(Iowa DNR News) – Drivers are advised to stay alert as they travel Iowa’s roadsides over the coming weeks. Autumn deer behavior, crop harvest and peak travel times for motorists combine to hike the risk of vehicle-deer collisions in Iowa. From the middle of October until the third week of November, Iowa bucks become more active in the pursuit of does during the breeding season. Motorist may be distracted by the first deer that crosses not seeing the pursuing buck. This adds to multiple scenarios of fast moving, unpredictable deer crossing highways.

The crop harvest is also in full swing, concentrating deer into remaining cover that is often brushy creeks, trees or fence lines which often intersect with roads. A third factor will be the change away from daylight savings time on November 7, placing more Iowans behind the wheel during the deer-heavy dawn and dusk periods.

A few ways to give drivers an edge during this period are to reduce speed, increase following distance from other cars, and to sweep eye movements from ditch to ditch, especially during those low light periods and when approaching those brushy or tree lined ‘funnels’ near roads. Drivers are also encouraged not to ‘veer for deer,’ leaving the lane of traffic could cause a collision with another vehicle or a roadside obstacle, such as a utility pole or culvert.

Iowa’s deer herd is managed to provide a harvest of between 100,000 and 120,000 annually, that is achieved by providing additional opportunities for hunters to harvest does. Last year, Iowa hunters reported harvesting nearly 110,000 deer.

(Iowa DNR News) – Fun abounds statewide for those in search of color and good times outdoors. Enjoy a fall drive and take in all the beautiful colors this weekend. Plenty of fall color is lingering in northeast Iowa. Fall color will be at its peak in central Iowa this week.  Urban maple is showing a few brighter reds and oranges in southeast Iowa. Hard maple is at peak color in the urban landscapes in south-central Iowa.

Warm nights have slowed color changes in west-central and southwest Iowa. Yellows are just starting to appear on the bottomlands in the Missouri River Corridor.

Go to the Weekly Fall Colors Report

(Radio Iowa) – One of the sure signs of fall, Iowans are seeing huge congregations of birds filling the morning and evening skies, giant clouds of feathered creatures that often take several minutes to pass. Steve Dinsmore, a central Iowa ornithologist and bird watcher, says it’s typical during this time of the year to spot birds migrating in tremendously large numbers over Iowa. “Those could represent a number of different species of birds,” Dinsmore says. “One of them is European starlings, so we call those a murmuration of starlings. We also, right now, have very, very large numbers of blackbirds, primarily redwing blackbirds and common grackles, and also other species that are also migrating. Those birds, just like starlings, form these large, wavy, meandering flocks.”

Dinsmore is a professor of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University. He says birds of a feather do flock together for several reasons. “One of them certainly deals with predator avoidance, a sort of safety-in-numbers component,” Dinsmore says. “These birds also feed en mass so one of the other advantages of them associating in flocks is the transfer of information about foraging sites or feeding sites. They do that through these large flocks as they’ve moving to and from roosting and feeding areas.”

Migrating birds. (ISU photo)

The miles-long undulating flocks are fascinating to watch and may contain tens of thousands of birds, perhaps more. “One of the real fun questions to try and answer is, ‘How many are there?’ and certainly, those flocks are very, very large, to the point where you can’t count individuals,” Dinsmore says. “Sometimes, we use estimation techniques or approximation techniques. Pushing 100,000 is pretty unusual but there are records in the hundreds of thousands and some estimates even up to a million individuals.”

Some Iowans who live in larger cities may even be surprised to spot wild turkeys in their back yards, though they’re typically thought of as more of a “country” bird.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A weekly crop report says farmers were able to work around some rain showers. The report says 43 percent of the corn is now in the bin — up from 30 percent last week. That put the corn harvest one week ahead of the five-year average. The bean harvest moved to 70 percent completed compared to 56 percent the week before. That’s also one week ahead of the average. The report says more than half the soybean crop remaining to be harvested in south-central Iowa — while all other districts have at least 52 percent pulled from the fields.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board met Monday evening at City Hall. Parks and Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen reminds the public a Scarecrow Contest is underway in downtown Atlantic. For $20, people can rent a pole downtown and decorate with a scarecrow. The deadline to reserve a pole with the Chamber passed as of today (Monday, Oct. 18). All the proceeds benefit the Atlantic Food Pantry. Spectators can vote for their favorite scarecrow by making a monetary donation, located at the chamber. Votes must be cast between Oct 18th-31st.

