DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI/NWS]— The National Weather Service determined at least five tornadoes touched down Tuesday afternoon (April 16,2024) in Calhoun and Pocahontas counties. All five twisters came from the same thunderstorm that traveled through that area of northwest Iowa. The strongest was an EF-1 that tracked just east of Rockwell City.

• The storm dropped its first tornado southeast of Rockwell City at 2:26 p.m.
• The second tornado touched down just south of Manson at 2:57 p.m. This tornado was rated EF-Unknown because it didn’t damage anything that could be used to estimate wind speed.
• The third tornado touched down east of Palmer in Pocahontas County at 3:11 p.m.
• The storm’s fourth tornado spun up northwest of Gilmore City at 3:34 p.m.
• Still moving across eastern Pocahontas County, the storm produced its fifth tornado on the edge of Rolfe at 3:42 p.m.

Those tornadoes are in addition to the EF-0 that spun up in Dallas County, two others in eastern Iowa, and at least four between Sioux City and Sioux Center, for a total of a dozen twisters.

More tornadoes from Tuesday could still be confirmed.

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] — Penguin Random House Publishing is suing the state of Iowa over a law passed last year banning books that contain content about sexual depictions and gender identity or orientation in schools. Now, five more major book publishers are planning to join the lawsuit. The law was blocked from taking effect as the lawsuit moves through the courts.

The publishers set to join the lawsuit include Hatchette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks. They have not yet filed to join.

High-profile authors, Iowa educators and a high school student have already joined Penguin Random House in the lawsuit.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – An Archery Club formed in Atlantic a little more than 45-years ago, and at one point in time, there were about 40 members in the local group. The Atlantic Archery League practiced at the Atlantic National Guard Armory in January, 1983. That was in the past. Fast forward to the current day, with the Atlantic Trojan Archery group having made big news, with high rankings in area and state competitions. There are over 100 high school and middle school participants. An increasing number of schools are adding archery to their programs.

Archery is much more than just shooting an arrow. Learn why this Sunday, April 21st, when Atlantic Archery Coach Clint Roland will talk about the sport at the American Legion Memorial Building (201 Poplar Street, Atlantic, IA). The event begins at 2-p.m. Roland will discuss the equipment needed, skills required for an accomplished archer, along with the characteristics and rules for competitions.

Atlantic HS & MS Archers participate in a Dec. 2023 event in Orient (photo from the Atlantic Trojan Archery Facebook page)

The program is sponsored by Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise (ARISE). Everyone is welcome stop by and learn more about Archery. There is no fee to attend. The building is handicapped accessible.

(Hancock, Iowa) – Flames consumed a residence in Hancock early this (Friday) morning. Firefighters responded at around 3:15-a.m. to the scene of the blaze at a home on Kimball Street. The two-story structure was fully engulfed in flames when the first firefighting crews arrived. The home was a total loss.

Hancock, Avoca and Oakland Fire Departments responded to the scene. The blaze remains under investigation.

Additional information was not immediately available.

(Radio Iowa) – Hospitals across the state are partnering with the Iowa Cancer Consortium to create a new online clearinghouse for places in Iowa that offer clinical cancer trials. Kelly Sittig, the consortium’s executive director, says clinical trials are research studies that identify the best ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer.

While there are many trials underway for a variety of cancer types and stages, Sittig says it can be challenging for a patient or their care team to find the right one. People do better when they get treatment close to home, she says, so it’s important to know clinical trials can be available across the state.

Find the database at: www.canceriowa.org/clinicaltrials.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says the Senate should have followed through with an impeachment trial for U-S Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Hinson says Senate Democrats are “cowards” for not taking up the impeachment trial.

Hinson says the House Articles of Impeachment came after the Secretary failed to do his job and were intended to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable.

She says the Senate Democrats signaled to the American people that they do not care about border security and accountability for this administration. Hinson made her comments during her weekly conference call with reporters.

(Radio Iowa) – A man from Fort Dodge is hoping today’s the day the Iowa House passes a bill to ensure he gets the entire payment he’s due from a legal settlement. Joe Gargano is one of dozens of Iowa men who’ve alleged they were abused as children by Boy Scout leaders. There’s a national fund to pay thousands of victims, but Iowa has a time limit on suing perpetrators of childhood sexual abuse. An attorney familiar with the payment process says if the Iowa House doesn’t pass a bill today (Friday) to waive that deadline, Gargano and up to 350 other Iowans will get a fraction of what they’re owed.

” I know what it did to me. It devastated my life into a world of self medication for years and years,” Gargano says. “It’s over 20 years now and by the grace of God…that’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m fighting right now.” The Iowa Senate passed a bill to ensure Gargano and other former Boy Scouts in Iowa owed settlements get the entire payment. The bill had stalled in the House, but it is scheduled for review in a House committee at 8:30 this (Friday) morning. The bill has to pass the committee before it can be brought up for a vote in the full House.

“There’s a lot of people out there this is going to affect,” Gargano said, “and it’s the right thing to do.” The senator who sponsored the bill says it’s narrowly written and only applied to former Scouts due these payments. Iowa law says victims of child sex abuse must file lawsuits seeking civil damages by the age of 19 — or within four years realizing they were victims of sex abuse as a child.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature may conclude its 2024 session late today (Friday) or on Saturday. A plan to cut Iowa income taxes by a billion dollars next year is on the debate agenda, along with bills that outline a state spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1st. Republican Representative Gary Mohr is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “Inch by inch,” Mohr says. “We’re very close.”

