Organic Farms In Iowa On The Increase
CASCADE, Iowa (AP) – The number of organic farms in Iowa is growing rapidly, but they still constitute only a small percentage of farms in the state. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that Iowa has seen a 42 percent increase in organic farms from 2008 to 2015. The state had more than 670
organic farms in 2015, which was less than 1 percent of the farms in the state. Iowa Organic Association Managing Director Kate Mendenhall tells the Telegraph Herald that a growing demand for organic products is driving the increase in organic farms. Kim and Marvin Lynch had their Cascade dairy farm certified as organic in 2009. The couple had to stop using fertilizers, insecticides and synthetic herbicides for three years before becoming certified. —
Prison Officials Don’t Plan To Re-open Closed Facilities
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa prison officials don’t plan to reopen four prison facilities with room for hundreds of inmates that had been temporarily closed because of budget cuts.
The Des Moines Register reports that the three satellite prison units in Harpers Ferry, Clarinda and Fort Madison as well as a community corrections facility in Sheldon won’t be considered for reopening in the state Department of Corrections’ 2018 budget request to the Legislature.
Corrections Director Jerry Bartruff ordered the closures in February to comply with a $5.5 million budget reduction.
An Iowa prison spokesman says staff at those locations were offered positions elsewhere in the department.
Republican Sen. Michael Breitbach of Strawberry Point says the decision not to reopen was likely because of budget issues and a decrease in inmates in the prison system.
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Father and Son Burned While Refueling ATV
HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a man and his 7-year-old son were burned while refueling an all-terrain vehicle in southwest Iowa.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were dispatched around 4:40 p.m. Saturday to check a report about the fire just outside Hamburg. Deputies were told fuel ignited while the ATV was being filled and that 43-year-old Shane Adams and his son, Chevy, were burned.
The two were taken to Grape Community Hospital in Hamburg and then flown to a burn center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Waverly Bridge Will Only Be Used As A Pedestrian Bridge
WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) – The Waverly City Council in northeast Iowa has decided the replacement for a historic bridge will be designed only for pedestrians – no cars or trucks. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the council voted 4-3 Monday for one of the 18 pedestrian-only options for crossing the Cedar River. The new bridge’s estimated cost: nearly $1.4 million. The 100-year-old structure it will replace is known as the “green bridge” for the color of its metal. It’s been closed since February 2015, after inspectors found corrosion on vital parts. —
Fort Dodge Shooting
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – Authorities are trying to find a man suspected of shooting to death another man in Fort Dodge. On Tuesday Fort Dodge police charged 27-year-old Levi Gibbs III with first-degree murder. He’s wanted in the slaying of 32-year-old Shane Wessels, who was found lying in a roadway early on Sept. 3. Online court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for Gibbs. State detectives have joined Fort Dodge officers in investigating reports that there had been some sort of altercation in the street before the shooting.
Voters Say No To Closing Of School
REINBECK, Iowa (AP) – Voters have defeated a proposal to dissolve an eastern Iowa school district. More than 69 percent of voters said no Tuesday to dissolving the Gladbrook-Reinbeck district in Grundy County. The proposal would have divided the district between five neighboring districts. The proposal was created after residents submitted a petition to dissolve the district. The issue arose in May 2015, after the school board voted to close Gladbrook’s elementary and middle school building to save money. The move consolidated all grades in Reinbeck.
