1/2 cup livered almonds
7 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons instant minced onion
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: minced parsley, minced chives
Roast almonds and sesame seeds, separately. In a bowl, beat together cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, sesame seeds and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; refrigerate until firm, 20 minutes or more. Shape into 20 to 25 balls. Rolls balls in almonds (and parsley or chives if using). Refrigerate until ready to serve. May be made several days before serving.

The northeast Iowan who was missing following the weekend earthquake in Nepal is alive and well after communicating with his family. New Albin native Cole Donahue says he was about 45 minutes away from the Mount Everest base camp when the earthquake hit that caused a massive avalanche. The 30-year-old Donahue says he and six other people were buried in the snow but managed to dig out quickly with no injuries.

It was a two-day hike to find a town with communication equipment that worked. Donahue plans to be home by the weekend. The death toll from the quake is over 37-hundred, with more than six-thousand injured.

(Radio Iowa)

with Ric Hanson.

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Iowa’s seen a lot of unseasonably cold weather and freezes in the past week, so green thumbers who are itching to get into their gardens will have to wait a bit longer. Before digging up the dirt this spring to prepare for planting, gardening expert John Fesh says to do some homework first. He suggests making sure the soil is suitable for what you intend to plant.

“Carrots and beets and horseradish, those types of plants really depend on root expansion to be successful,” Fesh says. “Plants like potatoes, you’re not going to be very happy with the results if you have a real rock-hard-type of soil. You’re just not going to get any tuber development.” Especially in Iowa, where the weather can make drastic changes quickly, Fesh says it’s important to check the forecast before doing any planting. Otherwise, you may have to do some replanting later. Now may be a good time to test the soil to see if it’s suitable for what you want to plant. He says “trench” planting may be a good option in some areas.

“You can make a deep furrow or even use a long gutter you had once used for your house,” Fesh says. “You can fill that with a loose, easy, mellow soil with a mixture of compost and sand so that the roots can get out and develop.” Fesh, an extension educator, says that won’t work for every crop but it gives you an idea on how the root system needs room to spread out. Ideally, he says we need to see soil temperatures in the mid-50s before digging up the garden to start the process, and that likely won’t come until mid-May.

(Radio Iowa)

A Union County man wanted on an Iowa Dept. of Corrections warrant for Parole Violation, was arrested Friday afternoon, in Creston. 51-year old Timothy Charles Fechter, of Creston, was taken into custody at the Union County Law Enforcement Center and held without a bond being set.

The 7:06-a.m. report from News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Audubon City Council will hold a special meeting this evening to appoint a member of the community to fill the seat of Councilman Thomas Nielsen, whose resignation was submitted and accepted during the Council’s regular meeting on April 13th. The person appointed would fill the seat until a Special Election is held. The Council has the option of holding the Special Election on August 4th, or, they could wait until the General Election on November 3rd, which would save costs.

Students at Iowa State University were alerted to a reported bomb threat on campus early this morning. KCCI reports an alert went out around 12:50 a.m. with regard to a bomb threat at the Durham Center on campus. The Durham Center is a computer facility for students and faculty.

At 1:10 a.m., Iowa State posted that the Durham Center was closed and the building secure. Students reported on Twitter that the nearby Parks Library was also evacuated. Iowa State University later posted another update on its website, that the search of the building is complete and nothing suspicious was found.

The Durham Center will reopen at 6:30 a.m.

The future of same-sex marriage was a focus for most of the speakers and the audience gathered in a central Iowa church this weekend. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments tomorrow (Tuesday) in a case that could make same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. Texas Senator Ted Cruz was the next-to-last speaker at Saturday’s gathering of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition. Cruz told the crowd Christians are “called to stand and fight” on this issue.

2008 Iowa Caucus winner Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, said Christians who believe in traditional marriage are under attack. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the program’s first speaker, said “thousands of years of human history” prove the family is the “most basic cell of society.”

An A-B-C/Washington Post poll conducted nationally in mid-April found 61 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage and some in the G-O-P have said they hope the party’s presidential nominating contest would focus on other issues. In 2009, Iowa became the third state in the country where same-sex marriages were legal and, over the past six years, the issue has dimmed for many. However, it remains a key rallying point for Christian conservatives in the G-O-P and they are an important voting block in the Iowa Caucuses.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Authorities in Montgomery County arrested a man Sunday evening, following a domestic dispute. 44-year old William E. Barr, of Villisca, was arrested at around 6:20-p.m. on a charge of Public Intoxication, near the intersection of E. 5th Street and N. 7th Avenue, in Villisca.