(Avoca, Iowa) – Customers of the Regional Water Rural Water Association (RWRWA) based in Avoca, remain under a “Condition Yellow” water conservation mode, but officials warn the supply of water in their towers was lower as of Friday morning, then they had been all week. They ask their customers to “please continue to monitor water use,” as they head into the warm weekend.

RWRWA says “If the levels in the water towers get too low, Regional Water will shift to a Red Conservation Notice so as to avoid going back into a boil advisory. When we can keep water in the towers and keep the pressure in the system about 20 PSI, we do not have to initiate boil advisory measures.”

The company said also, they “Are pumping around the clock at 740 gpm (gallons per minute) from the plant with all wells on,” including their backup wells. “This is just over 1 million gallons per day, which is [our] average usage for this time of year.” For comparison, Regional Water was able to pump 850 gpm from the wellfield last year, which gave them the same 1 million gallons in just 19 hours, 36 minutes.

With regard to the water supply, RWRWA says “The creek along Highway 6 needs to be bored again due to unanticipated soil conditions. Once complete, Regional Water will continue moving forward with conducting required pressure testing and collecting samples to ensure there is no bacteria. Once the pressure testing passes and bacteria sampling results come back negative, the next step is to turn the temporary pump station on. Turning the pump station on will include the chemical feed into the system. This allows the appropriate chlorine levels into the system to ensure the water is safe to drink. All crews are working as diligently as possible to get the temporary booster station online.”

And, the water company says “In an effort to provide additional methods to communicate with customers and communities served by Regional Water, [we] have partnered with the Pottawattamie County GIS Department and other stakeholders to develop and provide an online dashboard that will provide up-to-date tower status and service area information.

The community can access the dashboard on the RWRWA website and various websites of the county and municipal government entities within the Regional Water service areas. Go to https://rwrwa.org/operations-status-dashboard-2

(Radio Iowa) – The Amana Colonies will host two simultaneous festivals this weekend that revolve around complementary elements: brass bands, beer, and bratwurst, along with side attractions including a wiener dog race using dachshunds.

Todd Bransky, director of the Wurst Brass Festival, says they’re bringing in brass bands — from Iowa and four surrounding states — that will compete in a European-style musical tradition that dates back to the 1870s.

“It happens one time a year where bands from all over the country descend on just a couple of communities and they play marches — it’s all marches — and they perform for judges and they can win prize money,” Bransky says. “We’ve adopted that because there hasn’t been that type of competition for brass bands in the United States, so we brought it to the Amanas.”

The judged competitions will be underway later today at three different locations in the Amanas, while the full concerts begin tomorrow morning.

“We’ll start at 10 AM and we’ll just keep rotating the bands up on stage until about 6:30 PM,” Bransky says. “We’ve got German-style food, bratwurst and German potato salad, and it’s just a really, really fun time. The bands play very entertaining music for kids and for adults and families.”

Most Iowans will recognize the songs, as he says it won’t all be old-fashioned “oompa-oompa” polka music. “What you’ll hear is marches. You’ll hear show tunes. You’ll hear jazz. You’ll hear rock. You’ll hear Broadway show music. You’ll hear stuff from Disney. You’re going to hear overtures. You’re going to hear a great variety of everything and probably very few polkas at all,” he laughs.

The 32-member brass bands will be performing in what Bransky says is the British-style of instrumentation.

“We don’t use trumpets, we use cornets. We use a flugel horn. We use a soprano cornet. Instead of French horns like we have in the U.S., they use tenor horns,” Bransky says. “There are euphoniums, and there are baritones and there’s different music written for each of those, and then in the tuba sections, you’ll see E-flat tubas and B-flat tubas and trombones like you’re used to seeing in bands here.”

In addition to the Wurst Brass Festival, there’s also the Amana Colonies Wurst Festival, two separate events, both underway essentially across the street from one another.

(Radio Iowa) – The Environmental Protection Agency is recommending a Renewable Fuels Standard for 2026 that would be a record amount — 24 billion gallons of biofuels produced for blending with petroleum based fuels. Iowa Renewable Fuels Association executive director Monte Shaw says it would continue corn-based ethanol production at 15 billion gallons next year — along with a big increase in renewable diesel and biomass-based diesel.

