Local producers, residents, business owners and community leaders will have the opportunity to share their thoughts about opportunities and challenges in rural Iowa when USDA state leaders visit Audubon on Monday, July 8th. A rural listening forum will take place starting at 10-a.m. at the Extension Office, 608 Market Street in Audubon. 

Scheduled to attend the forum are John Whitaker, State Executive Director for USDA’s Iowa Farm Service Agency (FSA), Jay Mar, State Conservationist with USDA’s Natural Resources Conversation Service (NRCS), and Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa. The meeting is open to the public.

Iowa Ninth District Representative Nancy Boettger has announced she will not seek re-election to the Iowa Senate in 2014. Boettger, a native of Shelby County said in her newsletter this past week, that she will step down from her position at the end of 2014.

In a news release, Boettger said she has considered it an honor and privilege to represent voters in the Iowa Senate for the past 19 years. She represents all of Harrison and Monona counties along with portions of Shelby Crawford, Ida and Woodbury counties. Boettger began her political career in January 1995 and is in her fifth term. Her background includes being a former educator.

Boettger said “As a former educator, our young people’s education has been a very important issue for me. This Legislative session we made great strides in education on behalf of the students, teachers and school districts across Iowa.” She said also, that she will continue to work in her 20th and final year, to represent hardworking Iowans.

Greenfield artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II has another project to keep him busy. Sorensen, who has been painting Adair County’s version of the “Freedom Rock” (located off of Highway 25, south of Interstate 80) every year since 1999, will add Guthrie County to the list of counties which have commissioned him to create a version of the Freedom Rock. For the next few summers Sorensen and his family will travel the state of Iowa to put a (smaller and unique to their area) Freedom Rock in each county.

At the prompting of Phyllis Wakefield, the Guthrie County Arts Council commissioned Sorensen to paint a similarly-themed rock in Guthrie County, in 2014. The work of art, which was approved by the City Council in Guthrie Center last week, will be painted on a 5 ton, nearly 11 foot tall rock located on park-like property owned by the city located directly north of the Guthrie County Fairgrounds on the north side of Highway 44. The council agreed to construct a one way gravel driveway on the property for access to the rock, and also to donate $2,000 to the rock project. Although final plans have not yet been completed, Wakefield estimates the cost of the final project at $20-30,000. Persons or organizations interested in donating are asked to contact GCAC treasurer Ruth Owen at 641-332-2196.

In addition to Adair County, Freedom Rock paintings have been completed in Shelby, Dallas, Polk, Ringgold, Pocahontas and Mitchell Counties. 37 other Counties including Adams, Audubon, Crawford, Carroll, Fremont, Mills, Page, Taylor and Union, have booked Sorensen to paint a Freedom Rock in the coming years.

The original Freedom Rock in Adair County, is a more than 60 ton)boulder that is repainted every year with a different “Thank You” for our nations Veterans to honor their service to our country. Sorensen paints The Freedom Rock on his own, with the support of family and friends. Sorensen is not commissioned to paint the original rock, but is able to do so each year with the generous help of donations.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowans should soon know more about what they can expect to find on the new health exchange, though whether the state’s two largest carriers will participate remains unclear. Today is the deadline for insurance carriers to file to be included in the online marketplace for Iowa. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart says he expects to release the insurance providers’ names tomorrow, though the details on the specific plan proposals will come later. Representatives for Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare — which combined hold roughly 90 percent of the Iowa insurance market — declined to comment on their intentions.

CHARLES CITY – Two Charles City men survived a trip over a dam Saturday evening on the Cedar River. A pontoon boat being operated by Ryan Fisher, 25, lost power and floated over the dam at approximately 8 p.m. Saturday. Fisher and an unidentified passenger were rescued uninjured from a bridge pillar downstream by the Charles City Fire Department. Neither was wearing a life jacket and the boat had not yet been recovered Saturday evening. The incident is still under investigation by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa will soon begin taking down flood barriers surrounding campus buildings. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the university announced the decision Friday, saying the threat of further flooding has diminished. The university is taking bids on a project to remove the flood barriers, make repairs to sidewalks and pedestrian walkways and landscape the areas of campus affected by the barriers. The university already has a contract in place to remove the floodwall that was built around Art Building West. The university estimates that the cleanup and restoration process will cost $2.3 million, including $1.25 million to remove barriers and sandbags across campus and another $1 million to restore sidewalks and other areas that were turned into construction zones.