Total state spending in the next fiscal year will top eight-point-nine billion dollars. “We feel very good about the agreed upon numbers, what we’re going to do with those dollars to provide government, but also give some of it back to the people of Iowa,” Mohr says.

Republican lawmakers intend to spend 92 percent of expected tax revenue. The remaining eight percent is being funneled to the plan to have a flat state income tax of three-point-eight percent next year. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in the Iowa Senate. “Our first mission here is always give money back to the taxpayers,” Dawson says.

Representative Dave Jacoby, a Democrat from Coralville, says a flat tax benefits the richest Iowans and a better approach would be targeted cuts for low and middle income Iowans. “We’re not giving them more money back as we should,” Jacoby said.

Lawmakers debated late last (Thurday) night, approving several parts of the state budget. Community colleges will get a three percent increase in general state funding, The state’s three universities in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City are each getting a two-and-a-half percent increase in state funding. Senator Jeff Taylor, a Republican from Sioux Center, says the Iowa Tuition Grant program — for students at private colleges and universities — is getting a two-and-a-half percent funding increase as well.

“It’s not a perfect bill, but it’s a good bill,” Taylor says. “With these budget bills, especially on something as complex and important as education, you would expect that the final result is going to be something of a compromise between the House and the Senate. That’s the nature of how things work around here.”

Senator Cindy Winckler, a Democrat from Davenport, says state funding for Iowa’s community colleges and three public universities hasn’t kept up with inflation for more than a decade.  “It shifts the financial burden to our students and our families,” Winckler says.

The board that governs the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa has not yet set tuition rates for the fall semester.

DES MOINES, Iowa – World Migratory Bird Day will be celebrated May 11, 2024, and again on October 12, 2024, aligning generally with migration patterns.

The state of Iowa is located within the Mississippi Flyway, the longest overland flyway in North America. The Mississippi Flyway is a critically important route for migratory birds as they migrate north in spring and south in the fall, with the wetlands and forests along the Mississippi River being important for many species of migratory songbirds in particular. Waterfowl and other wetland birds also heavily use the wetlands in the central and northern Prairie Pothole Region of Iowa, which are essential for both migratory stopover habitat as well as breeding habitat for hundreds of species of birds.

As Peter Rea, supervisory park ranger with DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge explains, “Refuges and wildlife areas throughout Iowa, such as DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, provide critical habitat for migratory birds to rest, feed and recuperate on their long migration journeys. For many, these places act more like a rest stop as they continue their migration northward, while for some it’s their ultimate destination for the spring and summer nesting season.” “During this time of year, it’s important to minimize disturbance so other visitors can appreciate the tremendous diversity of birds that we can see throughout the state,” continued Rea.

Federal law protects migratory birds. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) prohibits the taking (including killing, wounding, capturing, selling, trading, transporting, importing, and exporting) of protected migratory bird species without prior authorization of the Department of Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 16 U.S.C. §§ 703, 707(a). The list of federally protected migratory birds is comprehensive and includes many of the birds residing in or migrating through Iowa, including Canada geese. Refer to the Federal Code of Regulations for more information. The penalties for violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are a term of imprisonment of up to 6 months, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.

Additional federal statutes that protect migratory birds include:

• The Lacey Act prohibits the importation, exportation, transportation, sale, receipt, acquisition, purchase, or inhumane transport of certain wildlife including birds. 16 U.S.C. § 42;
• The Endangered Species Act prohibits the taking, killing, wounding, importing, exporting, shipping, or sale of endangered species. 16 U.S.C. §§ 1538, 1540.  Iowa’s birds on the endangered species list include the following: piping plover, rufa red knot, whooping crane, Indiana bat, and Northern long-eared bat. Learn more about protected species.
• The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act prohibits the taking, killing, wounding, bald or golden eagles, their feathers, nests, and eggs. 16 U.S.C. § 668.

“Birders and other wildlife enthusiasts can be helpful advocates in reducing wildlife crime. Knowing the laws that protect birds and other wildlife, and speaking up can make a big difference,” said Christopher Aldrich, Special Agent in Charge, Midwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Preservation and protection of wildlife and endangered species go hand in hand with the high quality of life here in the State of Iowa. Knowing these laws and reducing wildlife crime helps everyone continue to enjoy what makes Iowa a great place to live,” said Richard Westphal, United States Attorney.

If you believe you have information related to a wildlife crime that violates federal law, please reach out to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. You can also contact the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Iowa by telephone at 515-473-9300 or email at usaias.fedbirds@usdoj.gov.

If you spot an injured bird, state licensed wildlife rehabilitators can aid the bird. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources maintains a list of licensed wildlife rehabilitators at the following links:

• Iowa DNR licensed wildlife rehabilitators
• County-specific wildlife rehabilitation look-up for Iowa

Thank you for caring about the wildlife in your community. Remember to observe wildlife from a safe distance. If a young animal isn’t visibly injured, its parents are likely nearby and still caring for it. Be sure to give young animals plenty of space to avoid spooking the parents.

Learn more about what to do if you find a baby bird, injured or orphaned wildlife.