Sheldon FFA Members Attend Precision Ag Day

Sheldon FFA at SutherlandSheldon, Iowa — More than thirty Sheldon Community Schools FFA members recently attended a Precision Ag Day event in Sutherland, organized by Iowa State University Extension Outreach.

Sheldon FFA Advisor and Ag Instructor Gene Bomgaars tells us about the event.

Bomgaars talks about some of the individual stations his students visited during the Sutherland event.

In addition to stations featuring cutting edge agricultural technology, Bomgaars says his students were also exposed to animal science stations.

Bomgaars says it looks like the Sheldon FFA will amount to between 60 and 70 students again this year, with 29 of those in the 9th grade class, which he described as a feeder class for the FFA program.  He says that class teaches students that ag is about food production, which is a highly technical field.


Several File Nomination Papers For November Election

vote_hereNorthwest Iowa — Several northwest Iowa residents have filed to get their names on the ballot for the November 8th City Elections by Thursday’s 5 pm filing deadline.  Here are the candidates:

In Sheldon, incumbent Greg Geels will be unopposed for his At-Large seat.  Peter Hamill will be the lone name on the ballot for the 1st Ward seat currently held by Ron Rensink.  Rensink is not seeking reelection.  In Ward 3, incumbent Brad Hindt will be running unopposed to retain his council seat.  In addition, Sheldon voters will be asked to approve a two percent increase in the city’s Hotel/Motel Tax.

In Archer, incumbent Mayor Karen Storm will be the only name on the ballot for the Mayor’s job.  For the Archer City Council, incumbent Leo Kuiper and Richard Luedke will be seeking the two seats that are up for election.

In Hartley, incumbent Clayton Pyle will face challenger John P. Lyman for the Mayor’s post.  Roxann Swanson and incumbent Jerry Olson are vying for the two available seats on the Hartley City Council.

In Primghar, incumbent Mayor Kurtis C. Edwards will be the only name on the ballot for the Mayor’s job.  For the Primghar City Council, incumbent Michael E. Wilbur will be running against challengers Doug A. Harms, Ken Miller, and Kevin Buck Smith for two available seats.  Vying to fill one unexpired term on the Primghar Council are Jack D. Black and Darin Logan.

In Sutherland, there will be a trio of Council seats available, and the three incumbents, Bruce Engelke, Steve Koch, and Jack L. Wallinga are the only three to file papers.

Voters in Calumet will elect three people to City Council positions, from among five people who are seeking the offices, including incumbents David Schmidt and Brandon Schueder, as well as Vickie Rausch, Tyler Sechler and Brian Williams.

The City of Paullina will have one name on the ballot for Mayor.  Justin Stamer is the only person to seek that seat.  On the Paullina Council there are three opening, but only one person seeking election.  Incumbent John Ihle has filed for reelection.

In Sanborn, Mayor Duane Van Veldhuizen will be running unopposed to retain his position.  There are four candidates for the three available City Council seats.  Incumbent Brian Visser is seeking reelection, along with David Marra, Denny Postma and Tim Devitt.

In Alvord, Incumbent Mark Nagel is running unopposed. For Council Member, Incumbent Joseph Kramer is running unopposed, and no one filed for a second position on the council, so the winner will be a write-in.

In Doon, Incumbent Mayor Tim Mantel is running unopposed. Two incumbents are running unopposed on the city council. They are Brian Denekas and Zach Mulder.

In George, two people are vying for the Mayor’s chair. They are James L. Cuttell and Katie Jane Koopman. For the council, there are six people running for three positions. They are challenger Ande Lynn Bruinsma, incumbent Kary Conaway, challenger William Koopman, incumbent Norman L. Riemersma, challenger Carola Oehmsen Vivian and challenger John Henry Vivian.

In Inwood, Gerald Brands is running unopposed for mayor. Three people are running for two positions on the council. They are Rebecca Bixler, Chad Evans, and Jennifer Jenson.

In Larchwood, incumbent Dean Snyders is running unopposed for mayor. Three incumbents and one challenger are running for three council seats. Incumbents Brian Meffert, Sharon Meffert, and Ted Underberg will face a challenge from Tanner Tracy. Larchwood voters will also be asked if the City should be authorized to establish a municipal gas utility by constructing the necessary facilities for the operation of a natural gas distribution system.

In Lester, incumbent Daniel R. Gerber is running unopposed for mayor. The three council members who are running are unopposed for their seats. They are Curtis Doorneweerd, Jeff Hoogeveen, and Ladell Kellenberger. Lester residents will also be asked the same question about establishing a municipal gas utility.

