(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped again in April. Iowa Workforce Development reports initial unemployment claims fell to five-thousand-290 (5,290) last month — the lowest monthly number since 1973. That led to a drop in the April unemployment rate to three percent, down from three-point-three percent in March. The total number of working Iowans increased by 10-thousand in April compared to March — and that’s 45-thousand-100 more than April one year ago.

Manufacturing added 11-hundred jobs — the most of any sector for the month — and the fifth consecutive gain for the sector.

(Radio Iowa) – Deere and Company saw net sales and revenue rise 11 percent in the last quarter and the company’s executives are predicting even higher sales of tractors and combines in the months ahead. Deere and Company’s net income in the last quarter was more than two billion dollars — about 300 million dollars more than in the same period last year. Deere’s chairman and C-E-O says it’s due to strong demand even as the company faces supply chain pressures on equipment production and delivery schedules.

Deere projects demand for farm equipment will remain strong through the rest of the year. Deere sales of ag equipment rose 13 percent in the past three months. Sales of John Deere lawn products and small ag equipment were up five percent and Deere’s construction and forestry division saw sales increase nine percent during the last quarter.

(Carroll, Iowa) – It’s bad enough when a deer runs out in front of your vehicle and causes damage, but one deer in northwest Iowa decided to visit the Carroll Recreation Center Tuesday evening. In surveillance video posted on the City of Carroll Facebook page, the wayward deer can be seen losing its footing as it was making its way through one corridor and ended up in another corridor. It got back up on its legs, and heading out the same way it came in.

Still frame video image of a deer in the Carroll Rec Center (from the City of Carroll Facebook page).

“We heard she was in to sign up for some of our awesome afternoon classes,” said the city of Carroll on its Facebook page. “She left the same window she came in, but seemed in good health when she left. “We hope she’s doing well, but request that she knocks at the door next time she needs a day pass.”

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The nation’s largest recreational boating safety event of the year, National Safe Boating Week, takes place May 21–27, and serves as a reminder to boaters to keep safety front and center all season long. The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water offers three tips for boaters to be safety heroes on the water.

1. The best life jacket is the one you will wear, meaning one that’s comfortable. There are many lightweight inflatable life jackets that fit the bill. Check the jacket’s label to ensure it’s approved for your type of boating. If the kids are visiting, don’t be tempted to put a child in an ill-fitting adult life jacket.
2. Boating safety reports indicate that operator inattention, improper lookout, operator inexperience, excessive speed, and alcohol rank as the top five primary contributing factors in accidents. Focus on eliminating these factors by putting down the cellphone, practicing using S.C.A.N. procedures to avoid distracted boating, taking a free boating safety course, slowing down, and driving more defensively, especially in congested boating areas. Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents, so save the celebration for after the boat is safely tied up for the night. Boat operators also need to recognize they are responsible for the safety of their guests, including inebriated ones.
3. Remember to wear an engine cutoff switch if your boat is less than 26-feet, traveling on plane or above displacement speed. Engine cutoff switches can prevent boat strike injuries after an operator has been ejected from the vessel or displaced from the helm.

What Is SCAN?

SCAN: Search, Concentrate, Analyze, and Negotiate. This is something every attentive skipper does continually, and probably without thinking about it, while underway. Simply put, “scanning” is looking from side to side – and behind you – for boats, people, and objects on the water that may pose a risk of collision. Repeat whenever you’re underway.

Search the area all around your craft. This is a 360-degree examination of everything around your boat. Distances away will close or open depending on your speed or the speed of the observed boat or object. The faster you’re operating, the farther out you’ll need to search.

Concentrate on what you’re seeing. Is it a boat? What type? What is it doing? What is its relative speed? Is it a stationary object? Drifting or anchored? Things can happen fast out there, so these are questions you must consider while you look at the various observed boats or objects.

Analyze what you’re watching. Is it closing in on your position or going away from you? Remember, if the object you’re observing is getting closer to you and its relative position to you is not changing, it is on a collision course. Never assume you’re seen by other boat operators, who may or may not be distracted. Determine this by the way and direction they’re operating. Analyze how far away the boat or object is and how fast it is closing the distance between you and it.

Negotiate. What are you going to do? Slow down, turn away from the boat or object, and head in a different direction? Remember the Navigation Rules. Learn the proper action to take while meeting head on, crossing, or overtaking another boat.

