Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz says the first college football playoff showed the Big Ten is not as “down” as many claimed. Ohio State made a surprising run to the national championship despite being without its top two quarterbacks. Ferentz says there is more parity among the conferences than many believe.
Iowa closes out spring drills on April 25th.
(Learfield Sports)
Iowa Cubs general manager Sam Bernabe doubts fans in Des Moines will see star prospect Kris Bryant play. Bryant won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season if the parent Chicago Cubs wait until Friday to call him up. The I Cubs home opener is Friday night against Oklahoma City.
Bernabe says if fans in Des Moines get a chance to see Bryant play it most likely will only be for a day or two. The I-Cubs are 3-3 on the season after Wednesday’s 3-2 loss in ten innings at New Orleans.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lance Lynn extended his April success with five solid innings and Matt Holliday had a two-run single in the first inning, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night. Lynn (1-1) allowed one run and six hits. He pushed his April record to 13-2 since 2012, the best record in the majors over that period.
Wily Peralta (0-1) gave up four runs on 10 hits over five innings for Milwaukee. Yadier Molina had three hits for St. Louis, which won 12 of 19 against Brewers last season.
Kevin Siegrist, Seth Maness, Matt Belisle, Randy Choate, Jordan Walden and Trevor Rosenthal followed Lynn. Rosenthal picked up his third save despite giving up a two-out run-scoring hit to Ryan Braun in the ninth.
A fiery semi tractor-trailer accident on Interstate 80 westbound in Cass County has the road blocked this (Thursday) morning at mile marker 64. The accident was reported at 3:34-a.m., with Anita and Wiota Fire and Rescue along with Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies responding to the scene. The semi, which was loaded with paper, was fully engulfed in flames under the bridge for County Road N-28 (the Wiota Road), and early reports were there may have been some sort of an explosion.
Flames were said to have reached 30-to 40-feet high, according to the person who reported the incident to Cass County Communications. Neither the driver of the semi, Ferando Hernandez, of Los Angeles, California, nor his passenger, were injured. According to reports, for reasons unknown, Hernandez lost control of the semi, which hit an inside median guardrail before the rig jackknifed.
Traffic on the interstate west of Exit 70 was at a standstill, but the left lane was expected to have been re-opened to the stalled traffic only. The remaining traffic flow was being rerouted off the Interstate at Exit 70 south, to Anita and west to Wiota, then back north to I-80, while the wreck is cleaned-up.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press
LAMONI, Iowa (AP) — A southern Iowa chiropractor accused of accepting sex as payment for his services and performing exorcisms on patients has surrendered his state license. The Iowa Board of Chiropractic released a report detailing charges against Charles Manuel, of Lamoni. Manuel signed an agreement last month in saying he wouldn’t apply for reinstatement for at least 10 years.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials have detected the emerald ash borer in a residential tree in rural Dallas County, making it the 21st county in Iowa where infestations have been confirmed. The Iowa Department of Agriculture says the bug was identified after an arborist had contacted state officials about a suspicious ash tree. Further investigation revealed recent woodpecker activity and live larvae below the bark.
BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Jury selection is underway in the trial of a man accused of gunning down a Burlington bicyclist in August. About 55 potential jurors remained for questioning in the trial of 39-year-old Joshua Royer, of Burlington. He is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 50-year-old Eddie Martin Cooper.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lawmakers in a government oversight committee say they may propose changes to an Iowa law that allows authorities to seize money and other items from people suspected of illegal activity. People in support of reforming what is known as civil asset forfeiture testified that revising state law could ensure people are treated more fairly. The Iowa law allows authorities to seize assets like cash, cars or property from a person suspected of illegal activity.
The Cass County Conservation Board has announced a “Wildflower Walk!” program will be held at the Frank Chapman Pellett Memorial Woods just north of Atlantic, on April 25th. The 9-a.m. event is free and open to the public. The Oak Strollers Nature Club for Families are welcome to join at the event as well.
You’re invited to join Cass County Conservation Department staff for a walk through the early spring wildflowers, and to learn the names, uses and history of the Wildflowers. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to view one of Southwest Iowa’s best locations to observe spring woodland wildflowers. The 20 acre tract of land contains 8 acres of native woodland that was established as a wildflower preserve in 1908. It is known to contain over 120 species or plants, some of which are marked along the trail.
Pellett Memorial Gardens is located just outside of Atlantic, ½ mile north and ¾ mile east of the KJAN radio station. For more information, call Lora Kanning, Naturalist
with the Cass County Conservation Board, at 712-769-2372.
The City of Atlantic has qualified for and is officially designated, as a “Tree City USA” community for the 20th year. Dolly Bergman, with the local Trees Forever group, told the Atlantic City Council Wednesday evening, that she and Atlantic Parks and Recreation Dept. Director Roger Herring, along with Assistant Parks Director Seth Staashelm, attended a Tree City USA event in Des Moines on April 10th, during which Atlantic once again received the honor of being a Tree City USA community.