In Little Rock, incumbent Mayor Jeff Kruse is running unopposed. Two people are running unopposed for the council, but three chairs are open, so one winner will be a write-in. The incumbents are LeRoy Buss and Joe Schilling.

Rock Rapids Mayor Jason Chase is running unopposed. Four people are running for three positions on the Rock Rapids City Council. Incumbents Marlene Bowers and Scott A. Schneidermann are running, as are challengers Marcus Ditsworth and Steve Wells.

In Ashton, Patrick H. Devries is running unopposed for mayor. Doyle Trei and Kay Winkel are unopposed running for two council seats.

In Harris, Gregory Spaethe is running unopposed for mayor. Four people are running for three seats on the council. They are Pamela Kramer, Vic Mckenna, Amy Muftah, and Bobbie Kennedy Smith. Jon Sweet is running unopposed to fill a vacancy on the council.

No one filed papers for the position of Melvin Mayor. So the winner will be a write-in. The council will also have a write-in position because only Amy Baker filed papers, and two seats are up for election.

Arlyn Duane Pedley is the only candidate to file for the Mayor of Ocheyedan. Three people filed to serve on three seats on the council. They are Kevin L. Hertz, Mark Kruger, and Mike Schuck. However, two people have filed for one spot to fill a vacancy on the council in Ocheyedan. They are Gary Crandall and Kevin Heemstra.

In Sibley, Mayor Jerry L. Johnson is running unopposed, as are Janice Henningsen for a Councilmember At Large position and Tim Nobles for Councilmember, Ward 2.

In Alton, councilmembers Leon Keith Kleinhesselink and Steve Zenor are both unopposed for their council seats. Jerry Henrich is unopposed for his position of hospital trustee.

In Boyden, Tim Lammers is not running again for the mayor chair, and no candidates have filed, so the winner will be a write-in. Four people are running for three seats on the council. They are Laryl Koerselman, Robert J. Koerselman, incumbent Kim Ochsendorf and Arthur Van Bruggen.

In Chatsworth, no one filed papers to be the mayor, so the winner will be a write-in there as well. Incumbents Gregory Arens, Robin Falde, Virgil Lidgett, and Clifford Puhl are all running again for their council seats, but Nathan Lidgett did not file, nor did anyone else file for the chair, so the winner will be a write-in.

In Granville, Karl Kellen has filed for re-election as the town’s mayor. Council incumbents Curtis J. Christoffel, Kay Koob, and Christopher Stotz also filed papers and are unopposed. John Schuver is unopposed for a council position that is open, due to a vacancy.

Hawarden mayor Ricard R. Porter is unopposed for re-election. Three people filed for two seats on the Hawarden council. They are Derek Sharp Winferd Allen, John Feldhacker, and Travis Olson, who is an incumbent. Four people are running for three hospital trustee positions. They are Dan Cain, James Feldhacker, Matt Hummel, and Kathy Jacobs.

In the Hospers City Council race, four people are running for three seats. They are Mandi Kramer, Raul Martinez, Kelly LeRoy Schulz, and John Solsma. Schulz and Solsma are incumbents. Danielle Kleinhesselink is running unopposed to fill a vacancy on the council.

In Hull, City Councilman Roger Buys is unopposed running for Mayor of Hull. Council incumbent Mike Broek is also unopposed running for his chair, as is Kimberly A. Wielenga in her quest to fill Roger Buys’ chair, and Mark A. Kreun to fill a vacancy.

Ireton Mayor James Lewis is unopposed in his quest to remain the mayor. Four people filed papers for three positions on the Ireton council. They are Kevin Eisma, Craig Peterson, Devin Vander Brink, and Nathan Van Gorp.

Incumbent Matlock mayor Charles Schwebach is unopposed, as are councilmembers Scott Maggert and James D. Meendering.

In the Maurice City Council race, barring any surprises, three incumbents will remain on the council as they are running unopposed. They are Roger De Weerd, Randy Lee Hoekstra, and Isaac L. Holtrop.

In Orange City, Mayor Deb De Haan is unopposed. Four people are running for three available positions on the council. Rick Droog, Chad Oolman, Tony Vande Brake, and Earl Woudstra. Three people are running unopposed as hospital trustees. They are Kathy Alons, Randy Jacobsma, and Tim Zeutenhorst. Orange City voters will also be asked if the City should change the term of members of the Library Board of Trustees to four years.

Rock Valley mayor Kevin J. Van Otterloo is unopposed in his re-election bid. Incumbent Jeff Koldenhoven and Mark Faber filed for the two available council chairs.

