(Lewis, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Tuesday, said the DNR will relax the fishing regulations at Cold Springs Lake near Lewis, beginning June 15th. The intent is to allow anglers to more freely harvest fish before the lake is chemically renovated as part of a plan to improve the quality of angling for years to come.

Anglers with a valid fishing license may harvest any size or number of largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, crappie, channel catfish, and all other fish species from Cold Springs Lake. Any number of fishing poles or jug fishing will be allowed. Anglers must remain in sight of these lines at all times, and follow all other fishing regulations and area rules. Trot lines will be allowed (name and address must be attached), however lines may not be set across the entire water body. Nets, dynamite, poison, electric shocking devices, or any stupefying substances will not be allowed. It is illegal to sell fish or stock captured fish into public waters.

Cold Springs Lake (Photo from MyCountyParks.com

Relaxed fishing regulations for Cold Springs Lake will remain in effect until August 1. Anglers may fish anywhere within the lake. DNR fisheries staff will collect game fish from the lake in mid-summer and relocate them to other lakes in the area.

The DNR will lower the lake water level starting August 1 to prepare for the renovation project aimed to improve the poor size structure of largemouth bass and bluegill and increase near-shore habitat. Fish data collected each year for the past 10 years shows poor bass health with no bass over the legal length limit. Bluegill data shows low catch rates of quality fish.

The fishery renovation is only part of a process to improve the lake’s fish population.  Construction of in-lake fish habitat, primarily pea gravel spawning beds, will be built while water levels are down.

This project will continue through spring 2026. Starting August 1, lake users should expect limited access to the lake until water levels return to normal.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa tourism officials estimate there are about 25-hundred miles of paved bicycle trails in the state and a new stretch of trail in northwest Iowa is adding to that tally. The trail runs from Spencer, through rural Clay County and the city of Fostoria and to the Dickinson County line. Clay County Supervisor Barry Anderson was at Monday’s ribbon cutting. “There’s things that we can do as supervisors to help with the quality of life in Clay County,” Anderson said. “A bike trail, some people may not think that that’s a part, but it brings people together. A healthier society is good for anybody, so it was just a good project that the supervisors could get behind.”

Brian Schmidt was the engineer on both phases of the trail. Phase one started in Spencer and, for the most part, was built within a railroad right of way. He says construction on the second phase was a bit more challenging. “That included 2.2 miles of new trail and also 0.9 miles of on-street trail on the old frontage road in Fostoria,” he says. “That project involved a lot more cooperation with the DOT and it was challenging. We went through quite a few revisions in the design, just to try to make it fit, but overall we’re really happy with the results.”

Kathy Fueston of Spencer has been pushing to expand the trail system in northwest Iowa to — ultimately — connect to trails that reach Des Moines. Monday night’s event was an emotional moment for her. “Literally, I did almost cry. It’s been a lot of years,” she said. “We’re so forever thankful. We can finally cut the ribbon and have it open.” She says the newly-opened trail out of Spencer to the Dickinson County line is safer for bicyclists than city streets and stretches of rural highway.  “I have seen so many people on bikes that probably haven’t been on a bike in 20, 30 years that feel safe on the trail to ride it and to get their bike out of the garage and go,” she said.

A proposed four mile segment from Fostoria to Milford and an 11 mile stretch from Sac City to Lake View would complete the Iowa Great Lakes Trail project.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture says he doesn’t yet know how proposed cuts of billions of U-S-D-A dollars might affect Iowans. Agencies that would be impacted include the Farm Service Agency and Rural Development programs, and likely the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps low-income families purchase food. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says he trusts U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins.

“I know that Secretary Rollins has said many times she wants to bring USDA back to its core mission and to be farmer-focused,” Naig says. “We’re going to take them at their word, and so there’s everything from, how is USDA reorganized and rightsized and does it continue to put farmers first?”

