(State News) – The Iowa corn harvest reached 84% this week, up from 68% last week, and soybean harvest is nearly complete, at 96%, as the state nears the end of one of its driest Octobers. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the crop progress and condition report for Oct. 21 through Oct. 27 showed a continued decline in soil moisture conditions. Topsoil rated 75% short to very short, and subsoil moisture condition rated 80% short to very short.

The state climatologist Justin Glisan reported precipitation totals for the week were higher than the past four weeks combined, yet still below the state’s average for this time of year.

Eastern and central counties saw storms this week, with Johnson County logging almost two inches of rain and 30 monitoring locations with totals above one inch.

The National Weather service forecasts more precipitation for the state next week and normal precipitation through November.

“Continued warm temperatures and dry conditions last week allowed for harvest to push forward at a brisk pace,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in a statement about the crop condition report. “Following what is likely to be one of the driest Octobers on record, weather outlooks for early November are indicating more chances for rainfall.”

A crop update report from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach noted the dry conditions have caused “excessively dry grain,” difficulty with tillage and an inability to apply anhydrous ammonia to fields.

NEWTON, Iowa — A motorcyclist was hospitalized after a multi-vehicle crash in Newton on Sunday.  According to an Iowa State Patrol crash report, at around 5 p.m. a Suzuki GSX-R1000 motorcycle, driven by 23-year-old Harley M. S. Howe, and a Cadillac CT4, driven by 40-year-old Ryan J. Smith, were traveling eastbound through the intersection of 1st Avenue East and East 17th Street when a Ford Explorer, driven by 67-year-old Randall W. Gunsaulus, pulled out of a business driveway. Despite evasive maneuvers, both the motorcycle and the Cadillac collided with the Ford Explorer.

According to the crash report, Howe was ejected from the motorcycle and was not wearing a helmet. Howe was transported to a Des Moines hospital via air ambulance. No other injuries were reported.

The crash remained under investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI — Lovers of the Iowa State Fair can bid on hundreds of state fair surplus items through Nov. 7. Daugherty Auction & Real Estate Services is handling the auction, which includes various items from used vehicles, machinery and lawnmowers, signage and advertising, benches, bricks and other pavers, artwork, antiques, lumber and much more.

As of the latest check, an 8-by-20-foot enclosed trailer has the highest bid at $1,800. A Bobcat skid loader is next at $2,800.

Bidding closes at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, and winning bidders can pick up their items between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, and Saturday, Nov. 9.

The 2024 state fair was the biggest ever, drawing a record 1,182,682 people through the gates over its 11 days.

Officials last month announced “Fair Sweet Fair” as the theme for the 2025 state fair, which is scheduled to run Aug. 7-17.

(Radio Iowa) – A proposed constitutional amendment on this year’s Iowa ballot would clarify the line of succession at the top of state government. Seven years ago, Kim Reynolds became governor when Terry Branstad resigned, but Iowa’s attorney general at the time said his reading of the constitution indicated Reynolds was becoming acting governor and didn’t have the power to select a new lieutenant governor.

State Treasurer Roby Smith was a state senator the following year, touting the proposal to give Iowa governors in similar situations authority to name a new lieutenant governor.  “When you buy insurance, you hope you never have to use it,” Smith said. “This is something that’s insurance that we’re putting in the state constitution. I hope we never have to use it, but it’s there…if we need it or the next generation needs it.”

Mary Wolfe of Clinton was a member of the Iowa House who raised concerns in 2022 about the proposed amendment that Iowa voters are seeing on their 2024 ballots. “We do need to do something, I agree,” Wolfe said. “That mess we went through last time this happened was not good, did not reflect well on anyone.” But Wolfe and other Democrats say the proposed amendment is flawed. They say the House and Senate should vote to confirm a lieutenant governor picked by a new governor who takes over in the middle of an elected governor’s term.

Bill Brauch is chairman of Polk County Democrats. “If the president resigns and the vice president takes over, if they name a new vice president that individual has to be approved by both houses of congress,” Brauch says, “but here, in this amendment, there’s no check on the governor.” Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann supports the amendment. “There is going to be a Democratic governor at some point and they’re going to benefit from this, too,” Kaufmann said. “…This is a no brainer.”

Election Day is NEXT Tuesday (November 5th).

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today (Monday) confirmed the death of a middle-aged eastern Iowa resident from Lassa fever. The individual had recently returned from travel to West Africa, where it is believed they contracted the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working to confirm the diagnosis of Lassa fever. Initial testing was done at the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory on Monday.

“This is a difficult time for the family of this individual and I want to express our deepest condolences,” said Dr. Robert Kruse, State Medical Director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. “I want to assure Iowans that the risk of transmission is incredibly low in our state. We continue to investigate and monitor this situation and are implementing the necessary public health protocols.”

Iowa HHS is working closely with the University of Iowa Health Care, where the individual was receiving care, the CDC and local public health partners to identify anyone who may have been in close contact with the patient, out of an abundance of caution, for monitoring.

Lassa fever is not spread through casual human contact like hugging, shaking hands or sitting near someone or through the air. Though very rare, the virus can be transmitted from human to human contact through blood or bodily fluids. Lassa fever is carried by rodents in West Africa and is transmitted to humans who may come in contact with urine or feces of the infected rodents.

There have been eight travel-associated cases of Lassa fever in the U.S. in the past 55 years. Approximately, 80% of those that contract Lassa fever have mild or no symptoms at all.

More information about Lassa fever is available on the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/lassa/.

