News Center newsletter

Nearly 750 youth delegates, along with 4-H staff and volunteers, attended the 2017 State 4-H Conference & Animal Science ROUNDUP held on the Iowa State University (ISU) campus in Ames. Delegates participated in educational and fun workshops, were inspired by motivational speakers and enriched others' lives through community service projects before they enjoyed nightly entertainment of dancing, swimming, bowling, awards banquet and more. Youth experienced life in residential halls during their three-day stay. Animal Science delegates participated in specialized workshops with ISU faculty and staff focusing on beef, sheep, swine, poultry and horses, learning about new animal technologies and potential career opportunities. During the conference the 2017-18 Iowa State 4-H Council members were inducted and introduced, including northeast Iowa youth Hanna Schmitt and Hope Dohlman.

Submitted by Sara Berges, Allamakee SWCD

If you rent out farmland, it is important to know how your land is being managed by your tenants. Even if your tenant is a friend or relative, we encourage you to talk to them about their tillage, rotation, and conservation practices so that you are aware of the management.  Often, the only conversations between the landowner and tenant surround the rental rate and acres.  If you are a landowner who doesn’t live near your land or don’t see it often, good communication can be even more important.  Landowners may be more willing to reduce rent or offer longer leases if they feel that their ground is being well-managed through open, honest conversations with their tenant.

Assistance available through Iowa Water Quality Initiative

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today reminded Iowa farmers that funds are available to help install practices focused on protecting water quality.  Practices eligible for this funding are cover crops, no-till or strip till, or using a nitrification inhibitor when applying fertilizer.

The cost share rate for first-time users of cover crops is $25 per acre, no-till or strip till are eligible for $10 per acre and farmers using a nitrapyrin nitrification inhibitor when applying fall fertilizer can receive $3 per acre. Farmers are eligible for cost share on up to 160 acres.

First-time users that apply by July 28 will be the first applications funded.  First-time users that apply after July 28 will still receive priority consideration, but funds will also be made available to farmers that have used cover crops in the past for cost share assistance at $15 per acre.

The Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services has announced its policy for free and reduced price meals for children unable to pay the full price of meals served under the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and the Afterschool Care Snack Program.

State and Local school officials have adopted the family size and income criteria viewable in the chart accompanying this article for determining eligibility.

Households may be eligible for free or reduced price meal benefits one of four ways listed below.

Most return trips in consecutive years to the State Tournament at Fort Dodge would produce a message such as “We’re Back!”.

But, in its first-ever return trip to the season grand finale in consecutive seasons, the Kee softball team’s message once all was said and done in Fort Dodge was “We’re Back-to-Back!” as the softball Hawks not only returned to every team’s ultimate destination for a second consecutive season, but also returned home with a second consecutive Class 1A State Tournament Championship.

“This is an unbelievable feeling,” Kee softball coach Liz Hill said of her team’s repeat accomplishment as the best team in Iowa high school softball’s Class 1A. “I am so beyond excited, happy and proud of these girls and what they’ve accomplished. It’s really impressive, as far as what one might expect out of high school girls. They have worked so hard for a long time to accomplish what very few teams have been able to.”

Availability of book coincides with Mt. Hosmer Challenge for RAGBRAI Saturday in Lansing

by Julie Berg-Raymond

Other books have been written about Harriet Hosmer (October 9, 1830-February 21, 1908) - a neoclassical sculptor considered the most distinguished female sculptor in America during the 19th century, and the woman for whom Mt. Hosmer in Lansing is named.

Most of those books tend to focus solely on Hosmer’s unconventional life and career in the context of a society that observed strict gender norms. If Lansing and the hill named for a woman who spent one afternoon there, early in her life, are mentioned at all, it is most likely as a reference to one interesting event in a long and fascinating life.

General public invited to "fireside chat" with Dr. Jay Alberts this Friday on Parkinson's Disease

by Julie Berg-Raymond

According to RAGBRAI®’s official website (ragbrai.com), more than 326,650 people have participated in at least some part of the 44 rides since the event began, in 1973.

Since 2003, about 50 of those people have participated each year as part of a group led by Sanborn native Dr. Jay Alberts, a researcher at the Cleveland Clinic - ranked as one of the top hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report (2015), located in Cleveland, OH.
According to Dr. Alberts, “One unique aspect of our group is that we typically have seven to 12 Parkinson’s disease patients riding their own bike or on tandem throughout the week (of RAGBRAI).”

Wednesday evening, July 19, a storm producing high winds and heavy rain blew through the tri-state area, leaving a path of damage in its wake. According to the National Weather Service, the storm ultimately produced a confirmed F-1 tornado that caused severe damage in the Clayton County town of McGregor and ultimately produced wind gusts well in excess of 70 mph throughout the region, including in Allamakee County, that resulted in damage such as that pictured below.

Allamakee County Emergency Management Coordinator Corey Snitker reports that sirens were blown in Waukon due to the high wind gusts, and he says the southern half of the county experienced the worst wind damage, noting that the Rossville area appeared to be the hardest hit. The storm ultimately resulted in Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds making a disaster declaration for the four northeast Iowa counties of Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette and Winneshiek.

The Allamakee County Veterans Services Office has received a shipment of specially-published books in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The initial limited shipment of books is being made available to any veteran who served in a “Boots on Ground” capacity in Vietnam or as “Brown Water Navy” on the inland waters of Vietnam. The book is also available to any surviving spouses of these specifically-listed veterans.

Youth from Lansing (pictured in group photo above) and Waukon (pictured in group photo below) explored the wonderful world of worms in June. They received hands-on learning with roughly 1,000 composting worms. The youth started off with a worm questionnaire to test their knowledge and learned some surprising new facts, such as worms hatch from cocoons, they don’t have eyes or teeth, and they breathe through their skin. They were able to compare composting worms to nightcrawlers and get a better look at each with magnifying glasses. Youth learned more about worms while completing experiments which included testing if worms liked wet or dry surfaces, rough or smooth surfaces, if they preferred the light or dark, and also if worms had a preference for smells. Before leaving, youth made their own composting bins with newspaper, learning how much to add and how wet it should be.