(Radio Iowa) — The Board of Supervisors in Adair County have voted to limit development of wind farms. Following a public hearing Tuesday at the Adair County Board of Supervisors meeting, and a waiving of the second and third readings, the supervisors approved an amendment to the Wind Energy Ordinance 31B. The amendment caps the number of commercial wind turbines or wind farms erected within the boundaries of Adair County at a total of no more than 535. Adair County currently has 532 turbines completed or under construction.

Their action comes after neighboring Union County earlier this year passed its ordinance allowing the construction of wind farms to start within the county. At the October 3rd meeting, the Adair County supervisors approved Wind Energy Conversion Property ordinance No. 31A which refers to setbacks. The ordinance defined the non-participating landowner, participating landowner and occupied building as well as made the set back from the nearest occupied building located on anon-participating landowner’s property a distance of not less than 2,000 feet.

Holidays are associated with good food, family, and festivities, but they can also bring winter blues, loneliness, cabin fever, and other challenges to those working to maintain healthy diets, limit alcohol consumption or manage difficult family dynamics.

Healthy Cass County logo

Healthy Cass County encourages all residents of Cass County to make time for personal wellness over the holidays, and in that spirit the group will have a Holiday Wellness Stop at Harvest Market. Harvest Market will be held this coming Monday, November 25, at the Cass County Community Center on the fairgrounds in Atlantic from 3:00-7:00 PM.

The Healthy Cass County Holiday Wellness Stop will provide resources promoting ways to eat well, move more, and feel better over the holidays. Participating organizations include:

• The Nishna Valley Family YMCA, which will have free class coupons and member special coupons, and will be doing a drawing for a free 3-month Y membership.
• Senior Life Solutions, a program of Cass County Health System, will be providing information on Seasonal Affective Disorder, a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons, and sharing ways to combat winter blues.
• Shift ATL will be promoting their Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot. The Turkey Trot will be held at 8:00 am on Thursday, November 28. Athletes of all ages and abilities are invited to enjoy 5k or 1-mile routes. Costumes, strollers, dogs (if friendly, vaccinated, and on leashes), and cheering squads are welcome! For more information and to register, visit: getmeregistered.com/AtlanticTurkeyTrot.
• Cass County Conservation will bring snowshoes and fliers on outdoor winter events and activities.
• Zion Recovery Services will be providing information and resources for those struggling with substance abuse or close to someone who is struggling.
• Cass County Public Health will be handing out walking maps for all communities in Cass County, and promoting 5-2-1-0 Healthy Choices Count, a statewide health initiative promoting the importance of eating 5 fruits/vegetables, 2 hours or less of screen time, 1 hour or more of physical activity, and 0 sugary drinks each day.
• Cass County Extension will be sharing information on healthy holiday recipes, and resources to encourage good physical and mental health during the holiday season. You can sign up to win a Spend Smart. Eat Smart. gift basket featuring a 2020 calendar and recipe book full of healthy low cost family meal ideas!

Healthy Cass County reminds all residents and visitors to Cass County, to take the Produce in the Park Survey. Those who complete the survey by November 24th will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift card to Harvest Market (contest entry not required to participate in survey). The survey is part of a Healthy Cass County initiative to ensure Produce in the Park is meeting the needs of the community. Whether or not you have visited Produce in the Park your feedback is valued. The survey can be found at the Atlantic Public Library and the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce or online through www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com or directly at https://forms.gle/9bVkA5Ej12bQvQnX6. Your responses will guide decisions for Produce in the Park in 2020.

Healthy Cass County is a community-focused network of organizations and individuals working to promote the health and well-being of Cass County residents. For more information or to join visit https://www.atlanticiowa.com/relocate/health-wellness-2/healthy-cass-county/ or contact Brigham Hoegh, Cass County Wellness Program Coordinator at 712-249-5870, of by email at bhoegh@iastate.edu.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) — The ethanol plant in northwest Iowa that makes the fuel from corn cobs and corn stalks is downsizing and 30 employees will be laid off in early 2020. The POET-D-S-M’s Project Liberty cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg broke new ground in the industry according to Hugh Welsh, the company’s president for North America.

“The technological advancements that we’ve already made will pay dividends for decades to come as we move towards a low carbon future, a future that we would move to much quicker if the EPA would do their job,” Welsh says.

Welsh says several E-P-A decisions have crippled the market for cellulosic ethanol. The plant will shift to research and development and Welsh says the company is looking to license its technology elsewhere.

“As far as jurisdictions outside of the United States, we’ve historically looked to Brazil, to South America, some of the European countries and to China,” Welsh says. After layoffs in February, just 40 of 70 jobs will remain at the Emmetsburg plant.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Amy Mayer)

Sponsors of the Cass County Conservation Board’s Trumpeter Swan arrival date contest, have determined the official arrival of the swans was November 8th. There was on that day, 15 Trumpeter Swans at the Schildberg Recreation Area that stayed more than twenty-four hours. The person who picked their arrival date, was Todd Roecker.

He will receive a Trumpeter Swan 8-by-10 print from the Cass County Conservation Board. Cass County Conservation thanks to all who participated!

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen, Monday evening, updated the Parks Board on various projects and studies. Rasmussen said there’s been a lot of progress at the Schildberg Recreation Area over the past month.

