DES MOINES, Iowa – As the poultry industry in Iowa and across the Midwest works to rebound from the spring outbreak of avian influenza, there are predictions that another round of the disease will hit this fall.

Dale Wiehoff, director of communications for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, says while it’s still unclear how the disease became so widespread, he notes that avian influenza will likely become a permanent part of industrial poultry production. “The model of industrial poultry production that we have confines thousands of birds together that have the same genetic makeup, getting the same food and the same water,” he explains. “So it is really ripe for the spread of disease once it gets inside a facility.”

Nearly 50 million chickens and turkeys in the U.S. were lost in the spring outbreak of the H5N2 strain of avian influenza, including around 32 million in Iowa alone. With that unprecedented number of dead birds, Wiehoff says there needs to be a serious review of the safety of the methods of disposal, including incineration, burial and composting.

“The risk is if all of the virus isn’t killed in the compost process, it could be just spread out on the field and contaminating and infecting other birds,” he points out. “And worse, the possibility of the virus mutating and spreading to humans and other animals.”

Wiehoff says the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service just launched a review of how to handle the carcasses from any future outbreaks, which could include prearranged disposal sites.

(Iowa News Service)

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports seven arrests over the past week. Late Saturday night, Deputies arrested 71-year old Corvis Mark Cooper, of Orient, for OWI/1st Offense. Cooper was released Sunday on $1,000 bond.

On Friday, Greenfield Police arrested 68-year old James Eugene Bakerink, of Fontanelle, for Violation of a No Contact Order. He was released Saturday on a Recognizance bond. Also arrested Friday, was 38-year old Joseph Eric Funke, of Fontanelle. Deputies took Funke into custody to serve a court-ordered sentence.

On Thursday, 38-year old Robin Korey Brazelton, of Des Moines, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol on Interstate 80 in Adair County. Brazelton was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, and released later that day on a Recognizance bond.

And, the Adair County Sheriff’s Department reports three arrests took place last Wednesday. 23-year old Francisco J. Bermudez, of Des Moines, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol on I-80 in Adair County, for Possession of a Controlled Substance. He was released the following day on his own recognizance. 25-year old Matthew David Alluisi, of Greenfield, was arrested Wednesday on two warrants. He was released Friday on a $2,000 cash bond. And, 46-year old Lawrence Stanley Henry, of Salt Lake City, UT, was arrested Wednesday by the Iowa State Patrol in Adair County. Henry was picked up at the Rest Area near mile marker 80, on a Prescription Drug Violation charge. He was later released on $1,000 bond.

Police in Red Oak arrested two men in connection with a stabbing incident, Sunday. Officials say54-year old Reggie Lynn Lukehart faces a felony Willful Injury charge. 51-year old Rodney Gene Lukehart was charged with being an Accessory after the Fact. Both men are from Red Oak.

The pair were taken into custody after officers in Red Oak were called to the 300 block of 1st Avenue, following a report of a disturbance. Upon arrival, they spoke with an unidentified victim, who said he had been stabbed. Red Oak Rescue transported the man to the hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries consistent with a stab wound.

Reggie Lukehart was located a short time later at his home and taken into custody. Further investigation determined Rodney Lukehart took the weapon Reggie Lukehart allegedly used to commit the stabbing, and hid it in his home.

Reggie Lukehart was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond, while Rodney Lukehart’s bond was set at $2,000.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Sunday of a Glenwood man. 36-year old Robert Matthew Justice was arrested at around 6:50-p.m. in the 2300 block of Highway 34, for Driving While Suspended, with 17 withdrawals in effect. Justice was being held Sunday night in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash bond.

The lake for which the southwest Iowa town of Carter Lake is named has become a useless body of water, according to the town’s mayor and he blames the Iowa D-N-R for the mess. Several years back, the agency spent almost six-million dollars to remove algae from the lake but the newly-clear water allowed plants to grow on the lake bottom, plants that now clog boat propellors. Mayor Gerald Waltrip is upset.

“My complaint is, you can’t use the lake, most people can’t use it,” Mayor Waltrip says. “Where I live, I have not had my boat in the water for…this is the fifth summer because of the seaweed around my dock area.” He says those who attempt to take their boats out on the lake do so at the risk of burning up their motors by getting the props tangled in the lake’s forest of weeds.

