News

with Nancy Middaugh Don’t you love to win a prize? You register somewhere and weeks later a package arrives that you weren’t even expecting. We like when that happens at the library, too.

The Army Corps of Engineers released the following information on the spring flood forecast for the Missouri River Basin on Friday, March 24. Flood Risk While the flood risk across the Missouri Basin varies for this spring, much of the basin is expected to have a reduced flood risk due to the ongoing drought. However, there are parts of the basin where near-normal or even enhanced flood risk is possible due to near-toabove average mountain snowpack and a significant plains snowpack. Below normal mountain runoff is expected for all but the North Platte basin, where an above normal runoff year is expected. Flood Risk Considerations Soils are still very dry across much of the Missouri Basin.

U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), joined by a bipartisan group of their senate colleagues and every single female senator, are calling for the designation of March 23, 2023, as Women in Agriculture Day. In celebration of Women’s History Month and National Agriculture Week, Ernst, who grew up on a family farm in Southwest Iowa and serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, is highlighting the vital role women play in agriculture operations and industry.

The Fremont County Tourism Board oversees tourism funds generated by the Fremont County Hotel/ Motel tax and allocates those funds for projects or events that are anticipated to increase tourism within Fremont County.

Research has consistently shown that calves born earlier in the season are more profitable. To help beef producers optimize the potential for getting more females bred earlier, the Iowa Beef Center at Iowa State University and Select Sires are partnering on a breeding season workshop set for April 13.

Unlike many conditions, stroke is not necessarily linked to aging. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 38 percent of people hospitalized for stroke in 2014 were younger than 65. Stroke is a leading cause of death for Americans, but stroke risk will vary based on race and ethnicity, among other factors. Blacks are nearly twice as likely to experience a stroke as Whites, and Blacks have the highest rate of death due to stroke, according to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Here are a few other stroke stats, courtesy of the CDC.

What separates average-to-good Iowa towns from thriving ones, former Governor Terry Branstad often said, is the presence of locally owned banks and a dedicated community newspaper. Community newspapers are a big part of what makes Iowa, well, Iowa.