(Radio Iowa) – A group in northern Iowa is raising concerns about a proposed wind farm. The Lost Island Wind Project would place 40 to 50 wind turbines in parts of northern and western Palo Alto County. Stephanie Parsons, a member of the “Don’t Lose Lost Island” group, says there are wetlands and a wildlife preserve in the area. “They’re proposing to place these towers directly in the flight path of already endangered birds and threatened bat species,” she says.

The wind farm is a project of Vestas North America, a subsidiary of a Danish company that is the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines. Parsons’ group is hosting a meeting about the project tonight at 7 p.m. in Graettinger. “A lot of the community members didn’t know that there was a new project in the pipeline,” Parson says. “We actually found out because Vestas has actually reached out to ask key farmers, with contracts to start the process, and so that’s what sort of got this whole ball rolling about two months ago.”

Lost Island is the name of a township in Palo Alto County and the county’s conservation board operates the Lost Island Wetland Prairie Nature Center north of Ruthven. The website created for the Lost Island Wind Farm says the company is “determined to listen to all perspectives” and believes the Lost Island Wind Project “can benefit everyone who calls Palo Alto County, Iowa, home.”

According to the American Clean Energy Association, there were about 5900 wind turbines operating in Iowa by the end of 2020 and 5200 people work in Iowa’s wind energy industry.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says they’re receiving reports of moderate to severe winter burn damage to some trees across the state. Forestor Tivon Feeley, says they see the damage in the arborvitae, white pine, and a little bit in Scotch and Red Pine. “And what’s going on is, you know, we had kind of an unusual spring where the ground stayed frozen, but we got pretty warm outside and then would go right back to freezing. And then you couple that with the strong winds that we had — these trees have dried out — they couldn’t absorb the water because the ground was frozen, and strong winds dried them out even faster,” Feeley says. He says the damaged trees are easy to spot.

“Some of them are completely brown. It depends on the conifer, but some of the like the red pine of Scotch Pine, there are kind of bleached we call it bleaching where the needles are kind of a light, light, light tan to a mostly white color. And those trees mostly are dead,” He says. He says partially damaged trees may still be saved. ” If you get a few random branches the tree might pull out of it. If you looking at that top third dead, it’s gonna have to be kind of a wait and see if the buds are completely dead,” according to Feeley. “if the buds are alive, you might have a chance. This is really on the newly planted trees that are less than let’s say 10 years of age and younger, that we’re seeing the majority of the damage on.” Feeley says the dead trees might have been saved by mulching watering and around the base of the tree halfway through the frost. But, he says the conditions were really tough to overcome.

“I don’t think we’ve seen winds like this for quite some time. And that was a very unusual weather pattern — so I’m not sure would have solved it all,” he says. Feeley says many of these trees were brought into Iowa and that is part of the issue when this happens. “When we look at conifers native to Iowa, eastern red cedar to all 99 counties, eastern white pine, all the way down to Hardin County in the northeast quadrant of Iowa, and then balsam fir in Allamakee County,” he says, “and everything else is not native, and not well adapted or it’s planted out of its range. And so when you have these weather events, they’re just not used to it. ” Feeley says though, he has even seen some of the native conifers suffer this year too because of the unusual spring we’ve had.

(Anita, Iowa) – The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund has donated $500 to the Friends of Lake Anita, for their annual kids fishing clinic scheduled to take place the first weekend in June.  Fishing is a great sport that can be part of your entire life.  Fund spokesperson Melanie Petty (Trevor’s mom), said “Trev loved fishing in his down time, especially during his college years.”

The 14^th Annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on June 18^th this year at the Atlantic Golf and Country Club.  All monies raised at the tournament are given back to the community that Trevor loved.  Although the tournament is full for this year there are still opportunities to donate.

Melanie Petty presents a check for the Friends of Lake Anita annual fishing clinic.

Melanie said “We are still taking items for the silent auction that is held in the clubhouse all day.  Hole sponsorships are also available for $100.  If you have time that day stop up and visit us to have lunch and bid on the items for the auction.”  The fund is a 501©3 Non Profit Organization.

• KJAN, Atlantic  .47″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .18″
• Elk Horn  .18″
• Anita  .11″
• Audubon  .22″
• Manning  .15″
• Carroll  .61″
• Corning  .03″

(Radio Iowa)- Iowa’s weather pattern is expected to make a big shift this week, from cold and rainy to hot and humid, raising familiar concerns about drought. Meteorologist Doug Kluck, climate services director for the Central Region of the National Weather Service, based in Kansas City, says some forecasts show improving conditions in the months ahead across the Missouri River basin.

“The forecasters in this case pared back drought substantially across almost the entire basin, really,” Kluck says. “I’ll cross my fingers and hope this comes true.” While Iowa’s high temperatures last week were mostly in the 40s, 50s and 60s, the week ahead promises highs climbing into the 70s and 80s to near 90. Looking ahead, Kluck says there are conflicting signals.

