Round Barn To Feature Farm Safety Agriculture Education Exhibit
(Le Mars) — Farming is listed as one of the most dangerous occupations in the nation with a high rate of injuries and fatalities per 100,000 workers. Farm related accidents cut across all demographics from children through senior citizens. The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce Agriculture Committee has decided to focus its attention on farm-related accidents and farm safety during this year’s “A ROUND the farm in the BARN” agricultural education exhibit. This marks the seventh time the Chamber Agriculture Committee has turned the famous century old Tonsfeldt Round Barn into an interactive center for agriculture education.
With the assistance from the FFA chapters of Plymouth County, this year’s exhibit will look at the six most common types of farm-related accidents that include chemical exposure, roll-overs, roadway collisions, mechanical entanglements, grain suffocation, and electrocution.
A news release issued by the Chamber Ag Comittee says, “Again this year, visitors to the famous round barn will see several inter-active and hands-on exhibits. We are fortunate to be able to showcase a display from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Ag Engineering Department that will test a person’s reaction time. The display requires visitors to place their hands flat on a table, then react by pressing a buzzer when they see a light flash. The timer then offers a digital read-out as to your reaction time. The visitor can then refer to an accompanying poster that indicates how many inches of your arm, foot, etc. would be entangled in an agricultural equipment such as a PTO based on the time of reaction.
Another featured display will ask people to pull on a rope to determine the amount of strength that would be needed to pull a victim from a flowing grain accident, and potential suffocation, inside a grain bin or grain wagon.
People may be surprised to learn that flowing grain can act much like quick sand, according to the news release. Within a few seconds an individual can be either partially buried, or completely buried, underneath the grain, and it takes a lot of strength to be able to rescue an individual from a grain related accident.
Visitors to the round barn exhibit will also be able to see if they can spot several potential farm dangers by viewing a model farm.
The Chamber Ag Committee is grateful for Kale Pearson for assisting with our focus on the theme “Farming in the Danger Zone,” by showcasing his hobby of collecting small model farm equipment and a typical farm scene.
“A ROUND the farm in the BARN” agricultural education exhibit will be on display during the Plymouth County Fair, July 28th – August 1st.
Rural Areas Of Iowa Hit By String Of Tornadoes – No Injuries Reported
(Lohrville, IA) — Iowa made it through June and the peak tornado season with just six confirmed twister sightings. The total went up quickly as severe storms Wednesday spawned multiple reports of tornadoes. One of the tornadoes touched down in Lake City at about 4:00 p-m, tearing down trees and
leaving all of the nearly 18-hundred residents without power. No injuries were reported. Damage was left behind by a tornado that touched down 15 minutes later just west of Lohrville in Calhoun County. Thousands more customers were also left without power. The storms brought rain and flash flood warnings for many areas.
Ernst Criticizes President’s Decision To Withdraw Troops From Afghanistan
(Washington, DC) — U-S Senator Joni Ernst is slamming President Joe Biden’s quick withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The Iowa Republican is a combat veteran and she says Biden is haphazardly withdrawing troops with no
plan for handling the consequences. Ernst has introduced a bill she says requires military, intelligence, and homeland security branches to take a hard look at the increased risk that a hurried withdrawal from Afghanistan poses to our homeland. It would also require those same officials to analyze and explain to Congress what kind of illicit activities are being carried out
at our southern border by terrorist groups and our adversaries around the globe.
Crop Duster Dumps Insecticide Before Crash In Carroll County
(Carroll, IA) — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says a crop duster dumped more than a dozen gallons of insecticide before it crashed Tuesday near Carroll. The D-N-R was warning people to stay away from the area near Swan Lake State Park until the chemicals are cleaned up. The pilot was injured and no names have been released. The Federal Aviation Administration says it is likely that engine failure was to blame for the crash. The plane is believed to be a total loss.
Hardin County Becomes Second Amendment Sanctuary; Others May Follow
(Eldora, IA) — Hardin County in central Iowa is the second county in the state to become a Second Amendment Sanctuary. The Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to that effect Wednesday morning. The vote was taken the day after Jasper County voted to become a Second Amendment Sanctuary.
Now, requests are being made of the Madison County Board of Supervisors.
Sheriff Jason Barnes says he took an oath to protect the Constitution of the United States and the State of Iowa. Barnes says, “That includes the Second Amendment.” Madison County Attorney Matt Schultz is in agreement. The proposed resolution supported by Barnes and Schultz is a verbatim copy of a
resolution on the website for the Iowa Firearms Coalition.
Sentencing Delayed For Man Convicted of Killing Mollie Tibbetts
(Montezuma, IA) — The man convicted of first-degree murder in the stabbing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts won’t be sentenced today (Thursday) after all. A judge has delayed the sentencing of Cristhian Bahena Rivera. This week, defense attorneys filed a motion after an inmate at the
Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility claimed a second inmate told him that he killed Tibbetts in Brooklyn in July 2018 and planned to dump her body near a Hispanic man to make the Hispanic man appear guilty. In an additional motion filed Tuesday night, this second inmate claims he saw Tibbetts bound and gagged at a trap house — a place where illegal drugs are sold. The new
defense motion also refers to 50-year-old James Manuel Lowe, who allegedly ran a trap house in New Sharon. Defense attorneys Chad and Jennifer Frese say they learned that Lowe had dated Sarah Harrelson of Montezuma. She’s the
mother of 11-year-old Xavior Harrelson, who has been missing since May 27th.
The Freses claim that prosecutors suppressed evidence and there should be a new trial for Bahena Rivera. That motion will be heard Thursday morning.
House Bill Would Allow Year-Round Sales of E-15 and Ethanol Blends
(Washington, DC) — A bill introduced by the Biofuels Caucus in the U-S House would overturn a federal court ruling and allow year-round sales of E-15 and higher blends of ethanol. Co-chair, Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne.
said, “we’re going to get language changed and codified, so that we don’t see any more of these court decisions based, really, off of old information.”
Fellow Iowa Representatives Ashley Hinson, Marianette Miller-Meeks and Randy Feenstra are co-sponsoring the measure. Axne says adverse court rulings that derailed year-round E-15 sales are based on information that’s four decades old. She cites a recent study which found using ethanol in a vehicle cuts
greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent and biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent.