“The last Biden rule that they did for three years really underestimated the growth in biodiesel and renewable diesel, so it really hamstrung the growth in the industry from being what it could have been,” Shaw says. Soybean-based biodiesel is produced in Iowa. Renewable diesel is generally made by the petroleum industry. The public can now weigh in on the E-P-A’s recommended production levels for renewable fuels.

“We like most of what’s in here,” Shaw says, “but we will still be engaging in the public comment period.” Shaw says that’s because the final rule for biofuels production has been adjusted in the past based on public reaction. The Trump Administration’s proposal includes some provisions to limit bio-fuels imports.

Iowa is the nation’s top producer of ethanol and biodiesel. The proposed Renewable Fuels Standards for 2026 as well as 2027. Iowa elected officials are praising the proposal. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says the E-P-A’s announcement sends a welcome and optimistic growth signal to an important industry.

(Radio Iowa) – There was a double digit jump in Iowa home sales in May and the median sales price was five percent higher than in April. Over 34-hundred Iowa homes were sold in May. That’s 14 fewer than in May of last year, but it’s nearly 20 percent more than were sold in April.

The president of the Iowa Association of Realtors says sales data shows promising momentum in Iowa’s housing market, with both growing seller confidence and sustained buyer demand.

There was a nearly nine percent increase in the number of single family homes listed for sale last month compared to May of 2024. The median sales price for an Iowa home in May was 252-thousand.

(Rural Cass County, IA) – A teen from rural Griswold has earned a position on the Iowa state/provincial National Junior High School Rodeo Team. McCoy H. Wicker, an 8th-grade student at the Oakland-Riverside School, will be traveling with fellow teammates to Des Moines (IA) June 22nd through the 28th, to compete at the 20th annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR) in Team Roping and Boys Goat Tying competitions. In addition, Wicker competed in the Iowa Junior High School Rodeo Association 2024-2025 season. He earned many achievements, culminating at the State Finals in Bloomfield, Iowa. Wicker concluded the Finals by achieving 1st in Boys Goat Tying, 2nd in Ribbon Roping, 5th in Chute Dogging. He also earned Rookie of the Year and received the Dalton H Baumann Exceptional Character Award.

Featuring roughly 1,200 contestants from 43 U.S. States, 5 Canadian Provinces, Australia, and Mexico, the NJHFR is the world’s largest junior high rodeo. In addition to competing for more than $80,000 in prizes, NJHFR contestants will also be competing for more than $200,000 in college scholarships and the chance to be named a National Junior High Finals Rodeo World Champion. To earn this title, contestants must finish in the top 20 – based on their combined times/scores in the first two go-rounds to advance to Saturday evening’s final round. World champions will then be determined based on their three go-round combined times/scores. Added money for the optional jackpot has increased to $100,000 and is available to everyone at finals who enters the jackpot in their event.

Again, this year, the Saturday championship performance will be televised nationally as a part of the Cinch High School Rodeo Tour telecast series on RFD-TV. Live broadcasts of all NJHFR performances will air on: https://www.cowboychannelplus.com/ . Performance times are 7 p.m. on June 22nd and 9 a.m. & 7 p.m. each day thereafter.

Along with great rodeo competition and the chance to meet new friends from around the world, NJHFR contestants have the opportunity to enjoy shooting sports, volleyball, contestant dances, family-oriented activities, church services sponsored by Golden Spur Ministries, and shopping at the NJHFR trade show, as well as visiting area attractions as Des Moines hosts the NJHFR this year. To follow your local favorites at the NJHFR, visit www.NHSRA.com daily for complete results.

For ticket information and reservations, go to: https://nhsra.com/juniorhighfinals/

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a woman late this (Friday) morning, for Public Intoxication. 29-year-old Amithist Chyane Uhlmann, of Red Oak, was arrested at N. 3rd and E. Washington Street at around 11:10-a.m., and transported to the Montgomery County Jail. Her bond was set at $300.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A key lawmaker said he was surprised by Gov. Kim Reynolds’ veto this week of a bill that would have allowed for the prescription and distribution of synthetic psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in “magic mushrooms” following federal approval of the drug. Reynolds said the bill “moves ahead” of public health systems, law enforcement and regulatory systems in the state.  “This decision is not a dismissal of the emerging science or the sincere advocacy behind this legislation,” Reynolds said in her explanation of the veto. “Rather, it is a call for a more deliberate and Iowa-centric approach.”  According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, House File 383 was one of two bills from the Iowa House this year that sought to legalize the use of psychedelics as a treatment for mental health issues, like post-traumatic stress disorder.

