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Traffic stop results in OWI arrest in Red Oak Tue. morning

News

November 24th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

A traffic stop at around 5:17-a.m. Tuesday (Today), in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of a man from Creston. Red Oak Police say a vehicle driven by 37-year old Jimmy Spencer Cooper, of Creston, was stopped near Highway 34 and Ironwood Avenue. Upon further investigation, Cooper was arrested for OWI/1st offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond. Red Oak Police were assisted by Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

2 accidents in Red Oak, Monday: No injuries

News

November 24th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Two accidents took place in Red Oak Monday due to slick, snow covered roads, but there were no injuries. Red Oak Police say an accident involving a pickup and an SUV took place at around 11:47-a.m. in the 1600 block of E. Summit Street, as the 1998 Dodge Dakota pickup, driven by 64-year old Marcia Lehman, of Griswold, was turning from westbound Summit Street into a storage unit parking lot. A 2009 Cadillac Escalade driven by 47-year old Hugo Lepe Duenas, of Red Oak, was attempting to go around the pickup, when the SUV went out of control and struck the rear of the pickup. Authorities say there was heavy snow and slick/slushy roads at the time. No citations were issued. Vehicle damages amounted to $1,000.

The second accident happened at around 12:10-p.m. Monday, in the 800 block of E. Summit Street. When officers arrived, they found a 2013 Ford Explorer in a yard on the south side of the street. The SUV, driven by 59-year old Drue Powers, of Red Oak, was eastbound, but had traveled west, gone down a hill and was in the intersection of N. 8th and E. Summit Streets. A 2007 Ford Fusion driven by 25-year old Malachi Hayes, of Adair, was westbound on E. Summit, and as it traveled down the hill, was unable to make the curve and traveled in the SUV’s lane before striking the SUV on the driver’s side. The Ford then traveled down the hill and stopped at the intersection. Damage amounted to $17,000. There were no citations issued due to the weather/road conditions.

Heartbeat Today 11-24-2020

Heartbeat Today, Podcasts

November 24th, 2020 by admin

Jim Field visits with Lisa Steen Riggs about this weekend’s Julefest celebration in Elk Horn & Kimballton.

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Year after his death, soldier from Iowa gets promotion

News

November 24th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

MARION, Iowa (AP) — More than a year after his death, an Iowa soldier has received a promotion. KCRG-TV reports that 22-year-old Mason Webber, of Marion, was killed on Sept. 5, 2019, in an accident on the military base in Fort Hood, Texas. On Monday, Webber was posthumously promoted to specialist. His mother, Tonya Grefe, called the promotion “a good part of the closure.” Grefe received her son’s honor at the National Guard Armory in Marshalltown.

 

(Podcast) KJAN Morning Sports report, 11/24/20

Podcasts, Sports

November 24th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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Virtual cover crop boot camp will explore soil health, weed control and grazing – Dec. 3-4

Ag/Outdoor

November 24th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

AMES, Iowa — Registration is open for Practical Farmers of Iowa’s second annual cover crop boot camp. The event is free, and will be held virtually Dec. 3-4 from 9 a.m. to noon. The two-day workshop will explore how cover crops boost soil health, improve weed control and provide grazing opportunities. Row crop and livestock farmers of all cover crop experience levels are invited to attend. Certified crop advisor participants can earn one continuing education unit (CEU) for each session, for a total of six credits in the soil and water category across both days.

Registration is open until Dec. 3. To sign up, visit practicalfarmers.org/ cover-crop-boot-camp. Farmers without access to a computer or reliable internet connection will have the option of calling in to participate. For questions – or technical support with Zoom or the call-in option – contact Lydia English at lydia@practicalfarmers.org or (515) 232-5661.

Boot Camp Agenda: Attendees will hear from a combination of farmers, university researchers and agricultural professionals.

Day one will focus on the basics of cover crops in each topic area, and will provide a good introduction for those just getting started with cover crops. Sessions this day will explore:

  • how cover crops improve water storage
  • initial adjustments farmers should consider if they wish to use cover crops for suppressing weeds
  • the ways in which cover crops link the forage chain for livestock grazing.

Day two will feature more advanced strategies for those row crop and livestock farmers wanting to advance their cover crop journey. Participants will learn:

  • how cover crops affect soil biology, as well as how to measure soil health on their own farm
  • the ways that cover crops improve weed control over the long-term
  • innovative ways to graze cover crops, including stock cropping

Each presentation will be followed by 20-minute small-group discussions, where participants will have a chance to network with one another and share their experience using cover crops. Sarah Carlson, PFI’s strategic initiatives director, says “These breakout discussions will be a fun way for farmers to interact with and learn from one another. They will also help to overcome Zoom meeting burnout by creating deeper connections between farmers.” Farmers are encouraged to attend both days of the boot camp, but may also attend just the day that best suits their experience level. More details, including the full agenda and speaker information, are available at practicalfarmers.org/ cover-crop-boot-camp.