(Radio Iowa) – Planned Parenthood officials say they do not yet know on how many Iowans have sought abortions out of state after Iowa’s ban on most abortions after the sixth week of a pregnancy took effect July 29th. Dr. Sarah Traxler is medical director for Planned Parenthood of North Central States, which includes Iowa.

“Quite a few of my patients in Minnesota and Nebraska are from Iowa,” she says. “We do anticipate partner organizations that really focus on the data of abortion care will be releasing data soon so that we can actually measure the impact of this ban in Iowa.” Iowa is among four states that ban most abortions after the sixth week of a pregnancy. The Iowa law has exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormality or life of the mother.

Holly Thomas, a patient navigator for Planned Parenthood, says she has personally helped 750 women in the past three months and the majority were from Iowa. “I recently worked with a patient who needed to be seen out of state. She chose to go to a nearby state, but didn’t have any transportation,” Thomas said. “We worked with volunteer pilots who were able to fly her to the location and once there, we provided her with a hotel room and gift cards for food and ride shares to get her to the airport.”

Planned Parenthood closed and consolidated some clinics in Iowa in the past year and has expanded its clinic in Omaha, Nebraska, where abortion is allowed up to the 12th week of a pregnancy. Nebraska voters are being presented with two competing ballot initiatives on abortion this election. Maggie DeWitte, executive director of Pulse Life Advocates of Iowa, is a spokesperson for the Iowa Coalition of Pro-Life Leaders. “I just feel very grateful and blessed that we live in a state where we are now moving forward with more protection for women and families in Iowa,” DeWitte says.

DeWitte says it took six years to get the Iowa abortion restrictions enforced that Governor Reynolds initially approved in 2018.

(Radio Iowa) – Most kids hate to go trick-or-treating while having to wear a winter coat that covers up their spooky costume, but that might be necessary in parts of Iowa this week.

Meteorologist Brooke Hagenhoff, at the National Weather Service, says the forecast for Halloween night calls for lows in the 30s in central and southern Iowa, and the upper 20s in northern Iowa.

“The good news is, those coldest temperatures won’t occur until very, very late, in most cases, after midnight on Thursday night,” Hagenhoff says, “but for prime trick-or-treating, kind of in that 6 to 8 PM time range, we’re looking at temperatures, just after sunset, should be dropping into the mid to low 40s.”

National Weather Service photo

Some areas of northern Iowa may be in the upper 30s during trick-or-treat time, meaning kids will need to wear warmer costumes or layer well under their outfits. Des Moines and a few other Iowa communities will hold trick-or-treating on Wednesday night, and while it’ll be cold, rain is also possible.

“There is a chance for some severe storms as well with these storms as they move through, so not just rain, but also lightning,” Hagenhoff says. “We want to make sure people are not just worried about getting wet, but also staying safe. Lightning can certainly be dangerous as we try to walk around getting that candy, so keep a close eye on the forecast for that.”

In many areas of the state, it’s been a glorious fall, with the leaves changing to stunning golds, yellows, oranges and reds. If you’re a leaf watcher, you might need to snap a few pictures right away, as those colorful leaves may soon be gone with the wind.

“We’re looking at today, wind gusts over 35 miles per hour possible, and then Tuesday, our warmest day is also our breeziest day, and we’re looking at wind gusts that could top 45 miles per hour in most places across the state,” Hagenhoff says, “so we’re going to be blowing a lot of leaves out of the trees.”

High temps today and tomorrow are forecast in the 70s and 80s, but a cold front is forecast to arrive with the rain on Wednesday, knocking highs by Thursday into the 40s and 50s.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports one arrest occurred during the past week. 50-yeaar-old Jason James Masolini, of Stuart, was arrested Oct. 21st in Greenfield, on an Adair County felony warrant for Violation of Probation. Masolini was released Oct. 25th during his initial court appearance, on a $5,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa man has begun serving a sentence for vehicular homicide, for a head-on crash near Cylinder. Twenty-six-year-old Landon Schiek of Algona was killed in June of 2022 when the S-U-V he was driving was hit head on by a pick-up that crossed the center line of Highway 18, near Cylinder.

Brian Freeman of Garner, the pick-up’s driver, was found guilty of vehicular homicide while under the influence in August and sentenced to up to 25 years in prison earlier this month.

The Palo Alto County Sheriff has announced Freeman was transferred to the state prison system this past Wednesday.

(Radio Iowa) – The pheasant season is underway amidst a resurgence in the number of birds available and success by hunters. D-N-R wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says habitat is a key for bird numbers and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the main component. “You know, Iowa as a state is doing pretty well with C-R-P. We probably have more than any of the states are joining us, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois,” he says. ” But that being said, we are down from our historic enrollments like back in the mid 90s.” The C-R-P program pays farmers to take some land out of regular crop production and it is planted with grasses and other cover crops. Weather is another factor in pheasant populations.

“We had a pretty uh significant turn of weather for about five years there in the late 2000s. That really drove our populations down, but since then we’ve come back to kind of more normal Mother Nature, since about 2013,” he says. He says you can see the direct impact on the pheasant population since the change in weather. “Counts have generally showed a steady increase since then. And you know, that’s why, we’ve gotten a lot more notoriety, I guess, let’s say in the last four years or so, because our counts have come back up,” Bogenschutz says. “I mean, we’re not back to million bird harvest or anything like that. But, you know, half a million still a very respectable number. Half million plus.”

Bogenschutz says increasing pheasant harvest would take a change in the farm policy. ” You know, if we have farm policy, that would push C-R-P back to what we saw in the mid 90s. I absolutely think we could, we could harvest a million birds,” he says. The D-N-R will celebrate the 100th pheasant next fall.