“Fishermen don’t even use it,” Waltrip says. “I used to have ten boats every day from 3:30 in the afternoon until dark with fishermen all the time. They loved it and they can’t do it anymore.” In trying to wipe out the algae — and a bad stench — he says the D-N-R may have done its job too well. Visitors can now see the bottom of the lake and the sun shines through the water, which caused the abundance of plants to grow.

“I’m not going to disagree that they didn’t make it cleaner or more clear,” Waltrip says, “but now, you’re to a point where 90% of the people that used to use the lake can’t use it.” Carter Lake, a town of about 38-hundred people, has two underwater vegetation harvesters but operating them is expensive. The situation is impacting the Carter Lake Ski Club, which is losing members and spending more money on weed control by its docks.

D-N-R officials say the lake is now good for fish and the main concern is water quality. The D-N-R says Carter Lake is evolving and the problem will eventually solve itself.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — For drivers in Midwestern farm country, the growing season brings a special danger on the roads: tall corn that can obscure other vehicles until it’s too late. The plant’s broad leaves and thick stalks can stand up to 12 feet high, forming a wall of foliage that turns rural roads into long, narrow corridors of green, yellow and brown. Many intersections have no stop signs.

The peril is especially pervasive in Iowa, the nation’s top corn producer, where crops cover more than 90 percent of the land. At least five people have been killed so far this season in crashes blamed on corn.

Authorities issue warnings, but they can do little more than plead with drivers to use caution. The problem is also widespread across Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota and Indiana.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

WELLMAN, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are investigating after a Washington County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a suicidal man. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says the confrontation between deputies and 39-year-old Martin Hammen happened early Sunday at Hammen’s rural home near Wellman. Deputies were responding to a report of a suicidal man. Authorities say Hammen refused to drop a handgun, so the deputy shot Hammen.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A 31-year-old man is charged in a 2014 shooting that killed two people. Cedar Rapids police say Kendu Ray Petties was charged with first-degree murder after he was returned to the state on Friday after being arrested in Arizona last month. Police say 22-year-old Quintrell Perkins and 20-year-old Sierrah Simmons were shot and killed in April 2014.

PERRY, Iowa (AP) — Inspectors say a nursing home in Perry mishandled the treatment of three patients that were transferred there this summer after a state mental hospital closed. The Perry Health Care center faces up to $13,500 in fines after one of the patients died and another suffered a broken leg. The manager of the nursing home company, Bruce Mehlhop, says he disagrees with the inspectors’ findings and plans to appeal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is announcing changes to the federal college aid system that are intended to help students get a better handle about whether they can afford school. President Barack Obama plans to announce the changes Monday when he meets with Iowa high school students. The White House says requiring students to wait until January to fill out the federal aid form makes it harder for them to qualify for private scholarships and figure out whether they can pay for college.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Council Bluffs police hope the city will investigate a significantly larger headquarters for the department. Police Chief Tim Carmody tells the Council Bluffs Nonpareil that his department is doing the best it can with its current 19,000-square-foot building, but more space is needed.

Currently, three lieutenants share the same desk on different shifts. And investigators have to be careful when interviewing suspects because everything said can be overheard in a neighboring interview room. Carmody says that for a department the size of Council Bluffs with 113 officers and 25 civilians, experts recommend an office with between 45,000 and 55,000 square feet.

The city council will discuss hiring a firm to assess the department’s needs at its meeting on Monday.

PERRY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa inspectors say a nursing home in Perry mishandled the treatment of three patients that were transferred there this summer after a state mental hospital closed. One of the patients died and another suffered a broken leg. The Perry Health Care Center faces up to $13,500 in fines.

The Des Moines Register reports relatives of those patients are unhappy with the nursing home and the state’s decision to move their loved ones there. State officials defend the decision to close the Clarinda hospital and a similar program at Mount Pleasant. A spokesman for Gov. Terry Branstad says private agencies can provide care more efficiently than the state.

The manager of the nursing home company, Bruce Mehlhop, says he disagrees with the inspectors’ findings and plans to appeal.