(Radio Iowa) – Portions of Red Haw State Park will reopen today (Friday), more than two months after a deadly tornado swept through Lucas County and the Chariton area, destroying much of the park’s infrastructure and foliage. Park manager Bonnie Friend says the March 5th twister killed a man who was camping at the park and storm damage to the park itself was significant. “We lost probably 75% of the campground as well as we lost all five docks, three shelters and the storage building,” Friend says. “So over this time since March 5th, we’ve had amazing progress.” The National Weather Service says the E-F-3 tornado that hit the park was on the ground more than 16 miles, with peak winds of 138 miles an hour.

(Pics from the Red Haw State Park fundraising page)

Friend says her park crew, as well as D-N-R staffers from elsewhere around the state, have worked long hours to clear hundreds of downed trees. “We’ve also had a volunteer day where we had 229 people from across Iowa help us to clean the north side of any metal or debris, limbs, etcetera,” Friend says. “Then, an amazing disaster group by the name of Team Rubicon came in April for three days and what we were able to accomplish was just mind boggling.” Parts of the park will be opening this morning, including day use areas, the beach for swimming, and one boat ramp. Friend hopes to get a kayak launch put in place next week, too.

“We’ve been able to make the north side of the park safe for the public to visit, but the south side, all the trails, the campground and all the shelters are still closed,” Friend says. “We still have a tremendous amount of debris and trees to take care of in order to make it safe on the south side.” No dollar estimate is being released on what it’s taken to get the park partly restored and Friend says it’ll be well into summer, perhaps fall, before the rest of the property can reopen.

“There’s just so many unknown variables and so many things to take care of, and then there’s supply and demand issues as well,” Friend says. “I haven’t really been given a time. I just know that it’ll be at least three to four months just to remove trees that are broken and dangerous before we can even look about moving forward as far as repair.” A GoFundMe page is raising money to help with clean-up, repair and reforestation. (https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuilding-tornado-cleanup-of-red-haw-state-park)

Checks can also be sent to the DNR at Red Haw State Park, 24550 US Highway 34, Chariton, IA 50049. For updates, visit the Iowa DNR’s Alerts and Closure page: www.iowadnr.gov/parkclosures

Officials with the Iowa Association of Realtors (IAR) report April’s real estate sales dipped 8.8 percent. The Housing Trends report shows median sales price rose almost 10 percent over April 2021. There was a decline over 396 homes sold when comparing April 2022 to April 2021. The report shows 3,591 sold last month, compared to 3,938 in April 2021. On a brighter note, pending sales were up almost 11% from April 2021. Compared to the first 4 months of 2021, sales are only .8 percent lower this year.

The median sales price for April 2022 increased 9.8% to $209,700 compared to $191,000 in April of last year. The Realtors Association says that is is a record high for median sale price in Iowa. The number of homes available for sale continues to be low in many price ranges. The inventory of homes was 28 percent lower than in April 2021 with only 6,522 homes on the market statewide.  The average days on market for properties continues its decreasing trend. April saw an average of 36 days on the market. That is 26.5 percent faster than April of last year.

IAR President Byrin Menke said, “While sales did drop in April, we’re encouraged by the almost 11 percent rise in pending sales. This bodes well for May and June. We believe April’s rainy and cold weather may have impacted sales and construction of new homes in Iowa. We’re looking forward to improved weather and real estate activity in May and June. With mortgage rates rising and a tight inventory, we encourage buyers to have all their finances in order and get pre-approved. Find a local, trusted Realtor to help you through these market conditions.”

(West Des Moines) – Iowa 3^rd District Representative Cindy Axne, Thursday, announced funding requests for 15 community Projects in Iowa’s Third Congressional District she submitted to the House Appropriations Committee. On the list is a one-million-dollar request to construct a childcare center in Griswold. The proposed center will provide year-round child care, including full-time, drop-in, and before and after school care. The center, located south of the Griswold Elementary School, is designed with four childcare rooms to accommodate children ranging from six weeks to four years of age, including a separate area for before and after school care.

Currently, the Noble Initiative Foundation is in the process of an aggressive $2.3 million capital campaign to build the facility. In addition to the funding request for Griswold,  Axne submitted funding requests for one-million dollars to retrofit green storm water infrastructure practices in Pacific Junction. She’s also requesting $779,025 to help Adams County Economic Development Corporation create an entrepreneurial and incubator center in Corning.

