(Red Oak, Iowa) – Officials with ISU Extension and Outreach in Montgomery County say 4-H members, their families, and community members gathered November 17, 2024, for the annual Montgomery County 4-H Awards Night. The program was hosted by the 4-H County Youth Council, a group of 4-H members from across the county ranging in age from high school freshmen to seniors.

This year’s county council has nine members: Pace Chaillie (Grant Spitfires), Kennedy DeVries (Stennett Panthers), Oliver Dykes (Stanton Strivers), Landon Gigstad (Stennett Panthers), Kyla Hart (Stanton Strivers), Victoria McFarland (Stanton Strivers), Grace Nippert (East Sunrisers), Will Pollock (Stennett Panthers), and Delaney True (East Sunrisers). The council honored 4-H members and clubs from the past year for their hard work as well as outstanding program sponsors and extraordinary volunteers. 2024 Awards Night PR

2024-25 Youth County Council: Pace Chaillie (Grant Spitfires), Kennedy DeVries (Stennett Panthers), Oliver Dykes (Stanton Strivers), Landon Gigstad (Stennett Panthers), Kyla Hart (Stanton Strivers), Victoria McFarland – not pictured (Stanton Strivers), Grace Nippert (East Sunrisers), Will Pollock (Stennett Panthers), and Delaney True (East Sunrisers).

Four awards are given to adult volunteers, community members, or businesses who support and make positive impacts on the Montgomery County 4-H program. The Friend of 4-H award was given to Farm Credit Services of America. The Montgomery County Ag Society received the Honorary Award. The 2024 Outstanding 4-H Alumni was given to Jenny Ellis and Stephanie Vinton-Pollock of the Stennett Panthers and Red Oak Clover Kids was presented the 2024 Outstanding Leader award.

Volunteers are presented with tenure awards for every five years of service. Those honored on Nov. 17th were:

• Silver Clover Pin for 5 years of service: Ann Gigstad and Naomi McCunn
• 5-Point Diamond Clover Pin for 40 years of service: Jane Waltz

In addition to adult and community awards, youth members received awards for submitting their yearly record books and submitting their officer books. Members receiving an award for their record books were:

Junior Record Books: The Outstanding Junior Record Book was awarded to Reese Herzberg. Loryn Anderson, Lyssa Anderson, Anna Chaillie, Payton Doyle, Carter Taylor, Zane Johnson, and Lauren Ferree received certificates of completion.
Intermediate Record Books: The Outstanding Intermediate Record Book was awarded to Dalton Ferree.
Senior Record Books: The Outstanding Senior Record Book was awarded to Joshua LeRette. Receiving certificates of completion and senior project area awards: Lilly Anderson (Rabbit), Pace Chaillie (Sheep), Landon Gigstad (Dog), Joshua LeRette (Woodworking), Grace Nippert (Poultry), Alyssa Strebe (Photography).

Two clubs received awards for turning in their officer books. Grant Spitfires received a certificate of completion for their Secretary’s book, and Outstanding Historian Book and Treasurer’s book. Stanton Strivers received Outstanding Secretary’s Book.

Six senior 4-H members received additional awards based upon their 4-H participation and project involvement. To be eligible for a senior award, members must turn in a record book as well as meet other award specific criteria.

Service: Pace Chaillie & Grace Nippert
Livestock Achievement: Lilly Anderson
Achievement: Landon Gigstad
Danforth Award: Alyssa Strebe
Hall of Fame: Joshua LeRette

Congratulations to all the 4-H members and community partners who received an award! (See more pictures on the Montgomery County-IA Extension Facebook page)

(Article submitted by Katie Hart, Montgomery County ISU Extension/Outreach)

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston say no injuries were reported after a pickup truck struck a parked vehicle and a garage, Thursday night. Authorities say 23-year-old Brodie Wade Starlin, of Creston, was driving a 2014 Dodge RAM pickup northbound on Walnut Street at around 9:15-p.m., when his truck hit a legally parked 1998 Chevy Blazer, in the 500 block of N. Walnut. The impact caused disabling damage to the SUV, registered to Daniel Merritt, of Creston.

