Mitt Romney

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he’s “enough of a business guy” to want to review farm programs and federal price supports for corn and soybeans before saying what he would do as president.   “I’m not running for office based on making promises of handing out money, all right?” Romney said in Iowa Thursday. He made his comments in Treynor, during a roundtable discussion with about 14 local farmers and business leaders. Ethanol producer Rick Schwark told Romney the corn-based fuel has a ripple effect on the rural economy. 

“In our facility, we have 46 people that work directly at the plant, but each day we receive over 100 semis of corn,” Schwark said. “Those are trucks. Each have a truck driver.” Romney said he supported federal subsidies for ethanol to help get the industry on its feet, but the subsidies shouldn’t continue forever, according to Romney. Ward Chambers, a doctor who lives — and farms — in rural Treynor, calls that a gutsy stand for Romney.

“No more ethanol subsidies,” Chambers said. “That’s pretty strong stuff for southwest Iowa.” The federal subsidy for ethanol production is set to expire at the end of the year. Romney indicated he would like to see more a more gradual reduction in the tax break rather than an abrupt elimination. During an August visit to Iowa, Romney said he hoped to do “darned well” in the Caucuses. Yesterday in Treynor Romney began his conversation with the 14 people his campaign had invited to the event like this:  “There’s a good shot I might become the next president of the United States. It’s not a sure thing, but it’s a good shot and if I am, I will benefit by having heard from you.” Romney made three stops in Iowa Thursday, beginning in Sioux City and ending in Council Bluffs, where he met with about three dozen members of the Chamber of Commerce.

(Radio Iowa)

BLAIR, Neb. (AP) — The DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge will open for archery deer hunting this weekend. The season will begin Saturday and run through Jan. 18, 2012. The refuge says in a news release that hunters must be properly licensed and carry a permit from the refuge. Officials say the permit has a map of the areas open to bow hunting, which have changed because of this year’s flooding along the Missouri River. The refuge is located 25 miles north of Omaha on U.S. Highway 30 between Blair and Missouri Valley, Iowa.

w/ Max Dirks

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Last week it was announced that rural property owners in Adams County are facing 26.4-percent jump in adjustments to their 2011 valuations of real property. They’re not alone, though. In the October 10^th edition of the local newspaper, the Cass County Assessor published a notice there would be a 37-percent increase in valuations for farmland only. Auditor Dale Sunderman says there is a window for persons to file their objections to the adjustment in valuations, with County Board of Review. He says a form available at the Assessor’s Office must be completed and filed with the Board of Review between now, and November 4^th. The final adjustments to 2011 property valuations were ordered by Iowa’s Director of Revenue.

In Mills County, Assessor Christina Govig says an Ag Equalization Order was issued for a 39.4 percent increase on agricultural land, and ag structures are seeing a 29 percent increase. The increases are based on a five-year production formula. She says there will likely be a rollback, but it’s not clear what that will be, therefore the impact on the valuations is uncertain.

Montgomery County is looking at 31.6 percent valuation increase in agricultural land. Other counties facing valuation increases in agricultural land only include, Harrison, Pottawattamie, Shelby, and Union. Adams and Ringgold Counties are facing an increase in the valuation of agricultural land and agricultural structures.

w/ Kate Olsen

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As thousands of combines churn through Midwestern corn and soybean fields, the U-S Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it will -not- be pursuing regulations on the dust kicked up by farm equipment. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the E-P-A’s statement is nothing short of a victory for farmers across the region. Grassley says, “Absolutely, and I don’t know how more to say it except finally, our campaign of several years is bearing fruit.”

E-P-A officials say they’re hoping to eliminate the “myth” that the agency planned to tighten regulations on the dust, which is viewed by some as air pollution. Grassley, a Republican, says he’s thrilled that this hot-button issue is finally being laid to rest. Grassley says, “People in the EPA, if they really stopped to think about fugitive dust, and I hope I’ve said enough over the last few years to make them stop and think about it, I’m only sorry it took them this long, but eventually, common sense is prevailing by their doing this.”

Grassley signed on as a co-sponsor of legislation from Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns, that aimed to ban the E-P-A from pursuing regulations on ag-related dust. With the announcement from the agency Monday, Johanns said he would drop the measure, which may not fly with all of his colleagues. Grassley says, “I still think that we need to have legislation that would prohibit them from doing this in the first place.” Grassley says he’ll meet with Johanns to discuss a future course of action. Similar legislation is still pending in the U.S. House.

(Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Board Monday evening presented a small bouquet of flowers to Chairperson Nancy Frederickson, who, after serving 30-years on the board, has decided not to seek re-election in November. Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring commended Frederickson for her service to the community. Frederickson said she’d spent half of her life on the board, and if she had to do it all over again, she would. Herring says the board will always welcome her expertise and involvement in the future.

In other business, the Atlantic Parks and Rec Board heard an update on the Schildberg Recreation Area Campground project. Herring said the Schildberg Committee is excited about the Phase 1 project, which involves establishing 18 gravel pads for the campground. The campground will be located at the southeast corner of the park, at the corner of N. Chestnut and Iowa Avenue. The site is currently a soybean field. Hopes are for modern restroom and shower facilities to be included in the project, at a later date.

Currently all the utilities are in place near the site, including water and electricity. Herring said fundraising efforts are underway to pay for the project, including part of the proceeds from a raffle to be sponsored by the Atlantic Rotary Club. Phase two, the most expensive part of the project, would include the construction of permanent restrooms and shower facilities, within the next couple of years. In the interim, porta-potties will be put in place, when the campgrounds are built over the course of the coming year.

Deer hunters are being reminded to take precautions to avoid bringing chronic wasting disease into Iowa. The neurological disease affecting deer and elk is not believed to be a threat to human health, but it is fatal to wildlife. Iowa Department of Natural Resources deer biologist Tom Litchfield says hunters who kill animals such as deer, elk or moose in areas affected by the disease are restricted in what they can bring home.  “If that animal comes from a chronic wasting disease area, then that animal must be butchered in that state and only the boned-out meat, hide and clean skull plate can legally be brought into the state of Iowa,” Litchfield said. The Iowa DNR has tested more than 38,000 deer for chronic wasting disease since 2003, with no positive results in the state. Officials have stepped up monitoring in border areas of Iowa in response to a report of the disease in deer in Minnesota for the first time last fall.

“We sample in every county, but in areas where the disease is likely to expand, we do increased surveillance in those counties,” Litchfield said. The disease also has been confirmed in Illinois and Wisconsin. Iowa’s early muzzleloader deer season opened this past weekend and runs through next Sunday (Oct. 23). The late muzzleloader season is set from December 19 through January 10. The two shotgun deer hunting season run from December 3-7 and December 10-18.

(Radio Iowa)

HELENA, Mont. (AP) – Missouri River state governors are clashing with Montana over flood control as federal officials tell them damage from this year’s high water will make them even more vulnerable during next year’s flood season. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer lashed back against a developing notion that downstream flood control should dominate upstream reservoir management. He told the downstream governors Monday such a plan would lead to empty reservoirs in Montana when a drought hits.

Schweitzer called into what was expected to be a private meeting attended by governors from Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota. The host, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, clashed with Schweitzer during the meeting. Schweitzer invited reporters to his office to listen to the meeting. He criticized the others for closing the doors to the public.