Other, (area) projects submitted to the House Appropriations Committee for FY23:

• $2,000,000 to replace a bridge on 250^th Street between Evergreen Avenue and G Avenue in Montgomery County
• $1,789,100 to revitalize downtown Mount Ayr through surface transportation improvements
• $1,500,000 to add 30,000 square feet to the Food Bank of Iowa’s warehouse in Des Moines
• $1,000,000 to retrofit green storm water infrastructure practices in Pacific Junction
• $779,025 to help Adams County Economic Development Corporation create an entrepreneurial and incubator center in Corning

Under guidelines issued by the Appropriations Committee, each Representative may request funding for up to 15 projects (up from 10 in FY2022) in their community for 2023. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams. Only state and local governments and non-profit organizations (including special districts and quasi-governmental non-profits) are permitted to receive funding.

In compliance with House Rules and Committee requirements, Congresswoman Axne has certified that she, her spouse, and her immediate family have no financial interest in any of her requested projects.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Police arrested a woman late Thursday night, on a Montgomery County warrant for Violation of Probation. Authorities report 39-year-old Jessica Lynn Boyce, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 11:24-p.m., in the 400 block of E. Valley Street. Boyce was being held in the Montgomery County Jail, on a $20,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The three candidates competing for the Iowa Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nomination say college student debt is a problem, but during a debate last (Thursday) night on Iowa P-B-S they disagreed about providing relief to borrowers. Mike Franken of Sioux City says wage stagnation and the profits banks and investors make from college loans have made the situation worse.

“But I believe it’s a divisive issue in America to set aside student loans,” Franken said. “…Somebody who graduated two years ago, do we compensate them?…Is this an ongoing thing and if we constantly wipe out student loan debt, what do you think the cost of college is going to do?” Abby Finkenauer of Cedar Rapids suggests college debt relief could be offered as an incentive to get college grads to settle in places where there’s been population loss.

“If we do anything when it comes to relief, it should be targeted,” Finkenauer says. “I mean, you should not be giving anything to anybody who’s making more than — gosh — $100,000 or more a year. That’s just not how anything like this should work.” Glenn Hurst, a physician from Minden, supports not only wiping out current college loan debt, but paying back people who paid off their loans.

“We really need to be looking even farther forward,” Hurst says. “…Community college should be free, so should trade schools.” The candidates agree that congress should pass a law guaranteeing access to abortion nationwide. Finkenauer said as a 33-year-old woman, her presence in the Senate would send a strong message as lawmakers debate abortion rights.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to replace the oldest man currently in the United States with the youngest woman in history ever to get there?” Finkenauer asked. As the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to overturn Roe v Wade, Franken says it’s time to put the framework of the opinion in federal law, without additional restrictions. “I believe this is a responsibility of the women, and her doctor,” Franken says. Hurst supports expanding the U.S. Supreme Court from nine to 19 justices.

“We’ve got to have a complete change in the way we do things in Washington, D.C.,” Hurst said. Finkenauer says congress should consider term limits for Supreme Court justices. Franken suggests justices should be limited to serving no more than 18 years.

The three candidates are asking Primary voters to choose them as the General Election challenger to Republican Chuck Grassley. Grassley, who is seeking an eighth term in the U.S. Senate, is widely expected to defeat a primary challenger. Jim Carlin, a Republican state senator from Sioux City, had about 54-hundred dollars cash on hand in his campaign account at the end of March.

(Shelby, Iowa) – Two people in an SUV were injured Thursday afternoon, during a crash in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2011 Chevy Suburban driven by 57-year-old Eric Schiefelbein, of Johnston, was eastbound on Interstate 80 near Shelby, when the vehicle left the road and entered the south ditch. The accident happened at around 2:45-p.m.

The SUV struck a pile of concrete and vaulted into the air before coming to rest on its top, in a ravine. Two passengers in the vehicle, 58-year-old Ann Schiefelbein and 31-year-old Olivia Ritter, both of Johnston, were injured. Ann Schiefelbein – who was not wearing a seatbelt – was flown by LifeNet helicopter to the UNMC in Omaha. Ritter was transported by Minden Fire and Rescue to the UNMC. Authorities she was was wearing a seat belt.

Additional passengers and the driver, were uninjured. Shelby and Minden Fire assisted the Patrol at the crash scene.