After it hit the SUV, Starlin’s pickup continued to drive through yards before it hit a garage belong to Justin Byers, of Creston, at 505 N. Walnut Street, causing about $3,000 damage.

The pickup then backed out of the garage and traveled to 1206 N. Elm Street, where it stopped due to disabling damage. Starlin was taken into custody on a charge of Operating While under the Influence/1st offense. Damage to his pickup amounted to $10,000. The parked SUV sustained $5,000 damage.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is being honored by a tax-focused think tank that was founded in 1937 by the executives of General Motors and Standard Oil. The Tax Foundation has presented Governor Kim Reynolds with its Distinguished Service Award. She is the first governor to receive the annual award, which has previously honored dozens of federal officials, business executives and educators.

Reynolds has signed five bills to cut taxes since she took over as governor in mid-2017. The most recent will lower Iowa’s income tax to a single rate of three-point-eight percent next year. A panel of state officials recently predicted Iowa tax revenue will decline by a billion dollars over a 24 month period. In a written statement, Reynolds says she’s taken an approach that favors simplicity over complexity and economic growth over government spending.

Reynolds received the Tax Foundation’s award last (Thursday) night at the group’s annual “Tax Prom.” It’s a black tie event in Washington, D.C. with hundreds of officials from businesses and government in attendance. Reynolds is the second Iowan to receive the award. Herbert Hoover is among three presidents to be honored. The others were George W. Bush and Dwight Eisenhauer.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s busiest and largest hunting seasons will be kicking off shortly, as the first of the state’s two shotgun seasons for deer will open in about two weeks. Nate Carr, an Iowa D-N-R conservation officer, says deer hunting is extremely popular. “We see roughly 100,000 hunters get out and participate in those two seasons, and during that time, we harvest about half of the total deer harvest in Iowa within a relatively short period of time,” Carr says. “So it’s a really effective way to manage our deer herd across the state, but also see a lot of good hunter participation.”

The first deer shotgun season runs December 7th through the 11th, while the second season runs December 14th through the 22nd. Deer hunters harvested about 60-thousand deer in Iowa last year, and Carr anticipates this year’s harvest will round out roughly the same. “Eastern, southern Iowa, we have really strong numbers and tend to have strong harvest, and so that kind of makes up for the lower population on the western side of the state right now, so it kind of balances out,” Carr says. “I think we’ll see decent numbers. Hopefully, we’ll get colder temperatures. That tends to get deer on their feet and motivate hunters to get out and pursue them.”

Iowa DNR photo

There have already been several smaller deer hunting seasons held in the state, and this year’s hot, dry weather may have been something of a hindrance. “We’re still seeing pretty decent harvest numbers. I think we’ve harvested around 25,000 deer throughout the youth season, in this early split of the archery season, as well as early muzzleloader, so we’re we’re on track,” Carr says. “We’re down a little bit, and you could probably attribute that somewhat to temperature, a little bit of hemorrhagic disease, which we’ve seen impact central Iowa quite a bit this year.”

Find much more information on the hunting seasons ahead at iowa-d-n-r-dot-gov.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department says two men were arrested on separate charges, Thursday night. A little after 8-p.m., 23-year-old Jeremiah Lee Whitney (no known address), was arrested at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a charge of Harassment in the 1st Degree. Whitney was taken to Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by a Judge.

And at around 9:30-p.m. Thursday, Creston Police arrested 23-year-old Brodie Wade Starlin, of Creston. Starlin was arrested at his residence on a charge of OWI/1st offense. He posted at $1,900 cash bond, and was released.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Red Oak Police Department says no injuries were reported following two separate collisions over the past couple of days. Authorities say just before 1-p.m. Thursday, a collision at the intersection of Broadway and Corning Streets in Red Oak, caused a total of $1,500 damage. According to the report, a 2015 International dump truck equipped with a plow and owned by Montgomery County, was behind a 2023 Nissan Rogue SUV driven by 70-year-old Julie Ann Wirth, of Red Oak. Both vehicles were stopped at the red light, waiting to continue south on Broadway Street.

