Royal receives DNR Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant

More than $289,000 in 50 percent cost-share grants were recently awarded to 115 of Iowa's rural fire departments to aid their efforts in protecting Iowans and their property from wildfires. The grants offer valuable funding assistance for wildfire suppression, personal protective and communications equipment.

Locally, Royal received a grant. The funds are made possible through Iowa DNR Forestry, in cooperation with US Forest Service - State and Private Forestry.

All Iowa fire departments should submit Wildland Fire Reports whenever they respond to a wildland fire or provide assistance to a prescribed or controlled wildland fire. Wildland fire reporting forms are available at http://www.iowadnr.gov/fire.

Departments returning these reports receive priority points when the Volunteer Fire Assistance grant applications are scored. These wildland fire reports are compiled locally and nationally and are reported to Congress.

ILCC receives $1M grant for Career Academy Incentive Fund

Iowa Lakes Community College was recently awarded a $1 million grant to develop a Regional Career Academy through the new Career Academy Incentive Fund. Only three other institutions in Iowa received the grant: Des Moines Area Community College, Iowa Western Community College and North Iowa Area Community College.

The grant will increase access to career academy programs in high-demand fields through a new regional center. Students in partnering school districts will benefit from industry partnerships, earn high school and college credit, and gain technical and traditional academic skills offered through career and technical education (CTE) programs.

Iowa Lakes will use the funding to establish a new regional center on the Spirit Lake Campus to expand career academy programming to students starting with four surrounding districts, including Okoboji, Harris-Lake Park, Spirit Lake and Estherville-Lincoln Central. Students attending the Spirit Lake Campus Regional Career Academy can take classes while earning high school and college credit in the following Iowa Lakes programs: Agribusiness Technology, Electrical Technology, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Technology, Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and Patient Care.

The Career Academy Incentive Fund was established by a 2019 law that extends a statewide penny sales tax for school infrastructure, called Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE), through January 2051.

At least $1 million will be awarded annually to support career academy partnerships among community colleges, school districts, business and industry, Regional Planning Partnerships, Area Education Agencies, and others to increase student access to college programs, state-of-the-art equipment, and career paths in Iowa's in-demand fields.

Expanding student access to high-quality career and technical education is part of the Future Ready Iowa initiative, focused on growing a skilled workforce in all regions of the state by connecting more Iowans to the education and training needed for high-demand careers.

Chad Salaets named to USF dean's list

Chad Salaets, of Hartley, was named to the fall 2021 dean's list at the University of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, S.D. Salaets is majoring in Medical Laboratory Science and Chemistry.

He is among more than 550 students named to the fall dean's list. To qualify, students must earn a term grade point average of 3.5 or greater on a 4.0 scale.

Nominations now accepted for NCC Alumnus of the Year

Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon is seeking nominations for the 2022 NCC Outstanding Alumnus of the Year.

If you know of an NCC alumnus who has done outstanding work in his or her industry, has done exceptional volunteer work, received a prestigious award or obtained some other notable achievement, you are invited to nominate that individual. Accomplishments can be of a personal or professional nature.

Nominate a friend, co-worker, family member or even yourself by visiting http://www.nwicc.edu/alumnus-of-the-year/ and filling out the Alumnus of the Year nomination form. All nominations must be received by March 4, 2022. This outstanding alumnus will be recognized during one of NCC's 2022 commencement ceremonies.

Primghar man re-elected to state fair board

Six members of the Iowa State Fair Board were re-elected during the Iowa Association of Fairs Conference and Annual Meeting held Dec. 10-12 in Des Moines.

Delegates who attended the meeting from six geographic districts in Iowa elected two board members to serve two-year staggered terms on the Iowa State Fair board. Directors who were re-elected include Darwin Gaudian, of Primghar, who will represent the northwest district. He was also re-elected vice president of the board.

The other board member who represents this area is Dave Hoffman, of LeMars.

Despite dry November, drought conditions improve and stabilize

After a very wet October, November was drier than normal, but conditions improved over the month. As the state enters winter, conditions have stabilized, according to the most recent Iowa DNR Water Summary Update.

Shallow groundwater conditions, as well as soil moisture, are showing improvement. Over meteorological autumn (September, October and November), precipitation was nearly normal.

"Although the state did not receive normal rainfall in November, the extra rain we did get in October along with November's rainfall is enough to continue the trend of improvement," said Tim Hall, Iowa DNR hydrology resources coordinator, in a news release. "There is still time for December rainfall to soak into the ground before widespread soil freezing, and anything we get will improve conditions for the start of the 2022 spring season."

Statewide average precipitation in November was 0.92 inches, or about half of what is normally expected. Statewide average snowfall was just 0.1 inches, well below the average of 2.6 inches.

Streamflow and soil moisture conditions to show improvement, which is a good indicator of potential conditions for the spring of 2022.

Fall enrollment increases in most Iowa school districts

The Iowa Department of Education this week released new 2021 fall enrollment statistics for Iowa's 327 school districts showing an increase of nearly 1,472 students from last year. Overall this increase represents a 0.30 percent rise in certified enrollment this fall at 485,630 compared to 484,159 last year.

