Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey is reminding eligible farm owners that the deadline to apply for the 2016 Century and Heritage Farm Program is June 1st, 2016.  The program recognizes families that have owned their farm for 100 years in the case of Century Farms and 150 years for Heritage Farms. Northey said  “This program is a great way to highlight the deep history and strong heritage of agriculture in our state.”

Farm families with a century or heritage farm must submit an application to the Department no later than June 1, 2016 to qualify for recognition at the Iowa State Fair this year.

Applications are available on the Department’s website at www.IowaAgriculture.gov by clicking on the Century Farm or Heritage Farm link under “Hot Topics.”

Applications may also be requested from Becky Lorenz, Coordinator of the Century and Heritage Farm Program via phone at 515-281-3645, email at Becky.Lorenz@IowaAgriculture.gov or by writing to Century or Heritage Farms Program, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Henry A. Wallace Building, 502 E. 9^th St., Des Moines, IA 50319.

The program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.  The ceremony to recognize the 2016 Century and Heritage Farms is scheduled to be held at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday, August 18^th in the Pioneer Livestock Pavilion.

This is the 40^th anniversary of the Century Farm program, which was started in 1976 as part of the Nation’s Bicentennial Celebration.  To date more than 18,600 farms from across the state have received this recognition.  The Heritage Farm program was started in 2006, on the 30^th anniversary of the Century Farm program, and 837 farms have been recognized.  Last year 366 Century Farms and 101 Heritage Farms were recognized.

A man from Mills County was arrested Thursday night following two separate shooting incidents in Avoca. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to the Cobblestone Inn and Suites at 7013 N. Chestnut St., in Avoca, at the 10:20-p.m., where shots were reportedly fired. Upon arrival, it was determined that a male subject later identified as 29-year old Brandon S. Feller, of Hastings, had discharged a firearm in the lobby of the business.

Brandon Feller

About 20-minutes later, deputies were dispatched to 1019 North Chestnut Street, in the City of Avoca for an armed subject at the Casey’s General Store.  The reporting party advised that shots had been fired outside of the business.

Upon arrival, deputies took Feller into custody.  He faces charges that include Robbery 1^st Degree, Carrying Concealed Weapon, Going Armed with Intent, Assault while Displaying a Weapon, Reckless Use of a Firearm, and Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Patrol.

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

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Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports two people were arrested early this (Friday) morning as the result of an investigation into drug activity, in Farragut. 22-year old Shelby Conn, of Tabor, and 31-year old Jason Crouse, of Shenandoah, were both arrested for Delivery of Methamphetamine.

They were taken into custody at the intersection of Highway 2 and Manti Road, following an incident in Farragut. Both Crouse and Conn were transported to the Sheriffs Office and were being held on $50,000 cash only bonds.

The Fremont County Sheriffs Office was assisted during the arrest, by the Iowa State Patrol.

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

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Creston Police arrested a man on a Theft charge, Thursday evening. 41-year old Dennis Smith, of Creston, was taken into custody on a charge of Theft in the 5th Degree. He was released later from the Union County Jail, on $300 bond.

And, a Creston woman reported to police Thursday night, someone slashed a tire on her vehicle while it was parked outside her residence in the 600 block of N. Oak Street. The loss was estimate at $100.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An officer killed in the line of duty has been honored by the Omaha Police Foundation with its highest award. The foundation named Kerrie Orozco as its Officer of the Year at a ceremony Thursday. She’s the first officer to be given the honor posthumously.

Police say Marcus Wheeler fatally shot Orozco on May 20, 2015, when he opened fire on officers trying to arrest him. Wheeler was killed when another officer returned fire. Orozco, a native of Walnut, IA, was one day away from going on maternity leave to care for the daughter she had delivered prematurely three months earlier.

Orozco’s mother, Ellen Holtz, and grandmother accepted the honor for her daughter. Holtz said, “Thank you so much for remembering Kerrie.”

Police in Council Bluffs late Thursday night, arrested a man for indecent exposure. Authorities say a little after 11-p.m.,  officers were called to 615 Damon St in reference to an attempted abduction. The victim reported walking in the area of S. Main St and W. Broadway when she was approached by a Hispanic male driving a blue SUV and asked for directions to a grocery store.

As the victim stepped towards the car, she observed the suspect to be nude from the waist down. The suspect reached for the victim as she ran away. Officers later located the suspect still driving around the area and placed him under arrest. The man was identified as 19-year old Pablo Escalante-Cabriales, of Council Bluffs.

Pablo Escalante-Cabriales.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, says she will continue to push for answers in the death of an Iowa woman.  Twenty-one-year-old Sarah Root of Council Bluffs died after police say her car was rear-ended by a car driven by 19-year-old Eswin Mejia. Police say Mejia was in the country illegally, drunk driving and street racing.  Ernst says they want to know why Immigration’s and Customs Enforcement didn’t detain Mejia and he is believed to have fled the country.

“We have not heard back yet from ICE and we have contacted the agency and I have request a phone call from director (Sarah) Saldaña of Ice. She had appeared before our committee a number of weeks ago,” Ernst says.  Ernst and fellow Senator Charles Grassley have been pushing ICE for answers. “We are going to push and make sure that this fugitive is brought to justice. We have to do that, not only for the Root family, but we have to do it and force the issue to make sure that ICE  is protecting our American citizens, they need to know that this is an issue,” according to Ernst.

Root’s mother Michelle testified before the U-S House Judiciary Committee this week as they also investigate the case.  Ernst says it is important that ICE has the proper procedures in place. “Not just in this case, but there are other cases as well where we need to make sure ICE is following through,” Ernst says.

She says the president must rethink his policies and seriously reconsider them so that tragedies like this one are not replicated elsewhere.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa House approved its last two budget bills this Thursday, but a final agreement and the end of session is still a ways off. The House amended and passed Senate File 2323 to approve more than $1 billion for primary, secondary, and post-secondary education along with Senate File 2023 to allocate $378 million for the the Iowa Department of Transportation Thursday evening.

Key components of the education budget bill include a $3 million increase in funds for Iowa’s community colleges after receiving no increase in 2015, and a $6.3 million increase for Iowa’s Regent Universities. The bill allocates a 0.6 percent increase for the University of Iowa, 1.2 percent increase for Iowa State University, and a 2.9 percent increase for the University of Northern Iowa.

Rep. Tom Moore (R-Griswold)

The bill also gives a $213,958 increase for the Iowa School of the Deaf and an $89,205 increase for the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School. In his weekly newsletter,  Representative Tom Moore, a Republican from Griswold, said  “With only $4.9 million in new money for education, it is no secret this is a tight budget year. As Vice Chair of the Education Budget Subcommittee, I believe the House did a commendable job of funding top priorities and I was proud to support it.”

The $378 million approved for transportation is made up of $2.3 million from the State Aviation Fund, $50.4 million from the Road Use Tax Fund, and $325.3 million from the Primary Road Fund. The main point of contention in this bill was over appropriations for the “highways” section of the transportation budget. The Senate bill approves an increase of roughly $10.4 million — more than a four percent increase — while the House bill approves a $1.9 million increase in highways.

Moore says “With our current budget only allowing for a 2.25 percent increase in Supplemental State Aid for K-12 education and many other priorities facing cuts this year, it seems unfair and illogical to approve such a large increase for part of the transportation budget.” The education and transportation budget bills will go back to the Senate for approval. It is likely both bills will end up in conference committees, along with several of the other budget bills the House passed this week.

Until both chambers come to a finalized agreement on all facets of the state’s FY 2017 budget, the 2016 session still continues.