(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa D-N-R says a unique weather phenomenon led to the death of several migrating birds in northwest Iowa. State waterfowl biologist, Orrin Jones, says the birds ran into trouble after flying into a weather system in Iowa. He says the birds would have left the Dakotas at sunset Monday and then entered into a frontal system in Iowa. He says once the birds hit the weather system they decided to land and then mistook wet pavement for a body of water.

“Be it a wetland or lake and landed there. And then in those very dark conditions, it would be very disorienting to have vehicles coming by with their headlights on– so a lot these birds mistakenly landed on the pavement and then were struck by moving vehicles,” Jones says. Jones says it was just a bad combination of weather and the area where they landed.

“It would have been very dark with rain or freezing rain…so it would be very easy for them to be disorientated under those conditions,” according to Jones. “Some of them probably figured it out and were able to get back in the air and find a more suitable location. Others were probably still trying to figure that out as vehicles approached.”

State Conservation Officer Steve Griebel, of Woodbury County, says he started getting phone calls and text messages about ducks on the road around 9:30 p-m. Monday. He found more than 200 ducks dead along Highway 20 toward Highway 71. Jones says this is the time of year when all of the conditions can come together and create this issue.

“October and November are when Iowa has its highest waterfowl migration — so while this is a kind of rare tragedy to have this happen — it does happen every so often,” Jones says. He says it didn’t seem to be widespread. “It seems to be relatively localized to the Cherokee, Woodbury County are. So, it just happened to affect the birds who were migrating through or over those counties,” Jones says.

The D-N-R says this the most famous occurrence of this type of weather phenomenon that happened on Armistice Day in 1940. Temperatures that day started in the mid-50s and ended with more than a foot of snow, and 150 people and thousands of livestock dead.

(Radio Iowa) – The corn and bean harvests are down to the final days. The U-S-D-A crop report shows just six percent of the corn crop remains in the fields. The most work remains in south-central Iowa — where they still have more than 15 percent to be picked. All the rest of the state has less than five percent of the corn remaining — and that puts the harvest nearly four weeks ahead of last year and more than two weeks ahead of the five-year average.

Just two percent of the soybeans are still waiting to be combined in scattered fields across the state. The soybean crop harvest ends up almost three weeks ahead of last year and 10 days ahead of average.

• KJAN, Atlantic  1.13″
• 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  1.15″
• Massena  1.04″
• Avoca  1.5″
• Audubon  1.43″
• Oakland  1.06″
• Neola  1.3″
• Underwood  1.34″
• Guthrie Center  1.2″
• Corning  .88″
• Red Oak  1.76″
• Manning  2.68″
• Irwin  2.3″
• Logan 1.6″
• Carroll  2.22″
• Clarinda  .26″
• Shenandoah  .75″

The Cass County Conservation Board is holding a Preserving Pellett Memorial Woods Workday, this Saturday, November 14th. The free program will be held at the Pellett Memorial Woods outside of Atlantic from 1 until 4 pm (feel free to come and go as you wish). The Board is looking for those volunteers who wish to be a part of the preservation process and may contribute, by assisting with the removal of honeysuckle bushes.

If you want to help, please dress appropriately (wearing long pants, long sleeves and gloves), and bring loppers if you have them. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to improve one of Southwest Iowa’s best locations to observe spring woodland wildflowers.

Pellett Memorial Woods is located just outside of Atlantic, ½ mile north and ¾ mile east of the KJAN radio station. The event will be cancelled if there is inclement weather.

ATLANTIC, IA (November 10, 2020) – Harvest Market 2020 is now offering online pre-orders with drive-through pick up. Harvest Market is scheduled for Monday, November 23 from 1-7 PM at the Cass County Community Center. Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh says due to high numbers of COVID-19 in the county, Harvest Market is offering a no-contact shopping option to keep vendors and customers safe and healthy this holiday season.

Information on Harvest Market and online pre-ordering can be found at the Produce in the Park website (www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com) or through Facebook @ProduceInThePark.
While some vendors are planning to offer in-person shopping, a number of vendors are only offering products via pre-ordering this year. Customers who shop online for Harvest Market can
“drive-through pick-up” their orders from behind the Community Center during the market (1-to 7PM, Mon. Nov. 23).

