IARN — Fewer new loans to farmers continued to drive a pullback in agricultural lending activity. The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank reported this week that stronger prices for agricultural commodities, alongside continued support from government payments, may have reduced financing needs for some farmers and contributed to the slower pace of lending. A historically low number of new loans contributed to an increase in average loan size and drove a slight decrease in the overall volume of non-real estate loans at commercial banks in the fourth quarter. Read more
12 New Cases Of COVID-19 Reported Sunday
Northwest Iowa — Twelve additional cases of COVID-19 were reported by the Iowa Department of Public Health Sunday in the four-county area; five each in O’Brien and Sioux Counties and two in Lyon County. Osceola County reported no new cases. Read more
Disaster Relief Agency Seeks Volunteers, Stat, As COVID Continues
Statewide Iowa — The pandemic is being particularly difficult on non-profit groups which rely on volunteers to operate, and the American Red Cross is asking Iowans for help in order to help other Iowans in need. Read more
Grants Offered For Updated School Water Bottle Fountains
Statewide Iowa — The Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation is again offering grants to schools to replace drinking fountains with stations that have touchless water bottle fillers. Read more
How Are Your New Year’s Resolutions Holding Up?
Statewide Iowa — We’re more than two weeks into 2021 now and the experts say about eight in ten New Year’s resolutions are broken by the second week in February. Read more
Officials Monitoring Threats, Beefing Up Iowa Capitol Security
Statewide Iowa — Local, state and federal law enforcement officials say they are monitoring potential threats in Iowa leading up to inauguration day. Read more