Some Iowa streams are still swollen and swift after a rainy end of June.  While some rivers remain dangerously high, others have dropped to safe levels for paddlers. Todd Robertson, paddling instructor and Outreach Coordinator for Rivers Programs at the Iowa DNR, says “High rivers are super powerful and have unpredictable current along with numerous deadly river hazards.  Piles of trees and branches can suck a paddler in and under with little chance of escape.” The Iowa DNR learned of a kayaking fatality on the South Skunk River last weekend.

Stay safe this holiday weekend and each time you paddle with these simple safety tips:

• Always wear your life jacket. Kids 12 and under must wear a life jacket at all times when underway on a recreational vessel on any Iowa water. It’s also law that those 13 and over, if not wearing their life jacket, must have a life jacket on board their vessel. “It’s best to wear your life jacket, not just store it on board,” encourages Robertson. “If you are not wearing your life jacket, it probably won’t be there when you really need it.”
• Tell a friend or loved one where you will be paddling, including what access to what access, and when you are expected to return. It will be easier to find you if you need help.
• Always know your rivers conditions before you go paddling.

For the latest river conditions, visit the USGS site for Iowa streamflow readings at https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ia/nwis/current/?type=flow. You can also call the local county conservation board where the river flows through and ask for an update. Check the Iowa DNR’s interactive paddlers map for updates on real-time hazards like downed trees and log jams, strainers and bridge construction: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Things-to-Do/Canoeing-Kayaking/Where-to-Paddle

w/Kate Olson.

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Cass County: Corn $3.86, Beans $8.15
Adair County: Corn $3.83, Beans $8.18
Adams County: Corn $3.83, Beans $8.14
Audubon County: Corn $3.85, Beans $8.17
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $3.89, Beans $8.15
Guthrie County: Corn $3.88, Beans $8.19
Montgomery County: Corn $3.88, Beans $8.17
Shelby County: Corn $3.89, Beans $8.15

Oats $2.96 (always the same in all counties)

(Information from the area FSA Offices)

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports there are plenty of exciting activities are happening at state parks over Fourth of July weekend, including the Viking Lake and Prairie Rose State Parks.

Here’s what’s happening at Viking Lake State Park near Stanton (2780 Viking Lake Road):

Thursday, July 4th:

• Fourth of July Craft; 6pm – 7pm; Since fireworks are not allowed in the park, join DNR staff to make your own sparkle. Meet at the playground.

Friday, July 5th:

• Night Hike, 8:30-p.m. Until 9-p.m.; The hike will allow you to see what the nighttime has to offer at Viking Lake. Bring a flashlight and bug spray. Meet in the campground parking lot.

Saturday, July 6th:

• Water Safety Program at Viking Lake State Park, 10-to 10:30-a.m.; A program on life jacket safety and boating safety. Meet at the campground boat ramp.
• Kayaking, 10:30-a.m. To 11:30-a.m.; Learn about the different types of kayaks and how to use them. Then give it a try. Bring your own life jacket if you have one. Meet at the campground boat ramp.

Lots of activities are planned for Prairie Rose State Park near Harlan, as well (680 County Road M-47, near Harlan)…

Friday, July 5th:

• Canoeing, 10-a.m. To 11-a.m.;Please meet on the east side of Country Road M47 to canoe. All levels of experience are welcome. Ten canoes, life jackets, and paddles will be available to use.
• Atlatls Program, from 2-until 3-p.m.; Atlatls are tools that have been used for many years to help throw spears further and more accurately. Please meet just south of the main park entrance to give them a try.
• Bald Eagles Program, from 7-until 7:30-p.m.; Help celebrate the 4th of July holiday by learning about our national bird. The program will feature a live education Bald Eagle. Please meet near the playground and shower house.
• Stargazing, 9:30-to 10-p.m.;Please meet by the trail that leads to the dam (campsites 80-95). We will walk out on the dam to do some stargazing. Learn about our constellations and some of the stories behind them.

Monday, July 8th:

• Monday Morning Hike, 7:30-to 8-a.m.;Please meet at the park office to go hike around the east side of the lake (approximately 2 miles).

For more information on activities at State Parks across Iowa, click here: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Places-to-Go/State-Parks/Park-Events?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

(Radio Iowa) — A charging bull caused an all terrain vehicle accident in northwest Iowa. Fifty-two-year old Joseph Eickholt of rural Hinton was checking his cattle Friday evening when a bull had turned and started charging after Eickholt and the ATV. In an effort to escape the bull, Eickholt drove through a wash-out causing his ATV to roll, throwing Eickholt from the machine. Eickholt was able to place a cell phone call to his family, who found him lying in the pasture. Eickholt was airlifted by a medical helicopter to Mercy One of Sioux City. Officials say his condition is not known, but determined not to be life threatening.

Officials with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association report applications for the Iowa Beef Heifer Award program are due no later than Monday, July 1st. The program is designed to honor outstanding youth and future leaders of the beef industry. It was created to increase the interest and participation in the beef breeding heifer project by allowing youth to earn a certificate for the purchase of a breeding female. The program evaluates leadership and involvement in breed organizations and community activities as well as responsibilities and growth within their project. All 4-H, FFA and junior association members who own and exhibit a market beef or breeding heifer at the Iowa State Fair are eligible to enter. Applicants may participate in one of the following breed divisions: Angus, Charolais, Gelbvieh, Hereford, Limousin, Maine-Anjou, Red Angus, Salers, Shorthorn or Simmental.

