Author: Theresa Rose

Representatives from Henry County towns met with the County Board of Supervisors Wednesday night to talk about using the money from the American Rescue Plan Act signed in March by President Biden.  Supervisor Marc Lindeen set-up the meeting hoping to brainstorm ideas for using the funds to benefit the county as a whole.  Each city is supposed to receive no more than 70% of it’s fiscal year budget.  In total and including the county’s share, the amount could be over 5.5 million dollars. The figures for each city are estimates and based on numbers from the National Association of Counties website. The supervisors had some information to share but for the most part they are waiting for specific guidance on what the funds can be used for, what will the federal requirements be and what kind of paperwork will be required for tracking the use of the funds.  Each individual community has ideas of how that money would be beneficial. For example Winfield needs major sewer improvements.  But Mount Pleasant City Administrator Brent Schleisman challenged the group to think outside the box about how they could leverage the funds to foster something sustainable that would keep enhancing the county. He suggested each city throwing in a portion of their funds to create a revolving loan fund of some sort, maybe one that would support housing or workforce development. Lindeen listed some county-wide issues like childcare, mental health, broadband, county road projects even a rail spur. Mike Norris, with Southeast Iowa Regional Planning, was there and shared information about the Great River Housing Trust Fund and Homes For Iowa. For the most part, the city representatives gained some further information and resources to check out for more information.  The group agreed to meet again and the Supervisors promised to push out more information as they receive more details.

DES MOINES—Prompted by self-isolation during the pandemic, Iowans headed outdoors last year in droves connecting with Iowa’s natural areas.

Whether celebrating at home, in a classroom or in a park, Earth Day offers another opportunity to celebrate that connection and to give back to our natural resources.

Our Earth Day page is full of ideas—to explore the woods, clean up household hazardous materials or care for a park. You can start with a scavenger hunt in your backyard. Or, watch spring come to life as Conservation Officer Erika Billerbeck and kids take you on a “Wild Things” trip to an Iowa woodland.

DNR foresters can help you plant a tree so it will survive and thrive. Check out our blogs to attract pollinators, go green with your yard or build a rain barrel.

Love state parks? From staying on trails to being vigilant on beaches, learn six ways to show you care.

Are your kids fascinated by waste? Learn where recyclables end up and what happens to wastewater after it goes down the drain. Take advantage of opportunities for environmental education and volunteering.

Busy with spring cleaning? If you’re puzzled about disposing of household solvents, pesticides or latex paint, tap into “Bring it in—We all Win,” your guide to household hazardous waste and Regional Collection Centers.

Or show your commitment to Iowa’s natural resources all year long by buying a habitat stamp or purchasing a REAP license plate. Funds from the habitat stamp and the REAP license plates take care of Iowa’s wild places and the wildlife that calls it home.

Want to stay in the loop year-round? Subscribe to the DNR’s quarterly magazine Iowa Outdoors for the latest outdoor news, wildlife photography, and hidden treasured spots across Iowa’s vast nature landscape to help plan your next local getaway.

Take time today and every day to care for our air, land and water. Our actions help keep Iowa’s natural resources healthy and productive for years to come.

Give Back in Mount Pleasant: Hy-Vee Reusable Bag Program Aims to Eliminate Single-Use Plastics While Donating to Henry County Health Center Foundation

 

(Mount Pleasant, Iowa) – Henry County Health Center Foundation has been selected by the Mount Pleasant Hy-Vee store leadership to benefit from the Hy-Vee Reusable Red Bag Program for the month of May.  For every $2.50 reusable Red Bag purchased at the Mount Pleasant Hy-Vee in May HCHC Foundation will receive a $1 donation.

“This past year has presented some changes and challenges,” said Mark Hempen, Director of HCHC Foundation. “Many of last year’s planned events had to be cancelled or postponed.  We are thrilled to be participating in this innovative program that makes it possible for shoppers to give to the HCHC Foundation by buying these reusable bags.  We appreciate the community support in this important initiative to make a difference.”

Every month, at every Hy-Vee location, a different local non-profit is selected to benefit from the sale of these special reusable Red Bags to help reduce single-use plastics in the environment. HCHC Foundation was selected as the May beneficiary by leadership at the store located in Mount Pleasant.

