The Fall harvest is underway across much of Iowa, and that means large and numerous pieces of agricultural equipment will be moving back and forth between the farm, fields and grain elevators. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Ryan DeVault, out of Council Bluffs, says motorists need to be prepared to encounter the various slow moving vehicles and pay attention.

He says those vehicles typically don’t travel more than 25 miles per hour, and you can be on top of them faster than you think.

The size of farm equipment has increased dramatically over the years. DeVault says the operators of those machines are abiding by the law as best as they can, but you need to give them some room.

The Trooper says to “Expect the unexpected at this point during the harvest season,” especially when the farming equipment is about to make a turn into a field or a farm drive.

The bottom line, he says, is to stay focused and avoid distractions like cell phones. Another thing to be alert for during the harvest season, is deer running out of fields.

Trooper DeVault says flashing your lights or honking your horn in hopes the deer will run the other way, is not necessarily helpful in preventing a collision. He said also, farmers and others hauling grain need to be careful the grain isn’t spilled on the roadway. Motorcyclists need to be watchful too, as the loose corn and beans act like marbles, causing a loss of control, especially when motorcycles are turning.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s been a warm week in Iowa with highs in the 70s and 80s, but make no mistake, the cold weather will be here soon enough. Deb Grooms, C-E-O of the Iowa Propane Gas Association, says there should be plenty of propane this year for farmers drying their crops and for people heating their homes.  “A year ago, there were 96 (billion) 355-million barrels available and today it came out 101 (billion) 842-million barrels of propane available in the United States, and pad two, which is the Midwest pad, also looks very good right now.”

Grooms says Iowans who use propane should take a nod from the Boy Scouts and “Be Prepared” as forecasters are still working out how cold and snowy the season ahead may be. “Throughout Iowa, it looked kind of like it could be a normal winter but who knows with 2020 what’s going to happen?” Grooms says. “Our suggestion is that you communicate with your propane suppliers in advance to insure you have what you need for the winter. Contact those propane marketers and get your tanks filled now.”

The Iowa Department of Agriculture reports the average price of propane is at $1.06 a gallon this week, which is up nine cents a gallon from last month. Last year in October, the price was at $1.12 a gallon. It’s estimated 67% of Iowans use natural gas to heat their homes, 15% use electricity and 14% use liquid propane.

(More at iapropane.org)

(Radio Iowa) – The state’s coronavirus website shows 461 Covid patients were being treated in an Iowa hospital last (Thursday) night. That’s 30 percent more than a month ago and the third day in a row that Iowa has set a new record for coronavirus hospitalizations. Suresh Gunasekaren, the C-E-O of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, spoke with K-C-R-G Television about the latest statistics. Iowa hospitals are treating more patients, but he notes fewer are in Intensive Care compared to earlier in the pandemic.

“Many physicians around the state are very good at managing Covid patients at home, so they have a higher level of care before they even come ito the hospital,” he says, “and so I think that a lot of these strategies are allowing us to more successfully treat Covid patients.”

University of Iowa Hospitals served as a test site for remdesivir, one of the therapies now available for Covid patients. A new study released Thursday found the medication cut recovery time for Covid patients by five days. It’s one of the drugs prescribed to President Trump.

(Radio Iowa) – The 2020 Iowa General Election ballot asks voters if there should be a convention to revise the state constitution. The question must be submitted to Iowa voters once every 10 years. Todd Pettys is a constitutional law professor at the University of Iowa. “If you’re at all risk averse, the idea of a constitutional convention ought to be a very frightening thing,” Pettys says. “It’s really the appropriate thing to do only if you think the system is fundamentally broken and needs to be changed in lots of ways.”

Pettys says voters in the 1920 election asked for a constitutional convention, but the legislature refused to follow through and organize one. Any changes convention delegates drafted ultimately would have to be approved by voters, but Pettys says delegates could propose dramatic changes in how Iowa government is structured. “So you’re really opening up a Pandora’s Box,” he says, “and then whatever they propose, whatever document they come up with gets sent out to the people of Iowa to get voted on in one up or down vote.”

The state’s original — and only — constitution was ratified in 1857 and it includes a requirement that voters be asked every 10 years if they wish to hold a constitutional convention to consider changes to the document. There’s a SEPARATE process for proposing AMENDMENTS to the Iowa Constitution and, over the past 154 years, the state’s voters have approved 48 amendments.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Katarina Sostaric)