The driver of the truck, 29-year-old Xavier Smith, of Villisca, told police the light turned green and he started to move forward, but then noticed the SUV was not moving. He tried to steer the truck away from the SUV in order to avoid a collision, when he realized he could not stop in-time. The plow attachment on the truck struck the right rear taillight of the SUV, causing minor damage.

The other accident happened at around 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, at 1st and Nuckols Streets, in Red Oak. Authorities say a 1995 Ford Bronco driven by 16-year-old Kendelyne Bartlett, of Stanton, was traveling south on 1st Street through the uncontrolled intersection, when the SUV was hit by a 2016 Ford F-150 pickup, driven by 21-year-old Jayden Ryan Archer, of Red Oak, as he was traveling east on Nuckols Street. Damage from the collision amounted to $8,000 altogether, according to the report.

No citations were issued in those accidents.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa housing market experienced a welcome October surprise, with every metric tracked by Iowa REALTORS® falling into the positive. A late September interest rate drop by the Federal Reserve buoyed buyer and seller sentiments throughout the pinnacle fall month.  Iowa Realtors President Shaner Magalhães says “Buyers and sellers across the state enjoyed a bountiful housing market harvest last month. Increases in inventory and sales show that while many Iowans are firmly planted in their homes, there’s opportunity and desire to make moves even in the typically slower fall months.”

The number of homes on the market across the state grew by double digits in October. With 3,925 homes on the market in October, new listings jumped 15.5% from the 3,397 listed last year at the same time. Monthly the increase was more conservative: a 1.3% increase from September’s recorded 3,873 new listings. Overall inventory saw similar increases in October with 8,819 homes for sale. The inventory represented a 21.9% increase from the 7,236 homes listed last year, and a 2.1% increase from the 8,636 homes listed last month.

Single-family home sales increased 9.1% in October with 2,973 sales completed compared to the 2,726 homes sold in October 2023. The increase was wider month-over-month, jumping 11.3% from the 2,668 homes sold in September. Pending sales continued to increase, showing that buyers continued to take advantage of the market throughout the month. With 2,685 pending sales, October saw an increase of 2.2% from the 2,627 pending sales of the prior year. Monthly, pending sales increased by 0.93% from the 2,660 pending transactions recorded in September. Days on the market increased 13.5% to 42 days compared to the 37 days of last year. Median sales price also increased by 9.3% to $235,000 from the $215,000 of a year ago.

Les Sulgrove, Iowa Realtors statewide housing analyst says “Real estate markets across Iowa vary significantly, with rural areas experiencing slower changes compared to the dynamic metro markets. Affordability, influenced by mortgage rates and the broader economy, remains the key factor driving sales statewide.”

Townhouses and Condos
The townhouse and condo market also benefited from a later fall boost, with positive movement across all metrics tracked. Overall inventory increased 18% in October with 1,598 properties listed compared to the 1,354 properties for sale last year. The increase was much smaller monthly, jumping just 2.9% from the 1,553 homes for sale last month. New listings experienced a similar boost, the 576 properties listed in October came to a 22.8% increase from the 468 townhomes and condos that joined the market in October 2023. Monthly, 30 more properties  were added to the market, a 4.9% increase from the 546 new listings recorded in September.

October saw 426 closed sales of townhomes and condos, a 19% increase from the 358 properties sold last year. Compared to September, sales increased 22.8%. Pending sales experienced a 16.3% increase from 343 pending transactions in October 2023 to 399 pending sales last month. Monthly, the increase was 6.7% from the 374 pending sales of September.  Days on the market increased 7.7% in October to 70 days compared to the 65 of one year ago. The median sales price increased 0.3% in October to $250,000 from the $249,195 median recorded in October 2023.

More housing stats can be found HERE.

