02/10/22: Area Happenings & Accomplishments

Operation PB&J to benefit local backpack program

The H-M-S Kids Backpack Program is holding a peanut butter and jelly fundraiser. Those interested in contributing can do so by leaving a jar of peanut butter or jelly on the table near the check-out registers at Fiesta Foods.

Plastic jars only. See the ad on Page 5 for more details.

Named to dean's list at SDSU

Students from this area have been named to the dean's list for academic excellence after the fall 2021 semester at South Dakota State University in Brookings. To earn dean's list distinctions in SDSU's colleges, students must have completed a minimum of 12 credits and must have earned at least a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

The following who received dean's list recognition are students in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences at SDSU.

Everly: Zachary Martin Schoelerman (4.0).

Greenville: Ben Louis Hargens (4.0); Austin Lee Vanderhoff.

Melvin: Ashilyn Rose Hulstein.

City of Hartley audit report released

T.P. Anderson & Co., P.C., of Humboldt, has released an audit report for the City of Hartley.

According to the report, the city's receipts totaled $5,606,703 for the year ended June 30, 2021. They included $372,256 in property tax, $3,582,891 in charges for service, $291,508 in intergovernmental receipts and $211,360 in local option sales tax.

Disbursements for the year totaled $6,195,389. They included $427,408 in public safety, $426,144 for culture and recreation, $228,040 for public works and $3,812,397 for business-type activities.

A copy of the audit report is available for review in the city clerk's office, in the Office of Auditor of State and on the Auditor of State's website at https://auditor.iowa.gov/audit-reports.

NCC receives Employer Innovation Fund grant

Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon has received a 2022 Future Ready Iowa Employer Innovation Fund grant from the State of Iowa.

NCC will be creating an industry recognized non-credit certificate program in Industrial Maintenance. The $50,000 grant will specifically support the purchase of needed equipment for the training program.

This new industry-recognized, non-credit certificate program in Industrial Maintenance will focus on skills needed in both electrical and mechanical fields. The 200-hour program will train industrial maintenance technicians to maintain, repair and replace electrical and mechanical systems key to manufacturing processes. It will cover shop math, measurement, blueprint reading, tools, electrical safety, variable frequency drives, programmable logic controllers, troubleshooting techniques, maintenance of bearings, motors, process controls, hydraulics/pneumatics, pumps and valves, and lubrication of equipment.

NCC's goals are to help those who are unemployed or underemployed begin a career in an in-demand field, and to help to fill job openings that are vital to the success of area business partners. By completing this program, which was created with company feedback during the curriculum design stage, participants will be able to immediately enter into employment with NCC business partners.

NCC has partnered with area manufacturers, food processors and bio-industries to create a training certificate program that will provide a broad skillset that is acceptable for new entry-level hires within their organizations. Company feedback during roundtable events have ensured the curriculum and training equipment needed are appropriate.

Upon successful completion participants will have an NCC Industrial Maintenance non-credit certificate that is locally recognized along with industry-recognized credentials from National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) and Amatrol training systems. There will be NC3 or Amatrol certification showing participants' competency in each subject area of the program.

Finally, this training program is being created to allow business partners to develop apprenticeship opportunities. The curriculum can be used to also serve as the Related Technical Instruction component for an Iowa Workforce and Development registered apprenticeship.

According to Jason Anderson, NCC Director of Workforce and Economic Development, many of the skills learned within the Industrial Maintenance program can serve as foundational knowledge for automation and operational technology training needs that local companies currently have. The equipment purchased with the help of this grant will allow for more training programs to be created quickly to meet area needs.

The Industrial Maintenance Training certificate program is planned to start the summer of 2022. To find out more about the program, both individuals looking to register and industry leaders wanting specific employee training, call Anderson at (712) 324-5061 ext. 194 or email at [email protected].

Growing Together mini-grant awarded to Sanborn project

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased need, a record number of Iowa communities are slated to receive Growing Together mini-grants through Iowa State University Extension and Outreach's SNAP-Education program.

A total of 36 projects are being funded, with the goal of increasing food security and promoting healthy food access.

Growing Together mini grants have been funded by the United States Department of Agriculture's SNAP-Education since 2016. Iowa was the first state to create this model, which has been replicated in seven states. Over the past six years the mini-grants have resulted in food donations of over 532,000 pounds.

Master Gardener volunteers plant donation gardens with partners, support their community with plant-a-row programs to get more produce into food pantries, and glean fresh produce from farmers markets and home gardeners. All produce is donated to local food pantries, food banks and other food distribution sites.

According to Katie Sorrell, an Extension education specialist, projects took on renewed importance in 2021 with increased food insecurity and economic challenges across Iowa. This year the Growing Together Iowa team received a record number of applications, including five new counties that have never received the mini-grant before.

