(Radio Iowa) – A big celebration is planned for a central Iowa state park that is turning 100. Pete Hildreth of the Iowa D-N-R says things get underway today (Thursday). “Iowa D-N-R staff and members of the Friends of the Ledges will host a 100th anniversary kickoff event at the Boone City Hall Auditorium,” he says.  The park is near Madrid and has four miles of trails that include sandstone ledges that are 100 feet above the Des Moines River. That kickoff begins at 6 p-m.

“That event will be highlighted by a program on how Ledges became one of Iowa’s first state parks, as well as information and displays on events projects and changes coming to Ledges in 2024,” Hildreth says. He says everyone is encouraged to take part in the celebration. )”The Friends of the Ledges members will present details on how to get involved in the year-long celebration, as well as the creation of an endowment fund to help preserve the resources of the park in the next century,” he says.

The park also features several structures built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak Police have arrested a man wanted on an active Red Oak P-D warrant for a Controlled Substance Violation and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp. 53-year-old Joshua Norman Fuller was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon, and was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $30,000 cash-only bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Today (Thursday) marks the arrival of winter, and soon enough, we’ll be dealing with big piles of snow. Aaron Steil, a consumer horticulture specialist at the Iowa State University Extension, says the drought has been tough on our landscaping this year, and some recent plantings, trees and shrubs may already be stressing as the colder weather settles in. Steil says it’s normal for some shrubs to turn brown or orange at this time of the year.

“Eastern red cedar, for example, tends to get kind of a brownish color in the winter, but it’s more dark green during the summer,” Steil says. “It’s been a pretty stressful growing season. Most of the state has been on the dry side this year and the last couple of years, and so it’s starting to build up, especially on younger or less established plants in our landscape.” Homeowners may be concerned about their trees and other plants being damaged by a heavy, wet snow, especially if their limbs are sagging.

“Most of the time, plants do a pretty good job of shedding that snow off all on their own,” Steil says, “but if you do have a younger plant, or an evergreen that seems to be very weighed down by snow, you can go out and brush it off using your hand or a broom.” If you want to clear that snow off yourself, he says there is a right way — and a wrong way — to go about the process.

“Just make sure you do it in an upward motion instead of a downward one,” he says, “so that you don’t stress branches that are bending down even more.” Steil says ice can do infinitely more damage to young plants than snow, however, he says you need to resist the urge to try to remove ice from their frozen boughs and limbs.

“You’re likely to do more damage than good. If you try to go out and remove ice from shrubs and trees in your landscape, you can go out and maybe prop something up with a board, if you’re really worried about it,” Steil says. “Otherwise, trying to break it off or throwing hot water on it to try to melt it off, all of those always do more damage than help.”

The best thing you can do for an ice-coated tree, he says, is to leave it alone and let the sun warm it up.

ATLANTIC, IA (December 20, 2023) – Produce in the Park’s Christmas Market 2023 is this Saturday, December 23, from 12 PM – 3 PM at the Nishna Valley Family YMCA. Local favorite food truck Pim’s Thai will be on site, and the YMCA will set up free bounce houses for the kids.

Vendors at this year’s Christmas Market will include food vendors offering a variety of local foods–from fresh produce and meat, to fresh breads and desserts–as well as craft vendors selling wood products, decorations such as handmade gnomes, crocheted items, jewelry, candles, and more.

Christmas Market Vendor list as of December 20
Noble Provisions
Bridgewater Farm
Brun Ko Farm
The Kringle Man
Sharon Johnson
JD Crafters
Sugar Mama Cookie Co.
Frosting Inc.
Imagine Garden Gift
Creekside Crystal and Crafts
Crawleys Christ-Centered Creations
Solis Wolf Woodworking
Gnome-atic Fanatics
Neighborhood Bakehouse
Dragonfly Creations
Corn 4 a Cause
Biederman’s Best Honey
Chelle’s KrAFty Corner
Rising Traditions
Ray’s Custom Woodwork
Shelbi Crochets

Christmas Market 2023 is sponsored by Cass Health, Gregg Young of Atlantic, First Whitney Bank & Trust, Meyer & Gross Real Estate, Nishna Valley Family YMCA, Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Atlantic.

For the latest information on Christmas 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/).