In its 2011 CropLife 100 Report, CropLife Magazine has named West Central #40 among the nation's top 100 agronomy retailers. CropLife publishes its annual top 100 report at the close of each year, along with its annual State of the Industry Report. "We're very excited to see our name on the top 100 list, and even in the top 50. Looking at the challenges the industry is facing, rising input prices, weather pressures and an increasingly competitive marketplace, it's an honor to be ranked among these national leaders. Streamlining and centralizing our business has been vital to West Central's success in agronomy. Improved customer service, timeliness and efficiencies help us deliver our products to our customers, at their farm or in the field, when they need them," comments J. Paul Konrad, West Central's executive vice president of agronomy. In 2011, thanks to an unseasonably warm fall and winter, West Central's agronomy department applied a record amount of dry fertilizer and anhydrous, and posted a record number of customer applied acres. The new division also introduced a new product to the marketplace, Balanced-P, an "all-in-one-package" fertilizer that supplies nitrogen, phosphorus. sulfur in the sulfate form and zinc oxide. -Scranton Journal

Audubon County Tourism was awarded $867 from the Western Iowa Tourism Region to help provide funding for erecting a trailhead sign on the T-Bone Trail. According to Shirley Phillips, President of the Western Iowa Tourism Region, the region works with the Iowa Tourism Office, Iowa Department of Economic Development to offer a competitive grant program to assist local events, attractions and businesses with promotion, advertising and educational programming and opportunities to increase their competitiveness in the tourism marketplace. Volunteers from the industry evaluate and award grant dollars to deserving projects in the 36 county western Iowa tourism region. Jessica Lingren, Chairman of the Advertising Grant committee noted that "selection of grant recipients is an increasingly difficult task because the industry in western Iowa continues to grow more sophisticated and grant dollars continue to decrease. Audubon County Tourism is deserving of this grant award and is a real asset to both Audubon County and to western Iowa." The Regional Director, Michele Walker reports that western Iowa continues to see an increase in private and public investment in tourism related projects and services and that the industry, through the Travel Federation of Iowa, continues to work on the local, sate and national levels to talk about the economic significance or tourism by sharing facts about the increases in local and state revenue and jobs. The 200-member organization works to connect communities, attractions and businesses interested in developing and promoting travel and tourism in western Iowa. The organization is funded by the Iowa Department of Economic Development, County Boards of Supervisors in the region and private memberships. Regional bi-monthly meeting are held throughout the 36 county area, the public is always invited to attend. -Audubon County Advocate Journal

Jefferson and Greene County will host a major new event, the "Iowa Bicycle Festival" in Saturday, May 26, according to plans that the Cyclists of Greene County bike club is announcing this weekend to riders from across the state. That is the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The festival is being promoted as a "celebration of the bicycle and those who ride it," according to Craig Berry, who is president of the club and it also the mayor of Jefferson. The city council approved the plans at its meeting this week. Berry said, "The council is very much in favor of this event and will be encouraging all citizens and bicyclists in Jefferson, Greene County, and Iowa to attend." It will be family-oriented, with activities for all ages going on from about 10 am to 6 pm, all around the courthouse square and stretching east to the Jefferson Depot and Raccoon River Valley Trailhead. All events will generally be with a bicycle theme, but they will be put together with the idea of appealing to the general public as well as bicyclists. Plans include a late-morning or midday parade, featuring RAGRBAI team buses from all over Iowa, a couple of bands, people of all ages riding decorated bicycles, some highly unusual bikes and more. After the parade there will be a "custom bike show" around the square, just like there have been "custom car shows" there, including team buses. And the crowd at the festival will be invited to paint a RAGBRAI team bus, too. The festival will include a juried "bicycle-themed art show" with artists from across the Midwest invited to enter work that will be for sale and also will remain on display for a few weeks after the festival. There will also be escorted "bicycle tours of Jefferson," pedaling to see our notable landmarks. And there will be competitions and contests involving bicycles, like a "fastest tire changing contest." Another event would be a "bicycle apparel fashion show." Local food vendors are being invited to serve on the square, but visitors will be encouraged to use all local restaurants, too. There will be no beverage garden or street dance, at least this year. The Greene County board of supervisors has approved use of the courthouse grounds and the rotunda of the building. One activity in the courthouse will be a series of brief "bicycle seminars," hosted by Chuck Offenberger, with such topics as the Raccoon River Valley Trail, other Iowa trails, RAGRBAI with that event's director T.J. Juskiewicz, Iowa's bicycle clubs, the Greene County conservation recreation facilities and programs, and cartoonist and cyclist Brian Duffy has tentatively doing a program on his own bicycle artwork. For more information, visit with Berry or John or Ces Brunow at the All Ability Cycles shop on the square. The bike club is beginning promotion of the festival at this weekend's "Iowa Bicycle Summit" being held in Des Moines, The summit ends with a large party Saturday night at which time the route for the 2012 RAGBRAI will be announced. Several thousand cyclists are expected at those events. -The Jefferson Herald

Panora Nursing and Rehab Center, a Care Initiatives facility, recently announced that Beth (Haden) Rasmussen of Jefferson was chosen as the winner of the 2012 slogan contest. A total of 270 slogans were submitted by employees from 44 care facilities owned by Care Initiatives in Iowa. Entrants were required to utilize the keyword "dedication" in their slogan. Rasmussen's winning slogan is "With dedication, compassion and a caring attitude, I make a difference at Care Initiatives." Every employee throughout all 44 Care Initiatives facilities will receive a shirt bearing the slogan. Rasmussen was recently presented with the first shirt bearing her slogan and a $500 check at a meeting of facility administrators in West Des Moines. She is employed as a CMA at Panora Assisted Living. -Jefferson Herald