7th Annual Jaywalk-A-Thon raises over $44,000
The 7th Annual Jaywalk-A-Thon took place on Friday, October 2nd at the Gehlen Catholic School track. Amy Jungers, the Gehlen Catholic Schools Development Director, spoke about the event.
The fundraising goal for the Jaywalk-A-Thon was $40,000, and supporters shattered that goal by raising $44,000.
Jungers said the community support for this event went much further than fundraising.
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Sheldon Fire Chief comments on recent agricultural facility incidents
In a span of 12 days, there have been three separate incidents involving agricultural facility explosions and fires in Sheldon.
On September 21st, an explosion was reported at a tower in the north part of the Kent Feeds facility. On October 1st, another explosion was reported at Kent Feeds, this time from a cooler in building 6. The next day, during the late hours of October 2nd, Sheldon Fire responded to a visible flame coming from the 3rd floor baghouse at AG Processing on 2nd Avenue. About 45 firefighters responded to the latest incident and used about 5,000 gallons of water.
Concern has grown about these incidents being connected to a larger problem, but Sheldon Fire Chief Brad Hindt was quick to put those concerns to rest. When asked about a potential connection between the incidents, Chief Hindt simply said each event “happened in different plants in different buildings with different operations.” He says there is no connection between the three incidents.
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Wells Enterprises to showcase innovations in Las Vegas
Wells Enterprises will showcase portfolio wide innovations that bring frozen variety, novelty and premiumization to convenience stores at the 2026 National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show. The expanded lineup brings iconic candy brands into ice cream from Ferrero brands including Kinder Bueno White, Butterfinger, 100 Grand and Baby Ruth, as well as Ferrara’s Lemonhead and Trolli.
Attendees at the show will get a first look at the new lineup of bold innovations and samples of select products onsite at the 2026 NACS Show on October 6th-9th in Las Vegas at the Ferrero booth and Ferrara Candy Company booth.
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New online resource connects Iowans with conservation, environmental professionals
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has released the Iowa Conservation Professionals Map, an online resource designed to connect farmers and landowners directly with conservation experts working across the state, including specialists and staff from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Conservation professionals help landowners through every phase of protecting soil, water, and habitat resources, providing specialized site assessments, designing conservation practices, managing installations, and connecting landowners with funding opportunities. The new map highlights an extensive network of conservation professionals, and the directory helps connect landowners with conservation experts.
Every single acre in Iowa is covered by at least one dedicated professional, with some areas having access to as many as ten. Using the interactive tool, landowners simply enter an address or click a parcel of land to view available experts ranked from local watershed level to statewide agencies. Additional key partners, including USDA NRCS staff and Iowa DNR wildlife, forestry, and drinking water specialists, remain fully searchable through ISU Extension and Outreach’s established natural resources directory.