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — Officials in southeastern Iowa’s Ottumwa expect upcoming inspections to show that some the city’s bridges are deteriorating. The Ottumwa Courier reports that four of Ottumwa’s 18 bridges are up for inspection this year, three of which are ranked as structurally deficient. The Iowa Department of Transportation requires that the most fragile — or “fracture-critical” — bridges be inspected every five years to qualify for Highway Bridge Program funding. Currently, the city is receiving $1 million from the federal program for the Market Street Bridge reconstruction.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a gun has been found in the search of two homicide suspects’ homes and that ballistic testing has been ordered to determine if it was the weapon used to kill a 20-year-old man. Police arrested 18-year-old Marquice Morris and 20-year-old Joshua McCoy on Thursday and charged them with robbery and first-degree murder in the Wednesday shooting death of Christopher Byers.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have identified a 16-year-old boy critically injured in an overnight shooting as Tony Matthews. Police say officers responded to reports of a shooting just after midnight and found the teen in someone’s yard. Matthews was taken to a local hospital and underwent surgery. He remained in critical condition Saturday afternoon.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Oran man accused of sexually abusing children in Fayette County now faces federal charges. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that a federal grand jury handed down the indictment Wednesday. It charges 76-year-old Benton Stong with enticing a minor for the purpose of producing child pornography, as well as four counts of possession of child pornography. The federal charges allege Stong attempted to persuade minors to engage in sexual activity of the purpose of photographing the activity using digital cameras. The alleged incidents happened between June and July last year.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A city program that helps remove lead from older buildings has received a $2.5 million federal grant. The Sioux City Journal reports that the Neighborhood Services Department was awarded the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Lead Hazard Control Grant. The money is for owner-occupied and rental units. People can apply to get money for removing lead paint and other items.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — The use of algae in research is rapidly increasing and Iowa State University has created a way to ramp up algae growth and harvesting to feed the need. Scientists at universities and in private industry are exploring the potential for algae to be used as a fertilizer, a source of biofuel, and as a feed supplement for livestock, among many other applications Iowa State’s new algal production facility built inside a greenhouse on the BioCentury Research Farm in rural Boone went online in January. The new facility produces about 10 pounds of algae a week.

SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Officials are warning residents about swimmer’s itch after cases were reported on East Okoboji Lake in the Iowa Great Lakes Region. The state Department of Natural Resources says people should avoid swimming in marshy areas and places containing aquatic plants. Swimmer’s itch is caused by a parasite, but officials say most cases do not require medical attention. They can be treated with anti-itch lotions and other creams used for most skin allergies or irritations. Officials recommend that people limit the time they spend in water and towel off quickly afterward. That helps remove parasites from the skin’s surface. Welts and itching caused by parasites can last for several days to about a week.

w/Marissa Hovde

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A Shenandoah couple accused in a child sexual abuse case will face trial beginning November 12th.  The case against 38-year old Jennifer and 44-year old Tony Stogdill, of Shenandoah, will be tried in U.S. District Court, in Council Bluffs. The Stogdill’s have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit transportation of minors with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity as well as two counts of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. They were arrested late last February, after an indictment was filed against them in U.S. District Court.

According to court records, the incidents began in 1996 and continued until their arrest. The incidents involved one teenage boy and several girls ranging in age from 7 to 16 years old.

Two Iowa communities have made the list of cities nationwide that are considered “most secure.” Out of 114 metro areas, Omaha-Council Bluffs ranks number-six while Des Moines is 20th. Mark Toohey is a spokesman for Farmers Insurance and says their list is comprised of cities with populations of at least a half-million. Toohey says the Omaha area ranked 8th last year, so the metro has moved up two notches. Des Moines fell one position, from 19th, but is in the Top 20 for the fourth year in a row. He says the rankings are based on a series of different criteria.

Categories include: economic stability, crime statistics, the risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, air quality and environmental hazards. Toohey says other factors are considered as well. It’s a combination of multiple elements, like: the weather, the crime, motor vehicle fatalities, employment rates and life expectancy. The top “most secure” cities on the list include: Bethesda, Maryland at number one, followed by Grand Rapids, Michigan; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Austin, Texas; and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

(Radio Iowa)

On Friday night, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office arrested 22-year old Danielle Rene Bammer of Villisca for Domestic Assault/simple following an incident in the 100 block of W. 4th Street in Villisca. Bammer was transported to the Montgomery County Jail where she was held pending an appearance before the magistrate.

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) — An Onawa mother has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the drowning death of her young son. Ashley Cameron received the sentence Friday in Monona County District Court. The 25-year-old was convicted in May of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment resulting in death for the drowning of 15-month-old Markis Dahms.

Prosecutors say Cameron drowned her son after she held his head under a running faucet. Cameron told investigators she was cleaning him after the child had vomited in the bathtub. She says she repeated that process as he vomited several more times.

Cameron testified that she’d left Markis in the tub to get some items and found him face down in the water. Her attorney suggested that the boy may have had a seizure.

An Audubon man was arrested Thursday on an assault charge. According to the Audubon P-D, 19-year old Kaz Ryan Cozad was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault. Cozad was transported to the Audubon County Sheriffs Office to appear before a magistrate.