Mike Naig (Iowa PBS photo)

Naig says he’s hopeful countries will continue trade negotiations after the U.S. recently signed a deal with Vietnam in which Iowa farmers will receive 800-million dollars for ag products — mostly corn, soybeans, and pork.

(Radio Iowa) – A major plan is in the works to enhance a recreational area in western Iowa’s Loess Hills. A ski hill has been in operation since the 1960s at Crescent Hill at Hitchcock, north of Council Bluffs, an area that includes a 15-hundred acre nature preserve. Jeff Franco, executive director of Pottawattamie County Conservation, says they’re working to raise at least 25-million dollars for a project that could include a new tubing hill, cabins, an amphitheater, and plenty of public spaces. “It’ll take a little bit for us to work through this plan to ensure that we’re doing this in a sustainable manner,” Franco says, “but we’re confident that once we finally get there with all of this, this is going to be something great for the state of Iowa.”

Hitchcock Nature Center (Photo by Michael Leland, Iowa Public Radio)

Franco says his county and the state lack public spaces for recreation, and studies rank Iowa near the bottom in the nation. “We’re really kind of falling behind,” he says, “so this is an opportunity for us to better serve the citizens of this county and its visitors.” Pottawattamie County owns and operates Crescent Hill and the nature area, which includes some of the largest remaining sections of prairie land in Iowa. Franco says, “We also want this to be a place where we leverage our mission in a way that recreation, conservation, and education, kind of all come together in one space.”

Franco says the upgrades to make the property a four-season destination may take five to ten years to complete and will be funded without using taxpayer money.

(Iowa DNR News, June 9, 2025) – Happy Wild Turtle Week! Wild Turtle Week is a week-long celebration of turtles led by the Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. For more information visit the Wild Turtle Week website.

Iowa is home to 13 turtle species; western painted turtle, snapping turtle, midland smooth softshell turtle, eastern spiny softshell turtle, red-eared slider, northern map turtle, Ouachita map turtle, northern false map turtle, ornate box turtle, Blanding’s turtle, wood turtle, eastern musk turtle, and yellow mud turtle.

Many of Iowa’s turtle species are aquatic or semi-aquatic, living in lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, marshes, and wetlands while ornate box turtles are primarily terrestrial, meaning they spend nearly all of their life on land, often in prairie areas.

Iowa’s Most Familiar Turtles

Western painted turtles, snapping turtles, and eastern spiny softshell turtles are widespread across the state and are turtles you may be likely to encounter.

Western painted turtles get their name from their bright coloration and can be identified by their yellow/orange plastron (meaning the bottom of their shell) that has a yellow/orange design outlined in black.

Snapping turtle adults are typically large with a large head in comparison to their body with a large, sharp, beak. Snapping turtles have a very distinctive appearance with a dark brown to black carapace (meaning the top of their shell) that has spikes at the back, a long tail with bumps along the top, and a reduced plastron with a tan or yellow color.

Eastern spiny softshell turtles get their name from their soft and flexible shell which has short spines along the upper portion near their head. This is one way they can be distinguished from the similar-looking smooth softshell turtle. They have a very long neck with a long, narrow, snout and large webbed feet. Eastern spiny softshell turtles often have circular markings on their carapace.

Turtle Conservation Challenges

Many of Iowa’s turtle species are in decline due to threats such as habitat loss and road mortalities. Since most of Iowa’s turtles spend part or much of their lives in or near water, they depend on healthy streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands, and lakes. Turtles are long-lived animals and take a long time to reach reproductive age, with few young turtles reaching that age. Therefore, the loss of even a few adult turtles from an area can be very detrimental to a local population. All of Iowa’s turtles besides painted turtles and red-eared sliders are identified in Iowa’s State Wildlife Action Plan as species of greatest conservation need. Blanding’s turtles, ornate box turtles, and eastern musk turtles are listed as state threatened and wood turtles and yellow mud turtles are listed as state endangered, meaning it is illegal to kill or collect these species.

What can you do to help Iowa’s turtles?

