in a pretty good ice fishing season,” he says. “Now the fishing has still been really good up north, that’s what’s attracting a lot of these people up to the Great Lakes. But unfortunately, we’re just not going to have a normal ice year.”

Klemesrud says you are normally required require to get ice fishing shacks off the ice by February 27th, but most were pulled off recently as ice conditions deteriorated.

(Radio Iowa) – This week’s unseasonably warm weather in the 60s and 70s caused many trees across Iowa to start budding, and February is way too early for that, according to Tivon Feeley, the Iowa D-N-R’s forest health program leader. “The trees that we’re seeing leaf out a little bit right now are the red maples or the red maple hybrids that are pretty common, that you’d buy in the nursery,” Feeley says, “and those buds are just beginning to swell and kind of break open. There’s no leaf tissue hanging out.” The return to winter weather and temperatures in the 20s will spell trouble for those tiny, tender leaves.

“We know that leaf tissue that’s very fragile can freeze, and when that happens, it’ll cause damage to those leaves when they emerge,” Feeley says. “They may emerge green and look healthy, but as we get warmer in June, early July, that tissue will turn brown and fall out.” This condition is sometimes mistaken for insect feeding or disease, but Feeley says it’s simply a delayed response to cold injury that occurred earlier in the season. The leaf buds that are appearing now aren’t the only buds the trees will generate during spring, but leaves are vital to tree health and photosynthesis. Feeley was asked if the freezing of these early buds could cause us to lose any trees.

“We shouldn’t. The new growth that the trees put on won’t have this damage,” Feeley says. “Some of those will look kind of aesthetically unpleasing, but overall, there’s nothing we need to do about it. It’s just something to be aware of at the moment.” He says there should be -no- long-term threat to tree health. Homeowners are encouraged to monitor their trees, but there should not be a need for extra pruning, fertilization, or pesticides. Oh, and sorry, but he says it won’t likely mean any fewer leaves to rake in the fall.

(Radio Iowa) – Deere & Company, Iowa’s largest manufacturing employer, reports its first quarter income was down, but there’s optimism for the year ahead. Deere reports net income was 656 million in the first quarter compared with to 869 million dollars in the first quarter last year. Worldwide net sales and revenues increased 13 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

Deere C-E-O John May says in a statement that the global large agriculture industry continues to experience challenges, but they’re encouraged by the ongoing recovery in demand for construction and small agriculture. May says the positive developments reinforce their belief that 2026 represents the bottom of the current cycle and provides a strong foundation for accelerated growth going forward.

February 1:

• Callie Rudy of Atlantic (winner)

February 2:

• Ty Hull of Jeffersen
• Jim Field of Atlantic

February 3:

• Julie Ehlers of Atlantic (winner)

February 4:

• Hannah Christofferson of Audubon (winner)
• Shane Jorgensen of Brayton
• Patty Kay of Atlantic

February 5:

• No Birthdays Submitted

February 6:

• Amelia Teegerstrom of Elk Horn (winner)

February 7:

• Barbara Harris of Atlantic (winner)

February 8:

• Shawna Burmeister of Anita (winner)
• John Schultes of Exira
• Brenda Muhr of Exira

February 9:

• Betty Knight of Atlantic (winner)
• Andy Bateman of Atlantic
• Beckett Nelson of Creston
• Randy LaFoy of Audubon
• Marilyn Freund of Atlantic

February 10:

• Gene Crane of Exira (winner)
• Joni Hansen of Manning
• Addie Drogo of Atlantic

February 11:

• June Halverson of Coon Rapids (winner)

February 12:

• Jon Hays of Hamlin (winner)

February 13:

• Kyle Dailey of Atlantic (winner)

February 14:

• Marcy Anderson of Norwalk (winner)

February 15:

• Sarah Christensen of Audubon (winner)

February 16:

• Tracy Riesgaard of Brayton (winner)
• Kathie Rose of Atlantic

February 17:

• LeRoy Phillips of Atlantic (winner)
• Vernie Venteicher of Brayton

February 18:

• John Becker of Cumberland -100 years young! (winner)
• Hazel Sager of Atlantic

February 19:

• Mitch Burg of Atlantic (winner)
• Rick Thompson of Exira
• Kathy Butler of Atlantic
• Judi Hansen of Exira
• Sherri Wilkerson of Brayton

February 20:

• Beckett Mosier of Ankeny (winner)
• Ilene Furne of Atlantic

February 21:

• Patty Ballou of Exira (winner)
• Katie Wheeler of Exira
• Jean Templeman of Atlantic

February 22:

• Mary Maher of Atlantic (winner)
• Brandi Mericle of Wiota

Cass County: Corn $4.03 Beans $10.80
Adair County: Corn $4.00 Beans $10.83
Adams County: Corn $4.00 Beans $10.79
Audubon County: Corn $4.02 Beans $10.82
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.06 Beans $10.80
Guthrie County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.84
Montgomery County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.82
Shelby County: Corn $4.06 Beans $10.80

Oats: $2.86 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – The Sioux City Honey Association unveiled more detailed plans Tuesday on its major expansion of processing operations. Association director of growth Aimee Sandman says the plan includes three phases in the next five years, starting with the renovation of a warehouse they purchased. “So we’ll be upgrading the warehouse with our new racking system that will accommodate our business and then update the corporate office. The warehouse will feature 200-thousand square feet of finished goods warehouse space for us and 26-thousand square feet of modern office,” she says..

The renovation will being in January of next year and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The new warehouse will include six new jobs. The second phase is the construction of a new processing facility near the refurbished warehouse and then all employees will move to that location. The final phase adds more storage for increased production. “Phase three will include a new raw honey warehouse to support our continued membership growth. So this year we increased our membership by 15 percent which is about seven million additional pounds of U-S honey that will be coming into the Sioux City area for us to process,” Sandman says. The Sioux Honey Association has been in Sioux City since 1921.

Association president Kevin Hueser says other states tried to get them to relocate, but local and the state incentives were provided to keep them in Iowa. “At the end of the day, the existing warehouse gave Iowa a tremendous advantage, but also the city of Sioux City, state of Iowa stepped up,” he says. “Working with those communities as well as some of the local contractors that are willing to work with us on a on a build to suit and a lease back. I’m not really concerned. Our financing situation is in good shape and we’ve we’ve had a tremendous amount of support.”

The company currently employees 89 workers and expects to add 40 new jobs by the time the project is completed. Sioux Honey gets raw honey from around 200 beekeepers and produces 35 million pounds of honey annually, which is about 25 percent of the nation’s supply.