In Sioux Center, voters will have only one option for mayor, barring any write-ins. That would be incumbent Dennis J. Walstra. Incumbent Verlyn Rozeboom and Eric Moerman filed papers for the two available positions on the council. Dave Krahling will not be running this year. Sioux Center voters will also decide if the City should issue $4 million in General Obligation Capital Loan Notes for “aiding, planning and undertaking an urban renewal project which will involve the study, planning, design and construction of the US Highway #75 Enhanced Four Lane Improvement Project.”

Election day is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3rd.


Ernst Resolution Would Nullify WOTUS

Washington, DC — Iowa Senator Joni Ernst has collected the signatures of 46 other senators on a resolution that would rivernullify an Environmental Protection Agency rule that’s unpopular in farm country. The “Waters of the U.S.” rule — sometimes known by its acronym, WOTUS — outlines six types of waterways that the E-P-A and the Army Corps of Engineers say are subject to federal Clean Water Act regulation.


Other proposals attached to budget bills would block federal funding for implementing the rule. There’s a bill that essentially tells E-P-A officials to rewrite the rule and address some specific concerns. Now, the Ernst resolution seeks to get rid of the rule altogether.


All three of those proposals face a presidential veto. The Iowa Farm Bureau has suggested 97 percent of the land mass in Iowa now could face Clean Water Act regulation because of the rule, which went into effect in late August. Ernst calls the rule ill-conceived.


Iowa’s other U.S. Senator, Republican Chuck Grassley, is a co-sponsor of the Ernst resolution. Officials in the Environmental Protection Agency say their rule “is fundamental to protecting and restoring the nation’s water resources.” The 1972 Clean Water Act gave the federal government jurisdiction over “navigable” waters, but a series of court cases over the past few decades have caused confusion over what “navigable” means. The agency’s new rule is an attempt to clarify its authority, but critics like Ernst say the E-P-A has gone so far as to seek jurisdiction over the gullies in corn fields.


Bob Stallman, American Farm Bureau president says the new WOTUS rule will have “an extremely dampening effect on our ability to produce food, fiber and fuel in this country.”

Story From Radio Iowa


IUB Hearings Set On Bakken pipeline

Northwest Iowa — The Iowa Utilities Board has set hearing dates for the controversial Bakken crude oil pipeline that’s proposed to pass through 18 Iowa counties, including Lyon, Sioux, and O’Brien.

file photo
file photo

The board is considering whether to grant eminent domain requests to Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, so the company can acquire land and pump crude oil from fields in North Dakota, diagonally across Iowa, to a terminal in Illinois.

Opponents of the pipeline have raised environmental concerns and several landowners have filed a lawsuit against the IUB saying farmland cannot be taken for eminent domain unless it is for a public utility.

The board has scheduled November 12 for public comment and November 16 for an evidentiary hearing. Both will take place at the Boone County Fairgrounds Community Building. Energy Transfer Partners wants the pipeline operational by the end of 2016.

Story from Radio Iowa


Awareness Week Promotes Car Safety For Children

Northwest Iowa — This is National Child Passenger Safety Week. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for the age group 2 to 14 years old, based on the most current figures available from the National Center for Health Statistics.
seat belt
Sioux County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Nate Huizenga tells us that seat belts and car restraints save lives. He gives us the current Iowa child restraint law.


In fact, Huizenga says that’s something that you’ll hear a lot — that people recommend a more stringent standard than is actually the law. That’s often the case in regard to a belt-positioning booster seat. The law only requires that kids up to age six use a booster seat — but after age six, the law says they can just use the regular seat belt. The Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau says that they recommend that to graduate to an adult belt — a child must be able to sit with their back and bottom against the seat and with their knees bent at the edge of the seat. Huizenga says the difference exists because not all kids are the same.


He says seat belts and car seats save lives, and that they’d rather wonder what would have happened had someone not been buckled in, than to see the aftermath of a crash in which restraints were not used.


Officers also recommend checking the expiration date on child restraints as they do expire. One of the reasons for this is that manufacturers sometimes recall seats due to defects or other issues.

If you need help installing a seat correctly, many hospitals and health departments help people with this. If you can’t find somewhere that provides this service, law enforcement officers are usually glad to help you find someone who can help.

Click here for a brochure about the Iowa Child Restraint Law.


Special Election Scheduled To Replace Rep. Soderberg

Des Moines, Iowa — A special election has been scheduled to replace a northwest Iowa legislator who has taken over as general manager of the the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives.

(file photo)
(file photo)

Chuck Soderberg of Le Mars used to represent Iowa House District 5, and started his new job on Tuesday, September 8th.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has signed a proclamation directing the special election to be held on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015, coinciding with the date of the general election this fall.

House District 5 is comprised of Plymouth and a portion of Woodbury counties. The district includes the communities of Akron, Hinton, Le Mars, Lawton, Moville, and Pierson. A full district map can be found here.