“Short term, temperatures are sort of a mixed bag,” Kluck says. “There’s going to be some warmth and that’s going to be realized in the eastern part of the basin. Precipitation slightly favors above normal, that’s good. Long term, not so good. Above normal temperatures and drier than normal conditions are what the current outlooks say.” Forecasters had expected the La Nina weather pattern to fade away in the past few months, but that hasn’t happened.

“We’re hanging on to La Nina this year through the summer,” Kluck says. “We don’t know if that’s going to hang into the fall or not yet, but La Nina is what we had the last few years and it tends to have a dry and warm aspect to it. So, La Nina is not necessarily our friend.” The U-S Drought Monitor map issued for Iowa late last week showed little change from the week before, with no drought at all in roughly 56 counties, 30 counties were abnormally dry, and 10 counties were considered in moderate drought. Parts of three northwest Iowa counties, Plymouth, Monona and Woodbury, were in severe drought.

(Radio Iowa) – The winner of the 2022 World Food Prize is a senior research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. World Food Prize President, Barbara Stinson, made the announcement today (Thursday).  “I am so pleased to announce that the 2022 World Food Prize Laureate is Doctor Cynthia Rosenzweig (Rose-en-swag) of the United States,” Stinson says. The Food Prize was created by Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug, and is based in Des Moines. Stinson says Rosenzweig has been involved in agriculture for several decades.

“An agronomist and a climatologist, she has been a leader in the field of food and climate since the early 1980s, when she carried out some of the first studies on how climate change would impact food production in North America,” Stinson says. “She quickly escalated this work and elevated to Global Studies incorporating economics, social research, using agricultural science and climate modeling to better understand and predict trends.” She says Rosenzweig’s work has provided the evidence used by thousands of decision-makers in more than 90 countries to both mitigate and adapt to climate change in local, national and global food systems.

Doctor Cynthia Rosenzweig

“Her work as lead and co-lead author on international assessments contributed to science our scientific foundation of the U-N Framework Convention for climate change,” she says. “Her research directly supports work in more than 20 countries to develop national adaptation plans and to determine their contributions.” Rosenzweig is a New York native and her late husband got started in agriculture while living in Italy. They returned to New York and started a farm where they grew sweet corn, Indian corn and cucumbers for pickling.

“As a farmer herself our laureate understands the importance of centering farmers in agricultural research as both the most important beneficiaries of the research and custodians of practical indigenous knowledge,” Stinson says. Rosenzweig is the 52nd person to receive the World Food Prize. She will receive the 250-thousand-dollar prize at a ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol on October 21st.

(Radio Iowa) – A project manager for the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline says the company has about 20 percent of the voluntary easements from landowners they would need to complete the pipeline route through Iowa. Kylie Kretz spoke at this week’s meeting of the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors.

“Right now, we’re going back and doing route changes. So as we’ve started acquire easements across the project, we’ve changed the route over 2000 based on landowner requests and every time we do that, they surveyor has to come back and survey again, so now we’re doing bits and pieces,” she said, “but the main portion has been completed.”

Summit’s pipeline would span nearly two-thousand miles over five states and ship carbon captured from 32 Midwest ethanol plants to underground storage in North Dakota. The route covers nearly 700 miles in Iowa. Several people who don’t want the pipeline on their property have complained to legislators that their private property rights would be violated if state officials grant the company authority to seize property from unwilling landowners.

Kretz says the company still hopes to strike deals with the 80 percent of landowners who haven’t yet agreed to easements. “So we’re virtually, you know, for the next eight months focused on working with the landowners and acquiring easements with them,” Kretz said. Kretz told the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors that Iowa ethanol plants may have to close if the pipeline isn’t built.

“The ethanol plants’ carbon intensity score currently sits too high for the 2030-2040 regulations. If they don’t do anything to drop their carbon intensity score today, their doors will have to close in 2030,” Kretz said. Summit filed paperwork with the Iowa Utilities Board in January, seeking a permit to build a hazardous liquid pipeline through Iowa. According to state law, the board must determine the pipeline’s proposed services will promote the public convenience and necessity in order to grant the permit.

COUNCIL BLUFFS—Wednesday morning a plugged sewer line at the Conagra Brands facility in Council Bluffs caused wastewater to overflow, eventually reaching Mosquito Creek.

An estimated 100 gallons of domestic sewage ran into a storm drain, then entered Mosquito Creek near the intersection of Harry Langdon Boulevard and Iowa Highway 92. The creek flows about two miles to the Missouri River.

Once the overflow was discovered, Conagra staff immediately stopped the flow. The DNR recommends keeping children and pets out of the affected part of the creek for the next 24 to 48 hours.

DNR will monitor clean-up efforts and consider appropriate enforcement action.