WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past few decades tornadoes have been shifting — decreasing in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas but spinning up more in states along the Mississippi River and farther east, a new study shows. Scientists aren’t quite certain why. Tornado activity is increasing most in Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and parts of Ohio and Michigan, according to a study in Wednesday’s journal Climate and Atmospheric Science. There has been a slight decrease in the Great Plains, with the biggest drop in central and eastern Texas. Even with the decline, Texas still gets the most tornadoes of any state.

The shift could be deadly because the area with increasing tornado activity is bigger and home to more people, said study lead author Victor Gensini, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Northern Illinois University. Also more people live in vulnerable mobile homes and tornadoes are more likely to happen at night in those places, he said. Even though Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma get many more tornadoes, the four deadliest states for tornadoes are Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee and Arkansas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A new study finds that tornado activity is generally shifting eastward.

Because tornadoes sometimes go undercounted, especially in the past and in less populous areas, scientists don’t like to study trends by using counts of tornadoes. Gensini and tornado scientist Harold Brooks of the National Severe Storms Lab looked at “significant tornado parameters,” a measurement of the key ingredients of tornado conditions. It looks at differences between wind speed and direction at different altitudes, how unstable the air is and humidity. The more of those three ingredients, the more likely tornadoes will form. The increases in this measurement mirrored slightly smaller increases found in number of twisters. The study looked at changes since 1979. Everywhere east of the Mississippi, except the west coast of Florida, is seeing some increase in tornado activity. The biggest increase occurred in states bordering the Mississippi River.

Overall there is a slight increase in tornado activity, but it’s not too much and not nearly like what’s happening in the east, Gensini said. Why is this happening? “We don’t know,” Gensini said. “This is super consistent with climate change.” As the Great Plains dry out, there’s less moisture to have the type of storms that spawn tornadoes, Gensini said. Tornadoes form along the “dry line” where there are more thunderstorms because there’s dry air to the west and moist air from the Gulf of Mexico to the east. That dry line is moving east. “This is what you would expect in a climate change scenario, we just have no way of confirming it at the moment,” Gensini said.

Gensini said unless there are specific detailed studies, he and others cannot say this is caused by global warming, just that it looks like what is expected. Pennsylvania State University meteorology professor Paul Markowski, who wasn’t part of the research, praised the study as careful and well done.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — No winning lottery ticket was sold for the latest Mega Millions drawing, meaning the jackpot climbs to $868 million. Mega Millions officials say no tickets matched all six numbers to claim the estimated $667 million grand prize in Tuesday night’s drawing. The numbers were 3, 45, 49, 61, 69 and Mega Ball 9. The next drawing will be Friday. The estimated jackpot for that drawing would be the second-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. The record lottery jackpot was a $1.6 billion Powerball prize won in January 2016.

The jackpot has been growing since July, when a group of California office workers won $543 million. It costs $2 to play the game, but the odds of winning the jackpot aren’t good. The chance of matching all six numbers and taking home the grand prize is one in 302.5 million. Mega Millions is played in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

(Radio Iowa) — Republican Governor Kim Reynolds and Democratic challenger Fred Hubbell meet tonight (Wednesday) in their second “live” T-V debate. Dordt College political science professor Jeff Taylor says debates do not sway many voters. “If a candidate makes a serious gaffe or error or some kind of big blunder in the debate, then that could be problematic,” Taylor says. “…But generally speaking, I think debates usually reinforce the base.”

So Republicans will be cheering for Reynolds tonight and Democrats will be cheering for Hubbell. Reynolds says Hubbell didn’t seem to be having much fun at their first face-to-face debate. “It is fun to talk about the positive things that are happening in Iowa…to be the cheerleader of a state that I love,” Reynolds says. “…Everything he says is doom and gloom and negative and I don’t think it’s reflective of the whole story.” Hubbell says he has a different approach to debating.

“I don’t necessarily go on the attack all the time like her ads do and like she did in the debate,” Hubbell says. “I think about things. I approach it with a common sense, bipartisan agenda.” Tonight’s (Wednesday’s) debate will be held at Morningside College in Sioux City and broadcast on K-T-I-V in Sioux City, K-W-W-L in Waterloo and K-T-T-C in Rochester, Minnesota at 7 p.m. The final debate between these two gubernatorial candidates will be EARLY Sunday morning in Davenport.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office late Tuesday night, reported the arrest of a Farragut man on drug charges, following a traffic stop by the Fremont County K9 Unit. 37-year old Alfred Mutchler was charged with (felony) Possession of a Controlled Substance, (Methamphetamine) 3^rd Offense or greater, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $5,300 cash bond.  Authorities say additional charges are pending.