(From left) IA DNR Director Chuck Gipp, Atlantic Parks & Rec Director Roger Herring, Asst. Director Seth Staashelm, Trees Forever Chairperson Dolly Bergman & State Forester Paul Tauke.
Atlantic Asst. Parks & Rec Director Seth Stasshelm with the new Tree City USA signs. (Click on the photo to enlarge)
The City received two new signs that will be erected to replace signs located on the east and west sides of town. The old signs may be relocated along Olive Street and near Mahle Engine Components, if they can be cleaned-up and/or refurbished. The new signs will also be adorned with stickers acknowledging the fact the City has been a Tree City USA for 20 years. A new Tree City USA flag will be flown over the Atlantic City Park, as well.
Bergman reminded the Council there are four criteria in order to be eligible for the designation. There must be a “Trees Board” – which in Atlantic, is the Trees Forever group, a tree care ordinance is in place, a community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per capita, and an Arbor Day observation and proclamation.
Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones, surrounded by the local Trees Forever group, signs the annual Arbor Day Proclamation.
Bergman said also, there will be an an Arbor Day event on Friday, April 24th, at the Schuler Elementary School, during which a tree will be planted with the help of 4th graders, at around 2:30-p.m. In addition, each of those 4th grade students will be presented with a tree.
Bergman also had some good news for local merchants with regard to “tree economics”: She said studies have shown shoppers will travel further and longer, to visit a district with high quality trees. They will also spend more time once they arrive in the community because of the trees. Visitors to well treed central business districts, she said, will spend 9-to 12-percent more for their products, a seven percent higher rental rate for commercial offices, due to high quality landscaping. She said also, trees located near a hospital have been shown to help patients recovering from surgery who have a view of trees, have shorter post-op hospital stays.
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DES MOINES – Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been positively identified in a residential tree in the southeast corner of rural Dallas County, making this the twenty-first county in Iowa where this invasive beetle has been found. EAB kills all ash tree species and is considered to be one of the most destructive tree pests ever seen in North America.
The current EAB infestation was found as a result of an arborist contacting state officials about a suspect ash tree. Investigation by the Iowa EAB team revealed characteristic galleries, recent woodpecker activity, and live larvae that were positively identified by federal identifiers.
“This finding is the closest to Polk County and Iowa’s capital city to date” said Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardships EAB and Gypsy Moth
Coordinator. “With this discovery, Iowa has declared three positive counties in 2015
where this ash-killing pest has been found.”
Twenty-one Iowa counties now have confirmed EAB infestations. A statewide quarantine, issued on Feb. 4, 2014, remains in place, restricting the movement of hardwood firewood, ash logs, wood chips and ash tree nursery stock out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states. “We still strongly urge Iowans to not move firewood long distances,” said State Entomologist Robin Pruisner of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. “A large portion of Iowa is not showing signs of EAB infestation; let’s keep those areas EAB-free as long as possible by not moving wood that potentially harbors EAB or other tree pests. Be vigilant and report suspicious symptoms in counties that are not yet known to be infested to a member of the Iowa EAB Team.”
The Iowa EAB Team provides EAB diagnostic assistance to landowners and includes
officials from Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), Iowa
State University Extension and Outreach, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
(DNR), USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service and the USDA Forest Service.
The Iowa EAB Team strongly cautions Iowans not to transport firewood across county
or state lines, since the movement of firewood throughout Iowa or to other states
poses the greatest threat to quickly spread EAB and other plant pests. Most EAB
infestations in the United States have been started by people unknowingly moving
infested firewood, nursery plants or sawmill logs. The adult beetle also can fly
short distances, approximately 2 to 5 miles.
The window for preventive treatment measures (trunk injection, soil injection, soil
drench or basal trunk sprays) is mid-April to mid-May. If a landowner is interested
in protecting a valuable and healthy ash tree within 15 miles of a known infestation, they should have landscape and tree service companies bid on work, review the bids and treat during the recommended treatment time.
Please contact Iowa EAB Team members to have suspicious looking trees checked in
counties not currently known to be infested. The State of Iowa will continue to track the movement of EAB on a county-by-county basis. Before a county can be officially recognized as infested, proof of a reproducing population is needed and an EAB must be collected and verified by USDA entomologists.
To learn more about EAB and other pests that are threatening Iowa’s tree population,
please visit www.IowaTreePests.com.
(Press Release)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A plan to expand access to medical marijuana has won approval in the Democrat-majority Senate, but the legislation is unlikely to move any further this year in the Legislature. The Senate voted 26-19 in favor of the bill Wednesday. The legislation would make medical marijuana available to people with certain chronic diseases. Those approved by a doctor could purchase marijuana products produced in Iowa and sold at state-licensed dispensaries.
The legislation moves to the Republican-controlled House, where leaders have expressed little interest in the bill. Last year, the Legislature approved a law allowing some residents with epilepsy to use oil with an ingredient derived from marijuana for treatment. But the law did not establish an in-state program for the production and distribution of the oil.
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