(Radio Iowa) – Large areas of Iowa remain abnormally dry or in moderate-to-severe drought, and Estherville Fire Chief Richard Beaver is urging Iowans to use extreme caution when it comes tonight’s (Monday) fireworks shows in backyards and driveways. “It’s still dangerous,” Beaver says. “The best thing I can say is if you’re going to light them, be very, very, very careful. Have a water hose handy and watch what’s going on.” For Iowans who intend to shoot off some bottle rockets and anything bigger, Beaver’s advice is to do so in an open area where you can see where they land.

“If you can’t see where they’re coming down at, they can land in the grass and lay there and smoke for a long time and then all of a sudden, you’ve got a fire after you’ve went to bed,” Beaver says. July 4th isn’t just the busiest day of the year in Iowa for fireworks, it’s also the busiest day of the year for fires. About 40-percent of Independence Day structure fires are the result of fireworks, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Fire prevention specialist Nick Hutchinson says safety concerns continue -after- the fireworks are used.

“Be cautious of disposal of them,” Hutchinson says. “That’s probably our biggest issue, putting hot fireworks into a garbage can and then the garbage can catches fire, which catches the garage on fire, the house on fire, that kind of thing.” Sparklers are considered to be safer than things that shoot off and go boom, but Hutchinson says sparklers can be dangerous, too, because they get very hot and stay that way long after the sparkle goes away.

“A lot of times, we just tell people just make a pile, cool them off with some water,” he says, “and then after they’ve cooled off for a while, then you can throw them throw them in the trash can and be okay.” According to the National Fire Protection Association, sparklers account for more than 25-percent of emergency room visits for fireworks injuries, as they can quickly ignite clothing and cause severe burns.

(Radio Iowa) – Well over half of the purchases for food, beverages and other items at last year’s Iowa State Fair were done electronically — and Gary Slater, the General Manager and C-E-O of the fair, says expects that to increase for this year’s event. “It was last year that we went to a system for every vendor to have a cash register to at least took credit cards,” Slater says. “because not every vendor took credit cards up until last year and so you have the option of paying cash or credit card or debit card.”

In 2014, there was significant push-back when the Iowa State Fair announced a cashless system for buying food during that year’s Iowa State Fair and the plan was abandoned eight years ago. Various surveys indicate at least 80 percent of Americans make cashless purchases today. And, according to Pew Research, a third of people under the age of 50 make no purchases with cash in a typical week. Slater says the pandemic accelerated that trend.

“We’re doing so much more online,” Slater says. “We’re buying our groceries online. All that’s with credit cards now.” People who’ve purchased tickets for shows during the 2022 Iowa State Fair have the option to show a Q-R code from their smart phone at the Grandstand entrance. The State Fair starts August 11th. COUNTY fair season is well underway. Tom Barnes is executive secretary of the Mighty Howard County Fair, which was held in June. He’s also executive director of the Association of Iowa Fairs.

“We’re seeing especially with the younger generations that we draw want some sort of credit card payment,” Barnes says. “The problem that we have with our county fairs is the infrastructure isn’t in place in many areas.” That lack of high-speed WiFi prevents vendors at many county fairs from processing electronic transactions. According to Pew Research, a third of people under the age of 50 make no purchases with cash in a typical week.

“But you look at the demographics that the county fairs pull…you’ve got grandma and grandpa in their 80s and their great grandkids in their teens and that’s quite a wide range of what these people expect and how they’re going to pay for their goods,” Barnes says. “Cash is still king at the county fairs.” Barnes and Slater made their comments during a recent appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S.

(Radio Iowa) – People from western Iowa and eastern Nebraska are being recruited to take part in what’s being described as a comprehensive post-COVID study. David Warren, co-principal investigator and a neurological sciences professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, explains the purpose of the research. “There’s not a good sense of how prevalent or what long-term side effects there are with long COVID or post-COVID syndrome,” Warren says. “The intent here is to try to figure it out.”

The national study is being launched through a 450-million dollar, four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health. It will study up to 20-thousand adults and children to better understand the full scope of post-COVID symptoms. “It’s important that we understand what post-COVID looks like,” Warren says. “Doing so will help us understand the future of American health care since most Americans now have had COVID, more than half of American adults and still more children have had COVID, so understanding post-COVID will help us understand how to treat people better in the future.”

The study is part of a consortium led by West Virginia University and is called RECOVER, for Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery.“We’re recruiting people who’ve had COVID, people who know they’ve had COVID, people who think they might have had COVID,” Warren says. “We’re also recruiting people who haven’t had COVID or at least don’t think they’ve had COVID.” Dr. Andrew Vasey, the other co-principal investigator and an infectious disease physician at U-N-M-C, says the duration of so-called long COVID varies greatly from person to person.

“A lot of people will get better with time so whether it’s three months, six months, nine months, it’s hard to say, you can’t really tell that,” Vasey says. “We’re seeing people that got infected in early 2020 that are still having issues, so some people have not gotten better yet.” Participants may make two to four visits a year to Omaha and involvement could include anything from being asked for information about their health, symptoms, physical activity and sleep. Some may be eligible to receive medical tests.

For more information, send email to: recover.study@unmc.edu.

(Radio Iowa/KJAN) – State Climatologist Justin Glisan says the month of June ended up being a little on the warm side.  “The statewide average temperature, we were about 71point-seven degrees, and that’s nearly two degrees above average,” Glisan says. He says it took about half of June before the heat really took over. “We started the month off actually near normal to slightly cooler than average and then we get into the middle of the month and the atmospheric furnace turned on,” Glisan says. “And we had a stretch of days in the 80s and 90s with dew points up in the 70s and 80s. So triple-digit heat indices, So very warm as we ended the month.”

