Williamsburg Journal Tribune from Williamsburg, Iowa • Page W1

PHOTO BY DANIELLE WILDE OF IOWAWATCH Farmland near Marengo has a layer of foliage in the topsoil protecting the subsoil. rowing up Ann Wolf frequent her eastern Iowa farm. In reality, no- ody in her family ever lived on the 296 acres. ut over the past 17 years, re- ationship with the land has changed. No longer is the Miles farm simply a and investment.

ow, she sees the land as a part of nature, and makes decisions about her arm accordingly. Wolf introduced uffer strips to control soil runoff; developed a wetland to collect rain runoff a nd invite migratory birds; prioritized pasture maintenance; and began to restore a stream bank. er farm, in Jackson County three miles from the Mississippi River, is vulnerable to topsoil erosion. All of the measures taken were with an understanding of the hilly ragility and an acceptance that, without soil, food cannot be produced. But practices are in many ways an exception to the rule when it comes to Iowa farms.

hile average soil loss in Iowa falls closely in line with benchmarks set by he Natural Resources Conservation ervice, some areas in the state are losing soil at as much as 100 times faster han the soil renewal rate. What we are learning is that we have some areas in the state where soil oss on the hill slopes are greater than 3 0, 40, 50 tons per Iowa State agronomy professor Rick Cruse said. But still when we average across the state as the NRI (National Resource Inventory) has done, we get a statewide a verage of about 5 tons (of soil The concern is that the erosion could affect crop production and Iowa's economy negatively. I owa ranked second in a reportpub- lished earlier this year by the United States Department of Agriculture among the 50 states in the value of its agricultural exports. In 2013, the year overed in the report, the agricultural exports were estimated at 10.2 billion.

ruse created a soil erosion model that uses real-time rain estimates to de- ermine how topsoil shifts. He a nd his team calculated the slope and length of the more than 400,000 fields a cross Iowa in 2014 and has been col- ecting land management practices annually. ne point of concern for Cruse is that NRI estimates do not take into account gully erosion. It should, he said. We have a tremendous TOPSOIL EROSION ISU study shows sloped areas seeing topsoil eroding much faster than wanted HALEY HANSEL IOWAWATCH JOURNALTRIBUNE THE OF IOWA COUNTY Serving Williamsburg, Conroy, Parnell and the English Valleys area.

YOURWEEKLYPAPER.COM VOLUME 114NUMBER 49 DECEMBER 2,2015 SINGLE COPY PRICE: $1.00 The Williamsburg High School choirs along with community singers will present in Williams- burg: A Grand on Sunday, Dec. 6, at the W.H.S. Gymnasium. There will be a performance at 3 and 5 p.m. A free-will donation will be collected, with proceeds going toward the Music Department and the Iowa County Food Bank.

The singers will perform Festival of Lessons and with orchestra. This work, rich in holiday splendor, is a stirring presentation of the Christmas story in readings and carols. The combined choirs will feature over 150 singers with a 32-piece orchestra. WILLIAMSBURG BRIEFS INDEX County 2 Area 3 9-10 Family News 4 4-H Salute ............................................................5 6 8 Legals 9 Opinion 11 English Valleys 12 SPORTS Williamsburg girls open season against DeWitt. See page 6 The city of Williamsburg does not have an offer on the table from Minnesota developer Oppidan Investment Company to build a ShopKo store on the former elementary school site at 501Highland Williamsburg.

Citing rumors that the city planned to authorize Oppidan to buy the property and build a 2 5,800 square foot retail space there, a group of area citizens led by Williamsburg resident Ron Holden voiced its concerns a bout the impact on local usinesses at the Mond ay, Nov. 23, meeting. During the 45 minute discussion, which took place during the public address portion of the eeting as none of the speakers ad requested to be on the agen- Holden charged that the city had not been transparent in its ealings with Oppidan. been in the possession for two months and I find that Holden said, eferring to a response by the development company to a re- uest for proposal (RFP) document sent out by the city of Williamsburg in July. think been a con- WILLIAMSBURG CITY COUNCIL No deal on table for ShopKo Williamsburg ouncil squelches rumor regarding agreement with developer, ational chain MELINDA WICHMANN Awoman was being treated for unknown injuries following a house fire Wednesday orning, Nov.

25, in Williams- urg. irefighters were called to the home at 206 E. Welsh at 11a.m. The fire was contained to a small area in the kitchen, said chief Evan Uhlmann, although the house was filled with smoke. Upon arrival, firefighters saw police officers removing awoman from the home and giving aid.

It was not immediately known which hospital she was going to or her condition. However, Uhlmann said the woman was the only one inside at the time. was a fortunate situation that it was caught in said Uhlmann. According to the Iowa County office, the deed holder of the home, built in 1870, is Carolyn M. Crew.

HOUSE FIRE NPIC PHOTO BY JOE PETZ Williamsburg firemen remove items from the house. MPC STAFF REPORT Williamsburg High student council is lanning its second annual dance marathon to help out the University of Children's ospital. The event is Saturday, Dec. 12, and will feature dancing, odgeball, inflatable, to Win games and other activities. Ajunior high version is Friday, Dec.

4, with carnival ames and other fun activities planned. Additionally, here will be an event ednesday, Dec. 9, at Mary Welsh Elementary, open to ourth- through sixth-grade tudents. Last year, WHS raised 2000 and is hoping to imp rove donations. The money goes towards everything rom basic things like treatment and research to items for patients including board ames, DVDs, video games, Williamsburg schools to host dance marathons.