The portable toilets at Schildberg will be removed, since the waterless restroom is open for use. The bathhouse is also done, but will remain closed for the Winter. It will be opened up in the Spring at the same time as the Campground. The small at Schildberg is also in-place. The big dock will likely be installed next Spring. Both were heavily damaged during flooding earlier this year.

Rasmussen said the roads at Sunnyside Park will remain open until at least the first moderate snowfall. Work on the Ice Skating Rink will be underway before the ground gets too hard. He said they hope the rink will be more successful this year than last.

New Gazebo installed on the southwest corner of the Atlantic Sports Complex, as part of a T-Bone Trail attraction. (Ric Hanson/photo)

And, as we mentioned earlier, the T-Bone Trailhead gazebo on the southwest corner of the Atlantic Sports Complex is up and ready for use. He said they are working with Nishna Valley Trails’ Dave Chase on what he thinks needs to be located inside the gazebo.

Rasmussen said also, they harvested seeds from the AMU Well Field for planting in the parks to create wildlife refuges and better stabilize the banks along Bull Creek.

He said the seeds include Kentucky Blue Grass and other native plants. And, he said a Fluvial Geomorphologist and District Forester did a walk through of the Bull Creek pathway to help identify solutions to property erosion along the creek.

The Washington G.E.M 4H Club recently attended County Convention on Sunday, November 10th.  The club had the winning secretary and historian book and was also awarded highest club enrollment and the community service award.

Photo submitted by Melanie Petty

The club was also received top herdsmanship for sheep, at the Cass County Fair.  Melanie Petty, Project Coordinator for Industrial Steam, says “4H is a wonderful program to get kids involved in.  If you are interested in joining 4H reach out to the Iowa State Extension Office at 712-243-1132 and find a club that’s right for you.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (Nov. 18, 2019) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today (Monday) commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Conditions report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly from April through November.

“Four consecutive days of favorable weather allowed many farmers to finish up soybeans last week,” said Secretary Naig. “There is still some corn in the fields, especially in northeast portions of the state which has received above-average snowfall. If we can get another stretch of dry days, many farmers will be able to wrap up harvest.” The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.

Crop Report

Snowfall in the first part of the week ending November 17, 2019 slowed down harvesting activities in parts of Iowa by limiting farmers to 4.7 days suitable for fieldwork according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Propane shortages continued to be a challenge for farmers across the State as they try to dry down their corn crop due to high moisture content. Fieldwork activities included harvesting corn and soybeans; baling corn stalks; applying anhydrous and fertilizer; and fall tillage.

Topsoil moisture condition was rated 0 percent very short, 2 percent short, 83 percent adequate and 15 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition was rated 0 percent very short, 2 percent short, 83 percent adequate and 15 percent surplus.

Seventy-seven percent of the corn for grain crop has been harvested, 10 days behind last year and 12 days behind the 5-year average. Producers in the Northwest and North Central Districts have harvested over 85 percent of their expected crop, while harvest in the Northeast District was just 58 percent complete. Moisture content of field corn being harvested for grain was at 20 percent.

Ninety-five percent of the soybean crop has been harvested, over 1 week behind average. The South Central and Southeast Districts still have more than 10 percent of their soybean crop remaining to be harvested. The number of cattle grazing on corn stalks increased this past week. There were also reports that below normal temperatures and mud have been stressful on livestock.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds returned at the end of last week from a trade mission to Japan. Reynolds talked about the mission during an event in Sioux County. “As we met with the different individuals that are marketing our products, they saw a lot of potential for us to not only capture some new market share, but to also capture some of the market that was going to Australia. So — it was really productive,” Reynolds said. She says there’s also hope the U-S/Japanese trade agreement will lead to more opportunities.

“We were hoping that it would get out of committee while we were there — and did get stalled a little bit. As we talked to the different officials and especially with the Embassy visit, they still felt very confident that it would be ratified in their congress or the DIET. And they wrap up their session round December 5th,” Reynolds said. “So the goal and what everybody felt very optimistic with is that would get it through and it would go into effect the first of January.”

Reynolds says they also had good visits with companies that have invested in Iowa and have businesses located within the Hawkeye state.  “It’s not only exporting our products but looking for foreign direct investment into the state of Iowa,” according to Reynolds.  The Iowa governor says the delegation was able to make several pitch presentations as to why Japan would want to consider investing in Iowa.

DES MOINES – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a proclamation that will temporarily allow vehicles that transport propane and anhydrous ammonia to be oversize and overweight.

The late harvest and high demand for petroleum products throughout the Midwest have resulted in low supplies of propane as well as difficulty transporting adequate supplies of anhydrous ammonia for agricultural activities. The proclamation temporarily suspends certain provisions of Iowa Code and Iowa Administrative Code, pertaining to movement of oversize and overweight loads of propane and anhydrous ammonia.

The proclamation is effective November 16, 2019, and will expire at midnight on December 15, 2019. The proclamation language and rules can be found here. On October 3rd she signed a proclamation easing the hours of service regulations for propane transporters, and continues to be in contact with industry stakeholders and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to increase the amount of  propane in the pipelines to Iowa.