June went against the norm in many areas of the state when it comes to precipitation.” June is the wettest month climatologically for the northern two-thirds of the state. And we were about an inch and a half below average, the statewide average was about three and three-quarters of an inch,” according to Glisan. “So that’s pretty dry when you’re considering it’s the wettest month and hence we saw drought expansion, D-one D-two, and even the introduction of D-3 drought in the northwestern corner, and then some abnormally dry conditions creeping into the southwest and in eastern Iowa.” July is off to a warm start and Glisan says that’s the signal right now.

“We do have high probabilities of warmer temperatures for the month and then for the first half of the month if you look at those short-term outlooks six to 10, and eight to 14-day outlook,” Glisan says. “Now coupled with that, on the precipitation side though, we are seeing an elevated signal for wetter conditions. So that’s a good signal to see when you do see the probability of warmer temperatures.” He says wetter conditions could help with some of the expansion of the drought conditions we saw in June.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State Patrol spokesman, Sergeant Alex Dinkla, says slowing down is one of the biggest things you can to do ensure your safety as you wrap up your Independence Day celebrations and head home. “We are seeing a lot of people still at what we call those egregious speeds, people traveling at over 100 miles an hour. And some of the speeds are just out of this world that we are seeing out on our roadways,” Dinkla says. He says they’ve clocked drivers at speeds on public roadways which should only be found on a race track.

“We’re not just talking about 100 101 miles an hour, we’re talking about 120 130 140 miles an hour we’re seeing out here on our roadways, the dangers of that and being killed in a crash or increased significantly. So we cannot stress enough to please obey that speed limit as you’re driving anywhere around our state of Iowa,” according to Dinkla. He says it’s not uncommon for someone to be celebrating the holiday and they end up impaired by alcohol and drugs.

“If you choose to use some of those alcohol or different items, we want you to go find that sober driver, we want you to make sure that you are safe not only for yourself, but others that are on our roadways,” he says. There will be extra troopers and county and local officers out on the roadway today (Monday) as part of a special holiday enforcement.

A single vehicle rollover accident south of Buffalo Center, Sunday afternoon, claimed the life of a 42-year-old male from Buffalo Center. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 1995 Toyota pickup driven by Troy M. Vaudt, was traveling north on 30th Street at around 4:05-p.m., when the vehicle failed to negotiate a curve to head west.

The pickup’s back end began to fishtail and came around before the vehicle went out of control and rolled. It came to rest on its roof. Vaudt, who was wearing a seat belt, died from his injuries at the scene. Buffalo Center Fire and Rescue and Ambulance, along with Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted at the scene.

(UPDATE) CORALVILLE, Iowa – On the evening of Sunday, July 3, 2022, at 6:56 p.m., at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, three-year-old boy Damaria Sanders of Coralville died from apparent gunshot related injuries suffered earlier that same day inside his residence located within the 900-block of Boston Way in Coralville. An autopsy will be conducted in the coming days.

July 3, 2022 – (Previous report)

CORALVILLE, Iowa – At approximately 12:19 p.m. on Sunday, July 3, 2022, the Coralville Police Department was dispatched to an apartment within the Boston Way Apartment Complex in Coralville for reported gunshot injuries sustained by a three-year-old child. Upon emergency personnel arriving on scene, the child was transported via ambulance to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where the child remains in critical condition.

The circumstances leading up to and immediately following the incident in question are being investigated by the Coralville Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports three arrests took place June 24th through the 26th. On the 24th, Adair Police arrested 37-year-old Luke Daniel Hommes, of Adair, for OWI/1st offense, after he was caught speeding 68 mph in a 35  mph zone in Adair. His BAC registered .182%. Hommes was also cited for No valid driver’s license. He was released later that same day on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

On June 25th, an Adair County Sheriff’s Deputy arrested 21-year-old Jeffrey Dale Dillenburg, Jr., of Creston. He was arrested in the Kum-and-Go parking lot in Adair, after a records check indicated he was wanted on a Dallas County warrant for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Dillenburg was also arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/2nd offense – Methamphetamine. He was released that same day on a $2,000 c/s bond.

And, on June 26th, 24-year-old Markese Latrell Davis, of Omaha, NE., was arrested on I-80 westbound at mile marker 88, in Adair County. A State Trooper pulled Davis over for speeding, and upon further investigation, detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. A pat down search of his person resulted in the recovery of a baggie containing a green, leafy substance. He was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, and cited for speeding. Davis was release on a $1,000 c/s bond later that same day.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors will gather at 9-a.m. Tuesday (July 5) for their regular weekly meeting. Here’s what’s on their agenda:

1. Call to order

2. Conflict of Interest with the Agenda

3. Approval of Agenda-Action Item

4. Claims of June 30th^th, 2022 Action Item

5. Approve Minutes of June 21st Action Item

6. Supervisor Committee Reports Action Item

7. Consider Appointment of Ben Wegner as a Deputy Sheriff-Action Item

8. Todd Valline Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry report to Supervisors.
9. 

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   Resolution Setting the hearing date for 2023 budget amendment – Action item 

10. Disposal of County Cars – Action Item
11. Secondary Roads Report – Action item
12. EMA Report/workshop – Action item
13. Walk through of County Buildings
14. Adjourn.