A reminder also, of this weekend’s “Tour de Parks” bike ride. The ride will start and end at Sunnyside park and is about 9.5 miles, but it is broken into 6 stages and goes past all the different parks in Atlantic. Come do all the stages or just do a few. Come enjoy great conversation and learn more about the great things happening in the area. There will be local organizations along the route with free goodies and giveaways showcasing many upcoming events. The Parks and Recreation Department has bikes and helmets you can use free of charge. If you have questions, please contact the Parks and Rec Office at (712) 243-3542.

Another event Bryant spoke about during the Parks and Rec Board Monday, is the Lions Club Pancake Supper from 4:30-until 7-p.m. Nov. 11.  The event takes place inside the Atlantic Community Building on the Cass County Fairgrounds. The cost is $7 per person for adults, children 12 and under at $5.00. Rasmussen said all the proceeds will be used toward the purchase of “inclusive playground equipment” for one of the City’s Park. One of the sites they’re looking at more specifically, is the Schildberg Recreation Area. Inclusive parks and ADA accessible, but designed for everyone.

Along that same line, Bryant Rasmussen said Atlantic Kiwanis and Lions Club members this past Saturday added more pea gravel around the various park playground equipment, as part of the service project day. Bryant says prior to the added gravel, the amount of fall material designed to protect kids against injury, was “definitely lacking.” He said about 20-tons of pea gravel was moved. The two swing sets at Cedar Park now have new pea gravel, along with a swing set at the Kiddie Korral at Sunnyside Park, and the playground set by the Kiddie Korral Shelter, as well.  Another project is being planned for this coming spring.

And, Rasmussen reported to the Board that a recycled plastic bench has been installed at Cedar Park basketball court area. It was donated by the Lions Club from all the recycled plastic. He said as of two weeks ago, the Elks Club reached their goal of 500 lbs of plastic. They’ve picked a color for their bench, which should arrive within the next four-to-five weeks. Bryant says two other organization: The City of Griswold and the Master Gardeners, are applying for similar benches. He says there are currently 1,800 lbs of plastic available for recycling projects. Their goal had been 500 lbs over six months, so they’ve surpassed in less time than expected. Byrant says they take in about 200-to 300-lbs per week.

For more information on how you can sponsor a recycled bench, contact the Parks and Rec Office at (712) 243-3542.

(Radio Iowa) – Representatives of the United Auto Workers and John Deere say contract talks have resumed. Ninety percent of union workers rejected Deere’s initial contract offer and more than 10-thousand workers at 14 John Deere plants and distribution centers have been on strike last Thursday. Union members say Deere’s initial offer did not meet their wage and retirement goals, plus the union says it’s important to end a two-tiered pay system that ensures younger workers get less. A spokeswoman for the company says John Deere is fully committed to the collective bargaining process, resolving the strike and giving production and maintenance workers the opportunities to earn the best wages.

Revenue for the first three quarters of Deere and Company’s current fiscal year is up 11 percent and net income is up 84 percent compared to the same portion of 2019, before the pandemic hit. The turn-out at many picket lines today (Monday) was larger than it had been in the opening days of the strike.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says farmers are part of the conversation about capturing and storing carbon because common soil conservation practices can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. “Things like cover crops and no-till and nitrogen use efficiency and conservation tillage,” Naig said.

Two proposed pipeline projects are seeking regulatory approval to liquify carbon produced by ethanol plants.  “The play here is for lowering the carbon intensity score of ethanol,” Naig says. “That makes sense. That can work and you can put a project together related to that, so we’ll see where else that can go.”

Naig says fertilizer plants might be able to link to a carbon pipeline as well. Naig is vice chair of the carbon sequestration task force Governor Kim Reynolds appointed in late June. The group is scheduled to meet tomorrow (Tuesday) .and discuss policy recommendations for lawmakers.

(KCRG) Moline, Il. — Reports show John Deere CEO John May sold $72,473 company stocks a few days before the strike began. Earlier this week, more than 10,000 John Deere workers went on strike after negotiations between United Auto Workers and John Deere failed.

The majority of union workers rejected a contract that would have delivered 5% raises to some workers and 6% raises to others. According to documents acquired by KCRG, the Security and Exchange Commission reported on Tuesday that May began selling stocks in March 2021. But the SEC requires the documents to be filed within two business days after the transaction.

KCRG reports the John Deere stock decreased by 6.3% in the last month and 3% in the last five days. John Deere has not responded to KCRG’s request for comment.

(Des Moines) Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Friday, extended a proclamation relating to the weight limits and transportation of grain. The proclamation that continues through November 14, 2021, allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage and stover to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight), without a permit – for the duration of the proclamation.

It applies to loads transported on all highways within Iowa (excluding the interstate system) and those which do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, do not exceed the maximum axle weight limit determined under the non-primary highway maximum gross weight table in Iowa Code by more than 12.5 percent, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.