During the traffic stop, K9 “Roby” was deployed and alerted to the presence of controlled substances in the vehicle.  Mutchler was found to have a baggie containing methamphetamine as well as drug paraphernalia concealed on his person.

Mutchler

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — No winning lottery ticket was sold for the latest Mega Millions drawing, meaning the jackpot climbs to $868 million. Mega Millions officials say no tickets matched all six numbers to claim the estimated $667 million grand prize in Tuesday night’s drawing. The numbers were 3, 45, 49, 61, 69 and Mega Ball 9. The next drawing will be Friday. The estimated jackpot for that drawing would be the second-largest lottery prize in U.S. history.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office acknowledges Iowa’s voter registration lists are being sold on the internet, but says there’s no call for public alarm. The office said Tuesday that the FBI is investigating reports of voter registration rolls from 19 states _ including Iowa _ being sold online. Spokesman Kevin Hall says the rolls are public records that anyone can buy from the Secretary of State’s Office for about $1,000 and don’t include voters’ personal information.

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) — Attorneys for an Iowa farmer who appeared on ABC’s “The Bachelor” say they are close to reaching a deal with prosecutors that would resolve a criminal charge against him related to a fatal crash last year. An attorney for Chris Soules said during a Tuesday hearing that attorneys should know by Monday whether a deal had been reached. Soules rear-ended a tractor, killing its driver. He’s charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — An engineering report blames the failure of a pipe cap for a massive steam release that fatally injured an employee at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. The report from HBK Engineering says the “sudden, catastrophic failure of this cap is the likely cause” of the Sept. 10 accident at a campus dining hall.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of a Red Oak man on multiple charges after a search warrant was executed on Tuesday. The search warrant was executed at 103 E Valley Street in Red Oak at 11:44am Tuesday. Officers were there to located phones and/or computers used in a violation of a no contact order. Officers located several phones and computers along with suspected methamphetamine paraphernalia, ammunition, and a small homemade explosive. Officers then arrested 59-year-old Thomas Oscar Anderson of Red Oak for Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd or subsequent offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Ammunition as a Felon, Possession of Explosive Device, and 65 counts of Violation of a Protective Order.

Anderson was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on no bond. The investigation is ongoing and more charges may follow.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Tuesday, highlighted $2 million in funding available over the next year from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that will support eight Iowa Water Quality Initiative (WQI) projects. The funding is through the USDA’s Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watershed Initiative (MRBI) and will support practices that help improve water quality.

Among the Watershed projects selected for the funding is the Walnut Creek WQI (Pottawattamie, Montgomery, Page, Fremont Counties). In addition, Slocum Creek Watershed in Pottawattamie County is an existing MRBI project that will be funded again this year.

The funding will support conservation practices that reduce nutrient loss and improve wildlife habitat while maintaining agricultural productivity. Eligible practices include cover crops, bioreactors, grassed waterways, terraces and prescribed grazing. Each watershed project will have specific practices that are eligible.

Farmers interested in participating should contact their local USDA office by March 15, 2019.

Cass County Treasurer Tracey J. Marshall reminds residents that the Treasurer’s Office will be closed Wednesday, Oct. 17th, for Driver License Training. All other courthouse offices in Atlantic will be open during regular business hours.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office acknowledges Iowa’s voter registration lists are being sold on the internet, but says there’s no call for public alarm.

The office said Tuesday that the FBI is investigating reports of voter registration rolls from 19 states — including Iowa — being sold online. Spokesman Kevin Hall says the rolls are public records that anyone can buy from the Secretary of State’s Office for about $1,000.

Hall says the rolls don’t include voters’ personal information, such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers, and the attempts to sell the lists online has no impact on the security of Iowa’s elections.

Hall says the online sales aren’t the result of any hacking, saying whoever is selling the lists got them the way anyone else would. They “bought these lists and are using them improperly … to try to make a profit.”

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports Stuart Road between 130th and 160th, will be closed temporarily on October 17th between 9-p.m. and 5-a.m. the following morning. A large crane will be traversing the road and crews have to haul in dirt to cover the road so it does not sustain damage.