Food Preservation 101 is a two-hour overview of general food preservation principles. The class includes current recommendations for canning, freezing and drying, display of equipment and utensils and sources for safe and tested food preservation information.  The class will be held May 17th, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at ISU Extension and Outreach, Montgomery County Office in Red Oak. There is a $5 registration fee to cover the costs of the class. Register by calling 712-623-2592 by May 16th.

After participating in Food Preservation 101, individuals may choose to increase their knowledge.  Preserve the Taste of Summer consists of an online course and hands-on food preservation workshops. Fuller said it’s a great opportunity for those who want to go beyond the basics. Register online at www.extension.iastate.edu/registration/events/conferences/preservation/

The ISU Extension and Outreach food preservation publications can be viewed or printed at this website:  https://store.extension.iastate.edu/. Search by publication number or title to find them.

• PM 638 Canning and Freezing Tomatoes
• PM 1043 Canning Fruits
• PM 1044 Canning Vegetables
• PM 1366 Canning Fruit Spreads
• PM 3021 Canning Meat, Poultry, Wild Game and Fish
• HS 21 Canning Salsa
• PM 1368 Canning Pickles
• PM 1045 Freezing Fruits and Vegetables

A copy of these publications will be provided at Food Preservation 101.  Get answers to food preservation questions year round by calling ISU Extension and Outreach’s toll-free AnswerLine. Experts answer questions Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and from 1– 4 p.m. In Iowa: 1-800-262-3804; Relay Iowa phone linkage for deaf/hard-of-hearing individuals, 1-800-735-2942.  Questions can also be emailed to answer@iastate.edu .  Frequently asked questions and other resources are available at the AnswerLine website, www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/answerline.

During Trauma Awareness Month in May, the American Red Cross urges eligible donors to give blood and help ensure a sufficient supply for patient emergencies. Donors of all blood types are needed this May. Every day, the Red Cross must collect approximately 14,000 blood donations to meet the needs of trauma patients and others with serious medical conditions.

Schedule your appointment to give blood by downloading the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Donors can then also visit redcrossblood.org/cedarfair to enter to win one of two grand prize packages for four to Knott’s Berry Farm in California or Cedar Point in Ohio.

Some upcoming blood donation opportunities….

Adair County:

Orient – 5/17/2016: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Orient Macksburg High School

Audubon County:

Exira – 5/23/2016: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Exira Recreational Center, 106 N Jefferson

Cass County:

Atlantic – 5/26/2016: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Atlantic Catholic Parish Center

Montgomery County:

Red Oak – 5/16/2016: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Faith Community Church, 2701 North 8th Street

Stanton – 5/31/2016: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Vikiing Center, 501 Elliot

Villisca – 5/18/2016: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Community Center, 201 S. 3rd Ave

Pottawattamie County:

Council Bluffs – 5/16/2016: 12:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street; 5/17/2016: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Fox Run Assisted Living, 3121 Macineery Drive; 5/17/2016: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street; 5/22/2016: 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Community of Christ, 140 Kanesville Blvd; 5/23/2016: 12:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street; 5/24/2016: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Hy-Vee Broadway, 2323 West Broadway; 5/24/2016: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street; 5/31/2016: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street

Shelby – 5/21/2016: 7 a.m. – 12 p.m., Shelby Community Building, 500 East Street

Walnut – 5/19/2016: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 406 Antique City Drive

Shelby County:

Elk Horn – 5/17/2016: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Elk Horn Lutheran Church, 4313 Main Street

Westphalia– 5/18/2016: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., St. Boniface Parish Center, 305 Duren St.

To donate blood, simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A 40-year-old Council Bluffs man accused of trying to kill his estranged wife has been imprisoned. David McKee was given 25 years at his sentencing hearing Tuesday. He’d pleaded guilty to a burglary charge after prosecutors dropped charges for attempted murder and other crimes.

Police say McKee a year ago broke into a home where his estranged wife and another woman were living. The wife told officers that he threatened to kill both of them and grabbed her by the throat. She stabbed him with a knife she was holding and the other woman struck him with a weight. McKee was hospitalized.

Two people were arrested Tuesday, in Creston. Creston Police report 36-year old Ryan Rinehart, of Creston, was arrested a little after 11-p.m., for Driving While Suspended. He was later released on $300 bond. And, at around 7-p.m., Creston Police arrested 51-year old Martin Feliscian, of Mt. Ayr, for OWI/1st offense. Feliscian was being held in the Union County Jail on $1,000 bond, and on a warrant out of Bates County, MO.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Powerball jackpot is creeping higher again. No one has won the full jackpot since March 2 and the multi-state lottery estimates Wednesday night’s drawing will be worth $348 million. While it’s not chump change, it’s a far cry from the $1.6 billion Powerball prize shared by three winning lottery ticketholders in January, the largest ever jackpot draw in the world.

Powerball says the odds of winning the top prize are one in more than 292 million. Powerball tickets are sold in 44 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

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

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COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Council Bluffs voters have approved a bond referendum for a new, $20 million police headquarters. Nearly 63 percent of the votes counted Tuesday approved the referendum for a bond issue. The unofficial turnout was nearly 3,900 voters, or about 11.6 percent.

Several city sites are under consideration for the new building. The current 19,000-square-foot headquarters was built in 1977. Police Chief Tim Carmody has said the department needs at least 58,000 square feet for current and future needs.

Cass County Democratic Party Chair Sherry Toelle reports five delegates and one alternate were seated at the Third District Democratic Convention, which started Saturday, April 30th, and ran thru early Sunday morning.

Cass County delegates attending the convention included Gerard O’Rourke, Don Sonntag, Mike Young, Cheryl Wessels, and Toelle; Melissa Warren, as an alternate, was seated as a delegate during the convention, after Sonntag had to leave.

Photo: Front: from left to right: Wessels, Toelle, and Warren. Rear: Young and O’Rourke. (Photo courtesy Sherry Toelle)

The five delegates will be attending the state convention to be held in Des Moines on June 18th.

Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department report their “Operation Medicine Cabinet” drug drop-off program was a huge success over the weekend. Lt. Dan Flores says on Saturday, April 30th, between 10:00 am. and 2:00 pm. Council Bluffs Police Department Officers, volunteers/partners, and City of Council Bluffs Recycling Center personnel, participated in the Drug Enforcement Agency’s sponsored National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

The event was located at the Walgreens at 535 East Broadway. Flores says despite a steady, light rain with colder temperatures, people in 239 vehicles drove through the designated drop off lane to surrender 561 pounds of prescription drugs. That weight is the highest total of prescription drugs in any of the previous 11 events since 2010. From 2010 through 2016, the prescription drug take-back events  in Council Bluffs have taken in over 3,900 pounds of prescription drugs with over 2,200 persons dropping off drugs anonymously, with no questions asked.

Lt. Flores says the Council Bluffs Police Department thanks its volunteers and partners who helped to make the event so successful. The Department would also like to extend its appreciation to the community for its willingness to take the time and effort to drop off their expired or unused prescription drugs. Flores says together, “We have helped to make Council Bluffs a safer community!”