One of the mini grants was awarded to an O'Brien County project that will expand the Sanborn Community Garden by adding raised beds. Excess home gardening produce donations will be collected for delivery to area food pantries and youth will participate in the maintenance of the garden. A container gardening class will be offered to food pantry clients.

NWI fishing report

All walleye between 19 and 25 inches must be immediately released unharmed at Big Spirit Lake, East and West Okoboji Lakes, Upper Gar Lake, Minnewashta Lake, Lower Gar Lake and Storm Lake; no more than one walleye longer than 25-inches can be taken per day. Most area lakes have 16+ inches of ice. Watch out for iced over holes and seams running across the lakes. Be sure you know a safe route on and off the ice. Bring safety essentials like flotation, ice picks and a friend. Area lakes have 3-6 inches of snow coverage.

Center Lake: Ice thickness is around 13 inches. Caution – the lake aeration system is currently in operation, creating a large open hole.

East Okoboji Lake: Most of the lake is fully iced with an average of 16-plus inches of ice allowing for safe ATV traffic in most areas. Be cautious of the open holes and seams that still persist. Panfishing has been good out from the Ritz; some sorting is needed. Try heavy tungsten jigs, plastics and baits.

Black crappie, fair. Bluegill, fair. Try jigging with tube jigs or a tungsten jig and live bait.

Ingham Lake: Ice conditions vary heavily around the lake; most areas have 17-plus inches. Caution – the lake aeration system is currently in operation.

Lost Island Lake: Ice conditions vary with an average of 17-plus inches. Caution – the aeration system is currently in operation on the east side of the lake out from the nature center. This creates a large open hole in the ice. Yellow perch, fair. Lots of sorting may be needed.

Scharnberg Pond: Trout were stocked this winter; fish should be biting well. You need a valid fishing license and pay the trout fee to fish for or possess trout.

Brook trout, good. Rainbow trout, good. Trout are biting on a variety of different baits. Try a worm or lure that imitates a minnow.

Silver Lake (Dickinson): The lake is fully iced, with an average ice thickness of 17-plus inches. Caution – the lake aeration system is currently in operation. Walleye, fair.

Spirit Lake: The lake is fully iced; watch out for areas that had open goose holes until recently. Ice thickness is 16-plus inches in most places.

Black crappie, fair. Mostly being caught along with perch; use tube jigs with wigglers or pilkies. Bluegill, fair. Mostly being caught along with perch; use tube jigs with wigglers or pilkies. Yellow perch, fair.

West Okoboji Lake: Ice thickness is 16-plus inches in most places; there still are a handful of seams usually running from points. Know where trouble areas are before you venture on or off the ice. Panfishing has slowed a bit; with a little movement on the north end and Little Emerson Bay you may be able to catch a good amount of fish. Try heavy tungsten jigs, plastics or baits.

Black crappie, fair. Try jigging with tube jigs or a tungsten jig and live bait. Bluegill, fair. Many anglers have been successful off Triboji on the north end of the lake. Try jigging with tube jigs or a tungsten jig and live bait.

Snowmobilers should be cautious on Iowa Great Lakes

The Iowa DNR is reminding snowmobilers operating on the Iowa Great Lakes to use caution as ice conditions change throughout the winter.

Freezing, thawing and refreezing creates ice heaves, berms, and frozen drifts, and heavy snowmobile use has created ruts and rough ice. Snowfall and drifting snow can hide these obstructions.

Officers with the DNR said there were a number of incidents over the past week where snowmobilers have collided with these obstructions.

Snowmobilers should always use safe operating practices. Operate at reduced speeds to avoid colliding with hard to see obstacles.

Special wildlife practices available thru Conservation Reserve Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) offers several programs for landowners to enroll environmentally sensitive farmland into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

The continuous and general CRP signups provide annual rental payments to producers and landowners for establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species on cropland, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat

Continuous CRP allows landowners to enroll new land at any time during the year, and includes the State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) practice. Under SAFE, landowners can design special habitat for pheasant, bobwhite, grassland songbirds, and other species. SAFE is only available in targeted geographies, producers not eligible for SAFE can offer land into other continuous practices or through the general signup.

USDA announced a general signup that began Jan. 31 and runs thru March 11. Producers and landowners who are not eligible for continuous CRP practices like SAFE can enroll in the general signup if the farmland meets eligibility requirements. Rental rates for the general signup are capped at $240 per acre, and at $300 per acre for Continuous CRP. Approximately 119,000 acres in Iowa enrolled in CRP will expire this year.

Landowners and producers interested in re-enrolling existing CRP or offering new cropland should contact staff with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Private Lands Program, Pheasants Forever farm bill biologists, or their local USDA Service Center to learn their options before the general signup March 11 deadline. Fact sheets and other resources are available at fsa.usda.gov/crp