Contribute to non-game wildlife conservation through the Chickadee Checkoff, buy a Natural Resources License Plate, or donate directly to the Wildlife Diversity Program.

Avoid hitting turtles in the roadway and move them out of the roadway if it is safe for you to help them. Make sure to never pick up a turtle by the tail as this can damage their spine and only handle snapping turtles if you know how to safely and properly handle them. Make sure to always move the turtle across the road in the direction they were headed and never take a turtle with you to a different location. For more information on helpful tips for moving turtles out of the road check out this article from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Plant and create more habitat! You can take steps to make your property or yard more wildlife friendly and even if it doesn’t benefit turtles directly there are also many indirect benefits. Follow along this year with our Wildlife Where You Live series to learn more about how you can take steps to benefit wildlife on your property. Iowa DNR’s private lands program has staff that help advise private landowners about possible conservation practices that could be implemented on their lands. This includes wetland restoration, restoring and establishing grasslands, and forestry practices.
Want to learn more about turtles in Iowa?

Check out iowaherps.com or herpnet.net to learn more about Iowa’s turtle species!

(Radio Iowa) – A majority of the Iowa corn and soybeans planted have already emerged. The U-S-D-A weekly report shows corn planting is virtually done, and just three percent of the soybeans remain to be planted. That report shows 92 percent of the corn has popped out of the ground, which is two days behind normal.

Southwest Iowa lags is the only district under 90 percent emerged at 81 percent. Eighty-eight percent of the soybeans have emerged statewide, which is four days ahead of average.

North-central Iowa leads with 96 percent of the beans already poking out of the ground.

(Radio Iowa) – A parade of tractors rolled through Dyersville this weekend as part of the annual Farm Toy celebration. Jerry Klostermann of Bankston was driving his Case I-H 52-50 — a working tractor that’s nearly nine feet tall. “It’s about 110 horsepower tractor…We use it on the mixer mill at home all the time,” Klostermann said. “We just take a power washer and wash it off for taking it on the tractor ride and tomorrow it’ll be back grinding feed again.”

The annual Farm Toy celebration rolls through Dyersville. (Photo by KMCH’s Janelle Tucker)

Eighty-year-old Henry Joosten of Green Bay, Wisconsin, has been coming to Dyersville for the past 22 years to participate in the event, which includes a tractor ride through the countryside. “It’s the only way to see Iowa,” Joosten said. “It’s the only real way to see what God gave us to take care of. You can go on a car, on a motorcycle, but there’s nothing like seeing it on a tractor.”

The National Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville hosts the annual event, which started in 1987. The two-story museum features over 30-thousand toys, scale models and replicas of farm equipment.

(Lewis, Iowa) – Officials with Trees Forever say, “For you prairie and gardening types, this should interest you.” Cass County Conservation and Trees Forever are hosting an “Intro to Prairie and Plant ID” prairie walk on Thursday, June 12^th starting at 6:00 pm out at Cold Springs County Park. Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning will lead the tour and you can even get your hands dirty helping with a small planting after.

More information on the Trees Forever website or the Cass County Conservation Board website and more field days are scheduled in Cass County for July 10^th, August 14^th and September 11^th so don’t miss out!

(Radio Iowa) – There’s a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person or people responsible for a week long fire at a northwest Iowa ethanol that caused significant damage. The fire at the POET facility in Emmetsburg started in the evening on May 12. Stacks of the corn stover used to make ethanol burned and POET estimates $5 million worth of the material was destroyed.

The Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office and fire investigators say the fire is being “treated as an act of arson.” The general manager of the plant says it was “a serious criminal act that put people and property at risk.”

Cass County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.13
Adair County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.16
Adams County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.12
Audubon County: Corn $4.10 Beans $10.15
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.14 Beans $10.13
Guthrie County: Corn $4.13 Beans $10.17
Montgomery County: Corn $4.13 Beans $10.15
Shelby County: Corn $4.14 Beans $10.13

Oats: $3.21 (same in all counties)