The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.3MB)
Subscribe: RSS
(Radio Iowa) — Researchers are finding up to 30-percent of Midwestern farmers are suffering from an allergic disease that’s linked to their agricultural lifestyle — and rural residents who don’t farm may also be at risk. Jill Poole, a professor of allergy and immunology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, says rural areas have unique allergens, especially in parts of Iowa where there’s been heavy flooding. “Not all farmers have allergies but that doesn’t mean they don’t have symptoms,” Poole says. “There’s a lot of nasal symptoms, sinus symptoms, and respiratory problems like coughing, wheezing and chest tightness and that has also been on the rise. There’s lots of exposures in the rural environment that you don’t see in the urban environments.”
There’s organic dust in grain elevators and in animal confinement facilities, whether it’s poultry, dairy or swine, and Poole says hardly anyone wears a mask. “We know that the respiratory protective devices, the masks, are not used,” Poole says. “Less than 10% — probably less than 5% — wear a mask. Some will even consider a bandana or a handkerchief as a respiratory protective device, which clearly it is not.”
Exposure to pesticides can also trigger symptoms and there are other hazards, like with what’s known as grain smut or grain rot from significant rain or flooding.”Farmer’s lung is that exposure that can cause chronic and even debilitating lung disease if the exposure persists,” Poole says. “If it’s caught early and you remove yourself from the exposure, there are things like steroids and medications that can be used to treat. Catching it too late, there’s less we can do for this disease.”
Poole says vitamin D supplements may help to reduce inflammation from being exposed to some bacteria on the farm. Other things that can help include omega 3 fatty acids and fish oils. Overall, Poole says there’s been a steep rise in allergies over the last 20-to-30 years, now with prevalence in up to 50-percent of all Americans.
Members of the Atlantic City Council will meet in the Council’s Chambers 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, at City Hall. On their agenda, is:
In other business, Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson, Wednesday, will make an announcement with regard to deer hunting within the City Limits. Erickson has received word from the Iowa DNR, and a recommendation, that only 10 Does be harvested this year inside the City. The Bow Hunting season would begin Oct. 1st, and end on Dec. 6th.
(Radio Iowa) — Iowa apple growers are benefiting from a resurgence in an old-time beverage made from their crop. Wilson’s Orchard near Iowa City makes sweet and hard cider — which owner Paul Rasch (Rash) says gives their products a wider audience. “We sell our hard ciders both packaged and on draft pretty much across Iowa under the Wilson’s Orchard brand,” Rasch says. “And we sell our sweet ciders just for a limited time — starting in September and going through December — in supermarkets and at our farm market here.”
He says hard cider was once the favorite adult beverage. “Hard cider used to be the alcohol of choice for Americans almost right up until prohibition. Prohibition kind of put the kibosh on hard cider and beer kind of took over,” according to Rasch. Hard cider is finding its way back as a choice for alcohol drinkers. “There has been a real resurgence in the interest in cider. It’s gluten free, it’s just not as heavy as beer. And it’s sort of a pallet that you can lay a lot of different flavors onto,” Rasch explained.
He has tried to focus more on growing apples dedicated to cider to take advantage of the expanding interest.”The hard cider market is not only expanding, but it’s developing in very interesting ways,” Rasch says. “So like for us, we’ve got five acres of orchard now committed just to varieties for making cider. There’s specific cider apple varieties that make a higher tannin cider higher quality.” He says the hard cider is product where you can make it from the crop you grow right here. “You know you can make great beers — Iowa is making great craft beers — but you can’t grow barely here. You can make wines — but it is hard to grow the really premiere wine varieties here. But you can grow great apples,” he says.
Rasch grew up in Michigan where they grow a lot of apples. He says Washington state is known for growing apples, but he believes in the product grown here benefit from the climate. “I’d put the flavor of our apples up against any other growing area in the United States. These tough growing conditions we have this year is a good example of them, hot, cold, wet, dry, you name it,” Rasch says. “I just think it builds character. It builds flavor in apples.”
A search online shows at least seven hard cider producers in Iowa.
The City of Atlantic’s Community Development Committee will meet Wednesday evening at around 6-p.m., or immediately following the regular meeting of the Atlantic City Council. On the Committee’s agenda, is:
FOR SALE: Youth size XL PBR T-SHIRT ..BRAND NEW-$15. Hamilton Beach Deep fryer..Cool Touch-2 liter $20. Atlantic-249-2033.
FREE: Kittens. 5 males, 14 weeks old. Born and living indoors. Litter trained and people friendly. Call 712-249-9678.
FOR SALE: Set of 4 Michelin tires for a car – 205/75/R14, in good shape. 712-420-3016.
FOR SALE: Schafer 8 bale gooseneck 5th wheel hay trailer with 3 point hay carrier. $3500. Also have for sale a 1974 International 1066, red cab with a/c, lots of work done. $10,000 OBO. And have a JD Quick Tatch with arms that interchange from Cat 2 to Cat 3. $700. 712-621-3788.
FOR SALE: 5 purebred Nigerian dwarf dairy goats for sale. Very good quality goats, 10-11 weeks of age with vaccinations complete. 1 buck and 4 does. Buck is dark brown with splotch of white and one dark brown doe. 3 does are a mixture of white with black. They have show quality bloodlines and the mothers were a 4-H project. Asking $100 for does and $75 for the buck. 712-621-1245.
FOR SALE: Lots of fence building supplies. Steel posts, barb wire, some panels, etc. $2 apiece for steel posts, call and talk price on the rest of the items. Call 712-249-0233.
GRIMES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man was burned when the boat engine he was working on caught fire in a Des Moines suburb. Firefighters were dispatched around 2:15 p.m. Monday to the residence in Grimes. They contained the flames to the garage in which the boat was parked. The injured man was taken to a hospital. He’s been identified as 37-year-old David Boots.
Police in Missouri Valley are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man who allegedly committed a burglary Sunday night, at Valley Arms. Surveillance video still-frame imagery shows a white male with a blue shirt and bright green stocking cap with black bands. One of the bands has green lettering with the partial word “BOS” visible. If you have information that could help police catch the suspect, call 712-642-2736.
Atlantic Municipal Utilities is working to shut-off water to the area between Birch and Hickory Streets this morning. The move is necessary so repairs could take place on a broken water main. It’s not clear how soon the main will be back on-line.
Today: Partly cloudy w/isolated showers & thunderstorms. High 88. SW-NW @ 10-20 mph.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 54. NW @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. High 78. NE @ 10.
Thursday: P/Cldy w/isolated showers & thunderstorms possible. High 83.
Friday: P/Cldy. High 80.
Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 84. Our Low was 62. Last year on this date our High was 79 and the Low was 67. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 102 in 1937. The Record Low was 32 in 1974.