Certified enrollment is used to determine funding for schools and differs slightly from the actual headcount of students enrolled. Certified enrollment increased at 169 school districts representing 52 percent of all public school districts in the state. Waukee had the largest increase followed by Ankeny, Pleasant Valley, Clear Creek Amana, Dallas Center-Grimes, Norwalk, Ames, Southeast Polk, Bondurant-Farrar, Iowa City and Cedar Falls.

Conversely, Des Moines Public Schools had the largest decrease in certified enrollment from last year followed by Council Bluffs, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Mason City, Muscatine, Nevada, Creston, South Tama and Davenport.

Pre-K, ninth grade and kindergarten had the largest increases at 2,019, 1,102 and 916 students, respectively. The number of English learners also increased to 31,681, up from 30,410 last year. About 74 percent of the increased enrollment in English learners is from students whose home language is Spanish.

Fewer students enrolled in home school assistance programs this school year. A total of 7,707 students were enrolled in fall 2021 compared to 8,735 in fall 2020. In a home school assistance program, students receive some services through their local school district. Iowa also allows for home schooling through competent private instruction and independent private instruction, so not all families use the home school assistance program.

Parsons named chair of international fair association

Jeremy Parsons of the Clay County Fair was named 2022 chairman of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) during the business meeting at the 2021 IAFE Convention & Trade Show. The Convention took place Nov. 28-Dec. 1 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Parsons will serve in this international leadership role for 2022, spearheading the direction of the organization, which currently has more than 1,500 fairs and affiliated organizations worldwide.

He becomes only the sixth Iowan to serve as the chair of the IAFE, an organization with roots dating back over a century. He joins former Clay County Fair manager Myles Johnson, who served as chairman in 1990, and four managers of the Iowa State Fair (A.R. Corey, Lloyd Cunningham, Marion Lucas and Gary Slater).

Parsons' nearly 30 years of fair experience, which started when he was a teenager, has included time as a volunteer at the Decatur County Fair in Leon, Iowa, and as a seasonal employee at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines and Missouri State Fair in Sedalia. After spending 11 years as a high school teacher and coach at Newtown-Harris High School in Newtown, Mo., he served as executive director of the Missouri State Fair Foundation before being named CEO/manager of the Clay County Fair in 2011.

His responsibilities at "The World's Greatest County Fair" include leading all aspects of the year-round operation of the 240-acre Clay County Fair & Events Center, orchestrating details for the annual fair and hundreds of non-fair events, and overseeing 12 full-time employees.

A passionate advocate for the fair industry and education, Parsons is involved in several industry organizations, including the IAFE. He graduated from the Institute of Fair Management in 2015 and received his Certified Fair Executive status in 2017. He is a past president of the Mid-West Fairs Association.

Parsons is heavily involved in his community, currently serving as a member of the Spencer Community School Board of Education. He is also past president of the Spencer Chamber of Commerce and the Clay County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Originally from Leon, Iowa, Parsons has a B.A. degree in English from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., and a M.A. degree in education from William Woods University in Fulton, Mo.

He has four priorities in life: Faith, family, the Chicago Cubs and fairs. He and his wife, Kelsi, have three sons and are active members of Spencer First Baptist Church.

Register now for Crop Advantage Series in January

After a year hiatus, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will again offer the Crop Advantage Series to producers during January 2022. Extension specialists and field agronomists will present the latest crop production research and information for the upcoming growing seasons to producers, agronomists and industry leaders.

"There is no other program during the year when this many extension specialists present information at one location as occurs at Crop Advantage meetings," said Field Agronomist Joel DeJong in a news release. "In 2020, nearly 2,000 individuals attended one of the meetings across the state, representing all 99 Iowa counties and surrounding states. Eighty-four percent of attendees responding to follow-up surveys said information from Crop Advantage would likely save them between $5 and $20 per acre."

Each Crop Advantage Series location has a slightly different agenda, with sessions held Jan. 4 in Sheldon, Jan. 5 in Storm Lake, Jan. 11 in Okoboji, and Jan. 26 in LeMars. The agenda generally features two morning keynote speakers and a customizable afternoon schedule, but agendas do vary.

For example, DeJong said that the Sheldon, Storm Lake, Okoboji and LeMars locations will feature two morning keynote speakers. Extension Entomologist Erin Hodgson will begin the day at 10 a.m. with "Management Strategies for Corn Rootworm." Ag Economist Dr. Chad Hart will follow with a session titled "2022 Crop Market Outlook." After lunch, attendees can choose from three topics offered during three 50-minute time periods to create their own educational agenda. Topics include nutrient input decisions, weed management for 2022, gall midge and fall armyworm management, how cover crops and row spacing alter weed competition, carbon markets and on-farm research results.

All meetings are approved for Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) continuing education credits, and every location offers the opportunity for private pesticide applicators to receive continuing education credits. To qualify for the pesticide continuing education, an individual must attend all day and add the session offered for this at the end of the day.

Early registration for each location is $60. Late registration made less than seven days prior to the meeting or on-site is $75. Registration includes lunch and printed proceedings. Online registration and additional information are available at http://www.cropadvantage.org/ or from the local Extension office.

For more information, contact DeJong at (712) 546-7835.