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U.S.D.A. issues new corn estimate

September 30, 2011 By

A new U.S.D.A. estimate   released just this morning, is likely to drive the price of corn down lower. U.S.D.A. analysts now estimate there’s about 1.13 billion bushels of corn from last year’s harvest in storage right now than there was a year ago.

That figure is much higher than the previous U.S.D.A. figure. It means the corn being stored at grain elevators and on farms in bins or silos could make up for a lower 2011 harvest. Corn prices had surged over the past year because of concerns the supply would not match demand.

However, corn prices have fallen about $1.50 over the past month.

Filed Under: Agriculture Tagged With:

Iowa city man sentenced on drug trafficing charges

September 30, 2011 By

A man caught in an investigation of drug trafficking in southeast Iowa is being sent to federal prison. On Thursday, 22-year-old Antonio Murray of Iowa City was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of parole.

This spring he pled guilty to conspiring to distribute at least 280 grams of crack cocaine from July through November of last year. He also pled guilty to a gun charge. Murray’s arrest was made after law enforcement in the Iowa City area began an investigation into what prosecutors called “a significant drug trafficking organization in Iowa City.”

Prosecutors say it distributed “large amounts” of crack in southeast Iowa.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Three taken to hospital after fire in Milford

September 30, 2011 By

Fire swept through a northwest Iowa hotel early this morning, forcing the building to be evacuated.

The fire was reported around 2 A.M. at the Rodeway Inn, just south of the Okoboji lakes, in Milford. Milford Fire Chief Jim Carpenter says the two-story building was fully engulfed when he arrived.

“I never went to the station, I came direct from my house,” Chief Carpenter says. “I beat the first truck and we had fire coming out of the south end of the building and the full width of the building and halfway through when I got here.”

He says three people were found huddled in an upstairs bathroom and all three were safely rescued. They were taken to a hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. The cause of the blaze hasn’t yet been determined.

By Ryan Long, KICD, Spencer

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Fall signals the start of flu shot season

September 30, 2011 By

The leaves are starting to turn color, the harvest is underway, and that means flu season isn’t far behind. Iowa Department of Public Health Medical Director, Patricia Quinlisk says it’s never too early to prepare yourself to fight the flu.

She says the best time to get the shot is whenever you can get it now that fall is here, as the vaccine lasts from nine months to one year, so you will be protected for the whole season.

Dr. Quinlisk doesn’t expect anything out of the ordinary for this year. Quinlisk says they are seeing the same basic strains of the flu they’ve seen the last couple of years, and the H-1-N-1 strain is still circulation. She says the vaccine this year does include H-1-N-1 and it’s particularly important for children to get vaccinated as it tends to hit them pretty hard.

Quinlisk says anyone over six months of age should get a flu shot, but there’s no way to tell how many people actually follow that advice. Quinlisk says it’s hard to tell how many people get shots because they are available in a lot of places, but she says Iowa always ranks high in the estimates of the number of shots given.

If you work a job where you have a lot of interaction with others, then you’ll likely be more susceptible to the flu. She says anyone who sees a lot of people, such as in a store, will be more vulnerable. Quinlisk says school age kids are the most vulnerable because they often don’t do a good job of covering their mouths when they sneeze.

An estimated 300,000 Iowans gets the flu every year and together, flu and pneumonia are one of the top 10 causes of death in Iowa.

For more information on influenza, visit the Department of Public Health’s website here: www.idph.state.ia.us/Cade/Influenza.aspx?pg=FluHome .

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

I.S.U. students showing interest in financial literacy class

September 30, 2011 By

A growing number of students at Iowa State University are interested in boosting their financial literacy. Student enrollment in a one-credit, online “Personal Finance in Early Adulthood” course has tripled from two years ago.

Doug Borkowski, director of I.S.U.’s Financial Counseling Clinic, says the course is just one way students are trying to lighten their debt load. “We’ve had an increase in one-on-one counseling, workshop presentations and an increase in enrollment in the two offerings of personal finance courses,” Borkowski said.

ISU also offers a three-credit course related to personal finance. Enrollment in that course has increased from 187 in 2009 to 449 this year. The courses cover topics such as insurance, budgeting, investments and handling student loans.

“We’re really trying to cover everything that a student needs to know to survive…it’s not just, ‘cut up your credit cards, they’re getting you into trouble,’” Borkowski explained. A national report last year found Iowa ranked fourth among the state for average student loan debt carried by university and college graduates.

Borkowski says the fact that more students at I.S.U. are seeking financial advice might just help decrease that debt. “I think the big benefit is more students are gaining knowledge and finding out more information about issues they’re going to face related to personal/family finance,” Borkowski said.

In 2009, 74%t of students who graduated from an Iowa college had loan debt.

Filed Under: Business, Education Tagged With:

Dry conditions and high winds lead to farm fires

September 30, 2011 By

Thursday’s high winds helped fuel a large field fire in northern Iowa’s Hancock County. Kanawha Fire Chief J.R. Langfitt says they were called out to three different field fires, with the largest one being started by a combine at about 1:45 P.M. west of Kanawha. Chief Langfitt called for help from at least eight other area fire departments.

Lanfitt says the Corwith and Wesley fire departments were immediately paged out to the fire, along with the Britt, Garner, Klemme, Goodell, Belmond and Renwick being called in to assist shortly after. He says farmers also helped their departments, bringing out rippers to help set up a fire break to contain the fire.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Colorado company proposes alternative energy plant for Mason City

September 29, 2011 By

A Colorado company plans to build an alternative energy plant in Mason City. Creative Energy Systems proposes a $35-million plant that would transform waste headed for the landfill into a synthetic gas, then into electricity. Company president Joe Yavorski says one challenge was finding a county-owned landfill to work with instead of a corporate waste handler.

“Waste Management has a lot of the trash stream locked down,” Yavorski says. “They make a lot of money burying trash and running landfills.” It means the company had to look for a community-based landfill, like the Landfill of North Iowa, that was willing to listen to their proposal and allow access to their waste stream.

Yavorski says there are similar “gasification” facilities like this in Europe and Africa, and this would be the first-of-its-kind in North America. Minnesota has several open-burn incineration-style plants, but this plant would not be the closed-style and would be the first in America at the 10-megawatt size.

Yavorski says they wanted to build the plant in Colorado, but it’s not one of 24 states that consider waste-to-energy products as renewable energy. That designation allows for tax credits to be used by companies accepting the energy, which in this case, is Alliant Energy.

Yavorski says they’re not only focused on creating renewable energy but also on creating at least 50 jobs in the Mason City area. He hopes this facility will set an example for similar plants to be built throughout the nation. He says they could automate the plants and have just over 20 employees, but the company wants to make this plant a showcase so they can bring in other potential clients and expand.

Creative Energy Systems is working on a deal with Mason City for a ten-year tax abatement. The proposal is scheduled to be discussed at the city council’s October 4th meeting.

By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government Tagged With:
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