The bill’s floor manager, Rep. Brett Barker, R-Nevada, said the veto from the governor was “unexpected” considering the bill passed with unanimous consent in both chambers. “I look forward to having a conversation with the Governor to learn more about her concerns regarding the bill,” Barker said in an email. The other bill, House File 978, would have created a psilocybin licensing board in Iowa, and similar to the state’s medical marijuana program, would have allowed eligible patients access to the drug while it is still federally classified as Schedule I substance.  The bill advanced from the House but was not heard in the Senate.

psilocybin mushrooms

HF 383, the bill put before the governor, would have immediately rescheduled any drugs containing crystalline polymorph psilocybin, the synthetic version of the compound, if they were approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  Under the bill and conditioned circumstances, it would be legal to prescribe, distribute and market drugs with the ingredient, which is also sometimes referred to as COMP360.  Clinical trials of COMP360 as a treatment for PTSD and treatment resistant depression have been conducted and are ongoing.  A similar bill was signed into law in Colorado in March. Colorado and Oregon are the only states with legalized medical licensing programs for psilocybin.

Reynolds said she does “recognize and respect the growing body of research into the potential therapeutic benefits of psilocybin” but she said the compound should be approved by FDA and the Drug Enforcement Agency before Iowa acts to reschedule. “The pathway provided by this bill for legalization of psilocybin at the state level before we have a chance to review federal action … creates legal uncertainty, poses risks for misuse and could undermine broader efforts to ensure safe and effective therapeutic use in the future,” Reynolds said.

(Radio Iowa) – Triple-A Iowa spokesman Brian Ortner says the price of crude oil rose overnight on the news of the attack by Israel into Iran, and that could mean a jump in gas prices. Ortner says oil prices had already started trending up in the last couple of days, and the price of gas will likely go up in a day or two. “You know this is the same conversation we have multiple times, that the price we pay at the pump is in direct correlation to the price of oil, and political events like this one,” he says. Ortner says the jump up in oil is something we haven’t seen in a while.

“Crude oil prices are in the low 70s and that’s a spike of about ten dollars compared to this time last week. So as it currently stands, these the highest prices we’ve seen for oil since mid February. And our partner OPAS says this is probably a short term reaction to the headlines and doesn’t anticipate a dramatic rise,” he says. Ortner says we are getting into the summer travel season where there is always a little increase with increased demand. He says Iran is part of the group of oil exporting countries, and that is why there is some reaction. “It’s not foreseen it’s gonna be a long term disruption to global supplies, again, it should be a short term disruption and a short term increase for what we’re seeing at the pumps right now,” Ortner says.

Radio Iowa file photo

Gas prices in Iowa were below the three dollar mark before the Iran attack.

(Lewis, Iowa) – The Lewis Community Club is holding a celebration of the community this Saturday which is also Flag Day. The Lewis Day Celebration takes place from 2-until 10-p.m., Saturday. Lewis Community Club member Duane Weirich says the timing is an unintended, but welcome coincidence.

Weirich said they’ve been planning for the event since late April, but they could still use some help serving pop and beer. He says the day will be a family event, with several kids games.

There’s also an unusual, “Stand-still parade.” Weirich explains how that idea came about.

Anyone who likes parades can attend and interact with those in-line, just as if your were standing there or sitting in a lawn chair next to your neighbor. There will also be a 30-by-38 American Flag available to viewing. There’s also lots of good food on hand, with the smell of barbecued beef wafting through downtown Lewis.

There’s also tractor pedal tractors for little kids, middle-size kids and adults. And, some”tricky trikes.”

There are antique firetruck rides around the Lewis Freedom Rock, a car show-and-shine, music, and fireworks at dusk. Grand Marshall for the event is long-time community supporter, Betty Auten.