(Radio Iowa) – A report shows a 38 percent drop in the number of abortions in Iowa after the state law banning most abortions after the sixth week of a pregnancy took effect in late July. The Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion, estimates about 260 abortions were performed in Iowa in August — down from an average of about 400 abortions a month during the first half of this year. Those stats include procedures performed in a clinic as well as medication abortions.

According to Planned Parenthood of North Central States, many of those abortions in August were likely “telehealth” abortions that involved a clinician in another state prescribing the medication to an Iowan seeking an abortion.

(Radio Iowa) – Record travel is predicted in Iowa and nationwide for the Thanksgiving holiday, and those who are flying somewhere else for the long weekend have likely already bought their tickets. Last-minute fliers might still be able to find some deals, and Gunnar Olson with Thrifty Traveler-dot-com says the best way to save money and time at this point is to avoid flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. “No matter what time of year, flying on Sunday is always where the pain is,” Olson says. “It’s going to be the most expensive to fly on Sunday, and everybody wants to be there at the same time, so the airports are going to be more busy, passengers tend to be more tense on Sundays. Everybody’s trying to get home. Flights are overbooked. I try to avoid Sundays like the plague.”

Olson says now is a good time to shop for Christmas airfares. He says if you look around, there’s still some value out there, even if you want to head to warmer places like Orlando and Los Angeles.”Because Christmas is in the middle of the week this year, it’s actually helping keep some fares low, travelers are not all traveling on the same days for Christmas this year,” Olson says. “So it’s going to make for a much more competitive flight pricing environment.” If you’re wanting to think even further ahead, he says the best travel deals right now could be for the summer of 2025. Olson says this past summer was disappointing for some of the airlines, so they’re testing the waters with cheaper airfares for next summer. “They haven’t pulled back yet and some fares for July, August, September of 2025 are really cheap right now, especially in the U.S.,” he says.

Olson says you can find cheap airfares for the summer on both coasts, and even normally expensive places like Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.

(Radio Iowa) – A recent Iowa Farm Bureau report shows the Iowa ag economy has seen a down trend from 2023 into 2024 that lead to farm incomes dropping by nearly 25 percent. I-F-B’s economics and research manager Christopher Pudenz says there are some things that could turn the farm economy around. He says getting away from Farm Bill extensions to passing a new five-year bill is one. “One of those aspects that is in that farm bill that’s really important for farmers here in the state of Iowa is the crop insurance programs that are funded in part by the Farm Bill,” he says. Pudenz says the safety net it provides takes some of the uncertainty out for farmers.

“The vast majority of acres for both corn and soybean farmers here in the state of Iowa are covered under crop insurance. That you know really does help during a year like this, when prices are depressed compared to previous years, or like when those folks up in northwest Iowa had all the flooding this spring and wiped out all those acres,” Pudenz says. He says there are some bright spots going forward, including the international export market. “We are looking to have a pretty strong here in terms of corn exports, the beef market remains strong. Iowa is fourth for cattle on feed, and it’s looking like some of those revenues in that in that industry might be shifting to some of those cow calf folks,” he says. “The hog industry, after having a pretty rough stretch there 18 months or so has had a better summer and fall and is looking to have a better 2025.” Pudenz says some of those areas could get farm incomes up a again.

“If farmers have, you know, higher incomes, they can, they can start buying machinery again. And then those manufacturers can start buying, you know, tires from their tire suppliers. Just kind of kick start the whole ag and ag adjacent economy,” Pudenz says. Republicans took back the White House and the Senate in the recent election and that can also impact the Ag economy. Pudenz can’t say yet what that impact will be. “It’s just too early to tell. We don’t know who is going to be the U-S-D-A Secretary yet. We don’t have an announcement about U-S-T-R (US Trade Representative), eagerly awaiting those announcements as we go forward here,” he says.

Pudenz says these factors are all important as the I-F-B analysis shows the negative impact on the state’s economy from the downturn is more than one- and-a-half-billion-dollars.