Finalists for each breed will need to participate in a personal interview to be held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds with a panel of judges. Winners will be announced during the selection of the Grand Champion 4-H breeding heifer. The winner of each breed division will receive a certificate for the purchase of a registered female sponsored by the Iowa State Fair and the respective state breed association. Show halters are presented to runner-ups and are sponsored by Kent Feeds, Inc. of Muscatine.

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) coordinates the application process. Program guidelines and applications can be found on the ICA Web site at www.iacattlemen.org or by calling (515) 296-2266. Applications are due to the ICA office in Ames no later than July 1.

(Radio Iowa) — The tropical temperatures are hard on people — but they are good for the corn crop. It’s been a week of catching up on the growing front after a wet spring put corn planting about two weeks behind. I-S-U Extension field specialist Rebecca Vittetoe says the heat will help — but not all the corn will hit the mark in the old adage: “knee-high by the Fourth of July.” She says some of the earlier planted corn will make it — but the later planted corn will be lucky to be knee-high. Vittetoe covers Benton, Linn, Jones, Poweshiek, Iowa, Johnson, Marion, Mahaska, Keokuk and Washington counties in east-central Iowa. The corn height is measured by the amount of vegetative growth or leaf collars as it extends upward, starting with V-1.

“This week we’ve really seen the crops move along, you can almost see them grow with the heat we’ve been having,” Vittetoe says. “Corn, it probably ranges anywhere from V-2 or V-3 with the later planted corn. To probably, some of that corn is probably V-11, V-12.” The corn can grow to the V-19 or V-20 stage before it tassels out and starts the process of developing the ears. Vittetoe says she doesn’t like being out in this heat, but likes what it does to the corn. “The heat will definitely help it grow. And if we’re going to have hotter temperatures I’d like it — especially on the corn side right now. I don’t want it when the corn is going to be pollinating and tassling and forming that ear,” Vittetoe says. “Having the heat now is going to help push it along and once we reach tassel and grain fill, I’d like it to cool off so we can have a longer grain-fill period.”

The corn is normally ready to start the tassling phase around mid-July, but she says that could be the end of July or early August this year. Vittetoe has talked with her colleagues and is hearing there’s a large variance across the state in corn development. “Some cases, I know like northern Iowa, especially northwest Iowa, they had really delayed planting. Other parts of the state, like southwest Iowa were not as delayed,” according to Vittetoe. “It does vary, and even varies within the county too, depending on who got the rain and if if was river bottom too,” she says. Getting the seed in the ground helps ease some of the concern for farmers. “Earlier in May there was definitely a lot of anxiousness. You could sense the stress just talking to people,” Vittetoe says. “You can still feel some of that anxiousness….it hasn’t been an easy growing season by any means. It’ doesn’t seem quite as much, you don’t feel it quite as much — but it’s still there.”

The last U-S-D-A crop report listed 62 percent of the corn crop in good to excellent condition. Sixty-three percent of the beans were rated in good to excellent condition. The next report is due out Monday.

WEST UNION, Iowa (AP) — A northeastern Iowa man has been arrested for having no license and driving to a court hearing — on his tractor. Television station KCRG reports that 54-year-old Jeffery Johanningmeier, of Wadena, was stopped Wednesday by deputies when he pulled up to the Fayette County Courthouse on his John Deere tractor.

Deputies say he had made the nearly 15-mile trip for a court appearance, but did not have a valid driver’s license, which has been suspended for nonpayment of child support. Johanningmeier was arrested and later released.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers has partially opened the Mississippi River to barge traffic, but farmers in Iowa are still worried about the financial impact of the slow recovery of shipping on the waterway. Dozens of barges have been at a standstill during this devastating flood season .

Robb Ewoldt tells the Quad-City Times that he has around $80,000 worth of soybeans in storage at his farm in Scott County, waiting to be shipped down the river. The halt to barge traffic is delaying farmers’ income and has prevented some from planting crops because fertilizer arrives by barge.

Doug Weber, a manager at shipping company Alter River Terminal Rock Island, says they usually ship one or two barges per day. But only a dozen barges have moved since traffic closed mid-March.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A retired Iowa farmer who applied to Gov. Kim Reynolds to have his gun rights restored has instead been charged with illegally possessing firearms. Allan Phillips of West Branch had been out of trouble for 40 years when he sent in his application seeking restoration. He wrote that it was time to “clear my name” on a 1978 misdemeanor conviction for having a loaded hunting gun in his car.

Phillips, 76, received a surprise visit in February from agents who were conducting a background check as part of the process. They found that he had firearms in violation of the gun ban that his 41-year-old conviction triggered. They charged Phillips with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

The case illustrates how hard it can be for ex-offenders to get their gun rights back once they are lost. A recent report shows Reynolds didn’t restore anyone’s gun rights during her first 19 months in office.