Henry County Health Center Foundation was founded in 1990, and works to raise funds for the purchase of new medical equipment, support provider recruitment efforts, and other important health and wellness related initiatives throughout the county. Learn more about Henry County Health Center Foundation by visiting www.hchc.org/foundation.

For more information about the Hy-Vee Reusable Red Bag Program, please visit www.hy-vee.com.

Southeastern Community College and the Capitol Theater entered into a one-year lease agreement beginning July 1, 2021.

The agreement will allow the college increased access and use of the building, as well as opportunities for student learning in the business of running an event facility. This agreement coincides with the college’s initiative to broaden performing arts programming.

The college is expanding its music offerings in the upcoming fall semester, introducing digital music production courses to coincide with its traditional offerings. Music instructor Dr. Daniel Pappas looks forward to the opportunities that the space will lend to the program.

 

“I am excited about the real-world experiences our students will get by performing at the Capitol,” he says. “The opportunity for students to take what they learn in a studio environment and use it for a large performance space will be invaluable.”

 

As COVID restrictions are lifted, the Capitol Theater will continue to host its popular events, including the annual Snake Alley Festival of Film, regular showings of classic films, and live music by touring artists.

 

The 355-seat venue was built in 1937 and closed in 1977. After the creation of the Capitol Theater Foundation in 2005, the building was renovated and re-opened to the public nearly 10 years ago.

 

The one-year timeframe is intended to give both organizations an opportunity to refine their offerings. In 2022, the agreement will be revisited for discussions on how to best move forward.

 

“We have students from all over the region with incredible talent,” says SCC President Dr. Michael Ash. “We are eager to expand our opportunities to meet their needs beyond the classroom with practical experiences. What they learn here will open doors for their goals beyond SCC.”

 

SCC’s music program has held performances at the Capitol Theater each spring for several years, and the college looks forward to presenting more events.

 

“Our goal is to continue to provide meaningful cultural contributions to the area in a central location,” Pappas adds. “We hope the community will support the events we stage at the theater and enjoy our talented students.”

 

For more news or to learn about Southeastern Community College, visit scciowa.edu.

USDA Expands and Renews Conservation Reserve Program 

in Effort to Boost Enrollment and Address Climate Change

  DES MOINES, Iowa, April 21, 2021 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA will open enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) with higher payment rates, new incentives, and a more targeted focus on the program’s role in climate change mitigation. Additionally, USDA is announcing investments in partnerships to increase climate-smart agriculture, including $330 million in 85 Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) projects and $25 million for On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials. Secretary Vilsack made the announcement today at the White House National Climate Task Force meeting to demonstrate USDA’s commitment to putting American agriculture and forestry at the center of climate-smart solutions to address climate change.

 

The Biden-Harris Administration is working to leverage USDA conservation programs for climate mitigation, including continuing to invest in innovation partnership programs like RCPP and On-Farm Trials as well as strengthening programs like CRP to enhance their impacts.

 

“Sometimes the best solutions are right in front of you. With CRP, the United States has one of the world’s most successful voluntary conservation programs. We need to invest in CRP and let it do what it does best—preserve topsoil, sequester carbon, and reduce the impacts of climate change,” said Bob Wegand, Acting State Executive Director (SED) for the Iowa Farm Service Agency. “We also recognize that we can’t do it alone. At the White House Climate Leaders Summit this week, we will engage leaders from all around the world to partner with us on addressing climate change. Here at home, we’re working in partnership with producers and local organizations through USDA programs to bring new voices and communities to the table to help combat climate change.”

 

Conservation Reserve Program

 

USDA’s goal is to enroll up to 4 million new acres in CRP by raising rental payment rates and expanding the number of incentivized environmental practices allowed under the program. CRP is one of the world’s largest voluntary conservation programs with a long track record of preserving topsoil, sequestering carbon, and reducing nitrogen runoff, as well providing healthy habitat for wildlife.

 

CRP is a powerful tool when it comes to climate mitigation, and acres currently enrolled in the program mitigate more than 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). If USDA reaches its goal of enrolling an additional 4 million acres into the program, it will mitigate an additional 3 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent and prevent 90 million pounds of nitrogen and 33 million tons of sediment from running into our waterways each year.

 

“We want to make sure CRP continues to be a valuable and effective conservation resource for our producers for decades to come,” said Vilsack. “USDA will continue to find new and creative ways of putting producers and landowners at the center of climate-smart practices that generate revenue and benefit our planet.”

