Progress continues on the Nishna Valley Trails, Inc. (NVT) Troublesome Creek Connection Trail. Dave Chase, NVT President, says the trail projects are carried out in increments because of the costs involved, not to mention the engineering aspect of the entire project. Chase said donations help to make progress on the trail possible, including the recent funding from TS Bank in Atlantic, through their Community Support Program.

TS Banks provided a $7,500 donation, which will allow for the engineering and construction of a 150-yard section connecting existing trails. He said the Troublesome Creek Trail is basically done. The whole idea is to link up with the trail system at the Atlantic Municipal Utilities well head site. The TS Bank donation will allow for engineering and development of the trail along Olive Street that leads to the AMU trail, which will be hard-surfaced. When that’s completed, there will be a contiguous, 6-mile loop on the north side of Atlantic.

Chase says later this Spring, a kiosk will be set-up across the street from the KJAN Studios that will provide information about the area trails and their locations. So far, nearly two-miles of paved trail have been created to connect the two trails, including a 162-foot long pedestrian bridge that spans Troublesome Creek behind the KJAN Studios. The project began about 7-years ago, and is expected to be finished later this Fall.

If you’d like to contribute funds for the trails, send your checks to: Nishna Valley Trails, P.O. Box 496, Atlantic, IA 50022.  You can also contact Dave Chase (712-243-2444) if you’d like to donate or find out more about the trails project.

An Iowan who’s an agricultural advisor for President-elect Trump’s transition team is urging Trump to “block” some “mega-mergers” in the ag industry. Bruce Rastetter, of Alden, says the pending mergers of “agrochemical and seed giants” like DuPont and Dow Chemical will mean higher prices for farmers. “There will be bundling of services, so if they combine chemical and seed and only those seed traits can take a certain chemical sold by that company, it’s naturally going to increase costs,” Rastetter says.

Rastetter also cites the proposed merger of St. Louis-based Monsanto and Bayer, which was founded in Germany more than 150 years ago. “So concern about competition, concern about then the lack of innovation, lack of multiple companies we have and the concern for choice for farmers,” Rastetter says.

If Trump’s Administration doesn’t step in, Rastetter says the four largest seed and ag chemical suppliers in the country will become just two mammoth companies — controlling between 60 and 70 percent of the U.S. corn and soybean seed market. “Those two both start selling chemicals and seed, when they primarily did one or the other before and so the market share becomes very large, in a variety of different crops,” Rastetter says.

With two rather than four major companies, Rastetter says there will be less research to boost crop yields. He says smaller companies developing new plant varieties and traits are struggling to bring new products to market. “The root cause of this is government regulation. It costs $150 million to create a new seed trait. Think of that. How many small businesses can do that? And then, not only the $150 million, but an uncertain timeline for when or if the government’s ever going to approve it,” Rastetter says. “So if we really want to get serious about this, yes, the mergers shouldn’t go through, but we should to fix the government problem and I believe Donald Trump will do that.”

Rastetter is an entrepreneur who has made millions by raising pork and producing ethanol. His “Summit Agricultural Group” has partnered with a Brazilian company to build Brazil’s first corn-only ethanol plant. Rastetter says those experiences give him a platform to raise the alarm about these two agribusiness mergers. “As a businessman and as a farmer on two continents, in Brazil and the U.S., I have a unique perspective on it,” Rastetter says. “And also I have been concerned that commodity groups have been tentative about saying something on this situation.”

Rastetter says Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley shares his concerns about these mergers. Rastetter predicts Grassley will bring up the merger issue next week when Trump’s nominee for attorney general appears before the senate committee Grassley leads.

(Radio Iowa)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Board of Regents is requesting a significant funding boost for the state’s public universities despite the possibility of budget cuts and an expectation that lawmakers will have limited revenue to work with in the upcoming legislative session.

The Press-Citizen reports that the board is asking for a 2 percent increase in state funding for the 2017-18 academic year. The regents have said that if they receive that level of funding, they would hold resident undergraduate tuition increases to 2 percent for the next two years.

Regent officials are waiting to hear from the governor’s office on how much and where the state will make budget cuts. Democratic Sen. Jeff Danielson of Cedar Falls says he thinks it would be possible to fulfill the regents’ request.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa company has settled a Medicaid billing dispute for $1 million. The Des Moines Register reports that the West Des Moines-based company was known as Ultimate Nursing Services when the bills were filed from 2011 into 2013. It’s now known as Universal Pediatrics.