The cover crop boot camp is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is made possible by the support of Agribusiness Association of Iowa; Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers; Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance; Iowa Corn Growers Association; Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship; Iowa Learning Farms; Iowa Pork Producers Association; Iowa Seed Association; Iowa Seed Corn Cover Crop Initiative; Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa State University; Natural Resources Conservation Service; and Soil Health Partnership.

(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & Funeral report, 11/24/20

News, Podcasts

November 24th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Local 24-Hour Rainfall/Snowfall Totals at 7:00 am on Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Ag/Outdoor, Weather

November 24th, 2020 by admin

  • KJAN, Atlantic  .28″ (.5″ snow)
  • 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .28″ (1″ snow)
  • Massena  .13″ (2″ snow)
  • Clarinda  .39″ (Trace snow)
  • Bridgewater  3″ snow
  • Neola  1″ snow
  • Audubon  .36″  (1.5″ snow)
  • Guthrie Center  .39″ (1″ snow)
  • Oakland  .28″ (.5″ snow)
  • Manning .13″
  • Logan  .42″ (1.5″ snow)
  • Red Oak  .37″ (1″ snow)

Drought conditions worsen in parts of western Iowa

Ag/Outdoor, News, Weather

November 24th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – While there have been scattered showers, parts of Iowa have had very little rain since mid-summer and the continued dry weather is drawing down soil moisture levels. State climatologist Justin Glisan says while drought conditions are lessening in some areas, they’re worsening elsewhere, as much of Iowa’s western third is now in moderate to severe drought. “Subsoil conditions across much of the region show a below-normal percentile,” Glisan says. “Recent warm and windy days produced higher evaporate demand in the atmosphere, so the atmosphere is thirsty, especially for this time of year, those conditions allow for extraction of any subsoil moisture or surface moisture that we see.”

We’re heading into a drier time of year, so Glisan says it will be difficult to recharge soil moisture levels before spring. “With a lack of precipitation, this makes rainfall infiltration when we do get it harder to get down deep,” he says. Glisan says that lack of soil moisture may bring some help to Iowa’s farmers in the spring. “The silver lining here is that moving into the growing season, drier-than-normal conditions will make field work and planting easier,” Glisan says. “If you go back, the last two or three years, we’ve had pretty wet conditions going into the growing season with record subsoil moisture which delayed planting.”

Conditions could change within a matter of several weeks, as Glisan says the trends point to above-normal precipitation for January through March.

Thanksgiving dinner cost drops a couple of bucks

News

November 24th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The annual Farm Bureau survey finds the cost of a typical Thanksgiving dinner for ten people has dropped by two dollars this year. The Iowa Farm Bureau’s director of agriculture analytics and research, Sam Funk, says the drop in overall meal cost comes as the turkey cost fell seven percent — to around one-dollar, 21 cents per pound. The other dishes include: stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk. Funk says the producers of some of the side dishes haven’t had the easiest year. “Some of the dairy products — such as the whipped cream that might be going on that pumpkin pie — or you think about of some of these other products coming to the marketplace, overall its been a year of ups and downs, but overall it ends up being a more affordable Thanksgiving dinner,” he says.

Funk says some people like to have a ham for the holiday too — and they did a side survey on their cost and found no change. “While we may have an unchanged price for hams to go on the table, according to the survey, that’s still a pretty good factor to think about the recovery that the meat industry has been able to have — that they have enough hams through all this adversity through this pandemic to again put hams on your plate,” according to Funk.

Funk says the actual cost for the meal came in at 46-dollars, 90 cents. He says the inflation-adjusted price was lower than we have had in a very long time. “That’s a multiplied blessing for a lot of families.” Funk says farmers have seen some recent increases in commodity prices, but he says they go into next year with concerns. “There’s still a lot of uncertainty as you look at it going forward. I think one of the aspects that we need to consider now and to be thankful for is the fact that we have an abundance of food in the United States,” Funk says. “We still have one of the lowest costs of food that you’ll find. The percentage our disposable income that we will pay for food in the United States is frankly one of the lowest that you will find across the world.”

This is the 35th year the Farm Bureau has conducted its Thanksgiving dinner survey.