 

CRP’s long-term goal is to establish valuable land cover to help improve water quality, improve soil health and carbon sequestration, prevent soil erosion, and reduce loss of wildlife habitat. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers a number of signups, including the general signup and continuous signup, which are both open now, as well as a CRP Grasslands and pilot programs focused on soil health and clean water.

 

New Climate-Smart Practice Incentive

To target the program on climate change mitigation, FSA is introducing a new Climate-Smart Practice Incentive for CRP general and continuous signups that aims to increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate-Smart CRP practices include establishment of trees and permanent grasses, development of wildlife habitat, and wetland restoration. The Climate-Smart Practice Incentive is annual, and the amount is based on the benefits of each practice type.

 

Higher Rental Rates and New Incentives

In 2021, CRP is capped at 25 million acres, and currently 20.8 million acres are enrolled. Furthermore, the cap will gradually increase to 27 million acres by 2023. To help increase producer interest and enrollment, FSA is:

• Adjusting soil rental rates. This enables additional flexibility for rate adjustments, including a possible increase in rates where appropriate.
• Increasing payments for Practice Incentives from 20% to 50%. This incentive for continuous CRP practices is based on the cost of establishment and is in addition to cost share payments.
• Increasing payments for water quality practices. Rates are increasing from 10% to 20% for certain water quality benefiting practices available through the CRP continuous signup, such as grassed waterways, riparian buffers, and filter strips.
• Establishing a CRP Grassland minimum rental rate. This benefits more than 1,300 counties with rates currently below the minimum.

 

Enhanced Natural Resource Benefits

To boost impacts for natural resources, FSA is:

• Moving State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) practices to the CRP continuous signup. Unlike the general signup, producers can sign up year-round for the continuous signup and be eligible for additional incentives.
• Establishing National Grassland Priority Zones. This aims to increase enrollment of grasslands in migratory corridors and environmentally sensitive areas.
• Making Highly Erodible Land Initiative (HELI) practices available in both the general and continuous signups.

 

Expanding Prairie Pothole Soil Health and Watershed Programs

CRP has two pilot programs ― the Soil Health and Income Protection Program (SHIPP) and the Clean Lakes, Estuaries and Rivers 30-year contracts (CLEAR30).

• For SHIPP, which is a short-term option (3, 4, or 5-year contracts) for farmers to plant cover on less productive agricultural lands, FSA will hold a 2021 signup in the Prairie Pothole states.
• The CLEAR30 pilot, a long-term option through CRP, will be expanded from the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay pilot regions to nationwide.

 

Increasing Technical Assistance Capacity and Impact Measurement

 

USDA technical assistance through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is critical to enable producers to plan and implement conservation practices that are appropriate for their needs. To ensure increased enrollment and support for producers, USDA is increasing NRCS technical assistance capacity for CRP by $140 million.

 

Additionally, in order to better target the program toward climate outcomes, USDA will invest $10 million in the CRP Monitoring, Assessment and Evaluation (MAE) program to measure and monitor the soil carbon and climate resilience impacts of conservation practices over the life of new CRP contracts. This will enable the agency to further refine the program and practices to provide producers tools for increased climate resilience.

 

To learn more about updates to CRP, download our “What’s New with CRP” fact sheet.

 

Partnership Programs Contribute to Priorities

In addition to changes to CRP, Secretary Vilsack also announced significant investments for climate-smart policies. First, NRCS is investing $330 million in 85 locally driven, public-private partnerships under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program to address climate change and other natural resources challenges. NRCS will announce more details on the RCPP project selections on April 26.

 

Second, NRCS is investing $25 million in proposals for On-Farm Trials, which are part of the Conservation Innovation Grants program. NRCS is seeking proposals through June 21. Project priorities include climate-smart agricultural solutions and soil health practices.

 

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is engaged in a whole-of-government effort to combat the climate crisis and conserve and protect our nation’s lands, biodiversity, and natural resources including our soil, air and water. Through conservation practices and partnerships, USDA aims to enhance economic growth and create new streams of income for farmers, ranchers, producers and private foresters. Successfully meeting these challenges will require USDA and our agencies to pursue a coordinated approach alongside USDA stakeholders, including state, local, and tribal governments.

 

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.