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that the company bills included entertainment and travel costs unrelated to its care of children with disabilities. The settlement did not include any admission of wrongdoing. The company’s lawyer, Stephen Locher, says the issues stemmed from errors in complying with Medicaid rules.

The Creston Police Department reports one person was arrested and later released from custody, Thursday. 24-year old Codie Cook, of Creston, was pulled over at Walnut & Page Streets in Creston at around 7-a.m., Thursday. He was arrested for Driving Under Suspension and later released from the Union County Jail on $300 bond.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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We’re six days into the new year. Are you keeping your resolution to get fit? Thousands of Iowans work desk jobs and live sedentary lifestyles that aren’t doing enough to counteract the effects of obesity and heart disease. Doctor Jeremiah Gums, an internist at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, says if you stare at a computer screen all day, make a change at work, if possible.

“That’s always a great option, to request a standing work station,” Dr. Gums says, “but if you don’t have that option, just getting up every hour for a few minutes to move around, to go for a short walk, to use the restroom, to get a drink of water, anything really. Any sort of movement is beneficial.”

Almost one in every three Iowans is obese, according to the latest health rankings. He says the only way to prevent our health from taking a direct hit is to make a conscious effort each day to get some exercise. “Any kind of movement really helps,” Gums says. “When we just lay around on the couch especially, that really is more detrimental than what we would think to our overall health. Our bodies aren’t meant to be lying around. Any sort of activity every hour is good, but the more, the better.”

He suggests setting an alarm on your computer or smartphone every hour as a reminder to get up. “If you’re actually trying to lose weight, improve your BMI, we recommend getting 50 minutes of some sort of moderate-to-intense physical activity most days of the week,” Gums says. “I think 10 minutes of light activity every hour is good for people who have a busy lifestyle and have a hard time finding exercise elsewhere.”

He says it’s worth the extra effort as health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle include obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health complications, muscle and bone degeneration and an overall higher rate of mortality.

(Radio Iowa)

A slick, snow-covered road surface was said to be the cause of a single-vehicle, non-injury accident Thursday morning, in Montgomery County. Sheriff’s officials say Deputies and crews from Villisca Fire and Rescue responded at around 8:20-a.m., to a report of a car in the ditch on 260th Street, just west of Willow Avenue. The 1998 Toyota Camry owned by Niko Hensley, of Villisca, was driven by Bailey Hensley, also of Villisca.

The vehicle was found in the north ditch, next to a sheared-off power pole owned by MidAmerican Energy. Hensley told authorities she was traveling east on 260th when the car skidded off the road due to slick conditions caused by snow on the road surface. The car entered the ditch and struck the power pole, causing $1,800 damage to the Toyota and $1,200 damage to the pole.

There were no citations issued.

Several of Iowa’s labor unions staged a statehouse news conference late Thursday to send a message to Republican lawmakers considering changes to Iowa’s collective bargaining law. Kindergarten teacher Katie McMahon, of Cedar Rapids, is a member of the Iowa State Education Association. “Politicians who make our unions and our professions targets for political attacks and want to cut budgets on our backs…do so at the peril of the safety and well-being of our citizens of the state.”

Adam Choat, of Altoona, is a policeman and a member of the Teamsters Union. He worries lawmakers will no longer allow contract negotiations to cover things like whether the city or the policeman pays for on-going training safety equipment like bullet-proof vests. “Eroding our voices on the job and cutting the profession will have a drain for the Iowa police officers,” Choat said, “just like it has in other states around us that chose to cut the voice that the police officers have in their profession.”

Sean Passick — a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union — works for the D-O-T and he drives a snow plow this time of year. “Before doing this job, I took for granted how the roads I traveled every day got cleared in the harsh Iowa winters and how transportation infrastructure remains safe for me and my family,” Passick said. “As we head into the legislative session next week, please remember who the AFSCME members are who work on your behalf to make Iowa happen.”

Governor Branstad has proposed taking health care off the list of topics covered in negotiations with the unions that represent state workers. Branstad suggests it would be cheaper to have one massive agreement on health care coverage for all bargaining units in Iowa. That means it would cover city, county and school districts as well as state government.

Iowa’s current law outlining union rights for public sector workers was approved in 1974 by Republican Governor Robert Ray. It set up the system for contract negotiations and, in return, union workers at all levels of government — including teachers, do not go on strike.

(Radio Iowa)