Hoegh says Pre-ordering has benefits beyond slowing the spread of COVID-19. When customers pre-order, vendors don’t risk making lots of pies, centerpieces, or candles that don’t get sold. That saves vendors time and money. Harvest Market is held the Monday before Thanksgiving, so customers can pick up local produce, baked goods, and meats to enjoy at their holiday meals. The market also offers holiday décor and gifts by local crafters and artisans.

Produce in the Park takes community health and wellness seriously and has been consulting with Cass County Public Health about how to hold the fall market safely. As such, customers
who choose to shop in person this year will be required to wear masks and maintain distance from others. The number of shoppers allowed in the Community Center at one time will be
limited, and it is recommended that only one person per household attend the event. Customers should not shop in person if they have been feeling ill within 48 hours, have been exposed to
someone with COVID-19 in the past 14 days, or have received a positive COVID-19 test or are awaiting test results. Customers planning to shop in person should be aware that the in-person shopping option has a chance of being cancelled due to COVID-19, but the pre-order drive through option will not be cancelled.

Harvest Market is sponsored by the City of Atlantic Community Promotion Commission and endorsed by the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce.

(Radio Iowa) – An effort is underway to save a derecho-damaged cow sculpture done by Norma “Duffy” Lyon — who sculpted butter cows at the Iowa State Fair for more than 40 years. It stands near the town of Toledo and is one of the only large-scale works Lyon did that was not made of butter. It’s known as the “Cow Calf” sculpture — and the head of the calf was ripped off by the derecho. Toledo Mayor Brian Sokol tells K-C-R-G T-V the city wants to help. “I think we really owe it to not only the community but the Lyon family to continue this tradition and the legacy of the family and rebuild this butter cow,” Mayor Sokol says.

Despite the damage, they were able to find all the missing pieces, including the head of the calf. Now their plan is to not only put it back together but preserve it for the long haul. Duffy’s son Eric says the plan is to have it bronzed, which comes at a cost. “Maybe in the 50 or 60 thousand (dollar) range,” Eric Lyon says. “So it’s a lot of money, we think it’s a worthwhile project that will do the community well for a long time.” Mayor Sokol says they are looking for sources of funding.”We’re gonna hit as many grants as we can but it’s still going to take you know several thousand dollars’ worth of private donations,” Sokol says.

The Iowa State University Foundation has a sculpture fund to create a bronze replica of the Cow Calf sculpture for display at the Veterinary Field Services Building. The project is estimated to cost more than 100-thousand dollars which they are fundraising for currently. The mold from that project will then be used to help bronze the original sculpture in Toledo, which will save on some of the cost there. Mayor Sokol said donations for the efforts in Toledo can be sent directly to the city or to the chamber of commerce.

Officials with the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency said Sunday, Shelby County is currently in extreme fire danger and is in a burn ban until further notice.

The Cass County Conservation Board is holding a Bat House Workshop. Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning says the workshop will be held at Outdoor Educational Classroom in Massena, on Saturday November 14th, beginning at 9-a.m. A suggested donation per house of $10 is appreciated. All ages welcome, but children must be accompanied by an adult. Learn all about Iowa’s bats, and build a small bat house or purchase a kit, during the workshop.

Please pre-register by Tuesday, November 10th by calling 712-769-2372 or email lkanning@casscoia.us.

(Radio Iowa) – A new Stanford University study finds drought-tolerant seeds, soil management practices and other high-tech tools help most when the weather is good. Study leader, David Lobell, analyzed soil properties and crop yields in Iowa and eight other corn belt states and says farmers can’t count on innovation to save them from bad weather. “People look to technology to do too many things at the same time, and ignore to some extent, the critical role of reducing the amount of drought that we’re seeing or that we’re likely to see in the future,” according to Lobell.

Lobell says there’s still not a good way to overcome poor growing conditions. “What we’ve seen with new technologies is that more than anything they help you take advantage of good weather. And so we can’t look to technologies to save us from bad weather,” Lobell says. He says broad climate change mitigation, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions beyond the farm, will help improve growing conditions. His study appears in the journal Nature Food.

(By Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)