My latest photo taken with a Quad-Copter as of July 3 2016 I was able to change the default height to 200 feet and was not high enough for this view. This was the Wind Charger farm north of Colo. I was too chicken to get any closer than about 150 feet. I have heard […]

Sweet corn, steaks and the Iowa State Fair.  Polk County Amateur Radio supports the Iowa State Fair Parade.  Don KCØMTF will be coordinating our efforts again this year.  Please go to https://dmraa.com/ares and click on Sign-up for ARES Events Nothing Compares to the Iowa State Fair      

Good Morning All,   I wanted to advise everyone that the Marshalltown VE Team has scheduled a special session for ham radio tests in June just in time to upgrade your license for Field Day or perhaps get your technician license.  Also if you are looking to upgrade to Amateur Extra Class now is a […]

The race is the same the route is the same and it is time to put the Dam to Dam in your ARES event To Do calendar.  Many of you seasoned ARES operators already know how much fun it can be working this annual event.  If you’ve never had the pleasure, now is the time […]

Cerro Gordo County ARES is asking for some help with their upcoming Disaster Drill.  Please read the letter below and see if there is a way you can assist.   Hello. I am the new ARES EC for Cerro Gordo county.   On May 19th we will be having a FULL SCALE MULTI-COMMUNITY EMERGENCY EXERCISE.  this […]

We would like to welcome the newest member to the Polk County Emergency Management Agency staff…Cameron Stufflebeam. Cameron joined the Polk County Emergency Management Agency March 21, 2016.  Cameron has an extensive background in emergency management, hazardous materials response, emergency medical services and emergency communications. As an Iowa Air National Guard member, he is part of […]

Adams County Illinois EMA is sponsoring the 2016 Tri-State Severe Weather and Preparedness Conference.  Please note several several regional and national speakers from FEMA and the National Weather Service will speak about severe weather and preparedness.  We look forward to seeing attendees from the Iowa Illinois and Missouri Tri-State region. This 1-Day conference is open to anyone with […]

The American Lung Association’s annual Fight for Air Climb needs a few more operators.  Polk County ARES has provided communications support since the event was started in 2003 in Des Moines.  The climb has grown from one building to four.  This is a great event to start the ARES year.  We welcome new Hams to […]

Story County EMA and Story County ARES will be hosting free ICS-100 and ICS-200 training on Saturday, April 2nd from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames.  The classes are designed to be an interactive discussion of the concepts presented so that you will have a better understanding of what Incident Command is […]

Rural Iowa Amateur Radio Club in northeast Iowa is planning a National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) event at Effigy Mounds National Monument near Marquette and Harpers Ferry in northeast Iowa. We will be operating from the park over Memorial Day weekend, Saturday May 28-Monday May 30, 10AM-4PM. We realize that there may be other […]