(Radio Iowa) – This (Tuesday) is the first day of summer and the continued hot, windy conditions are raising fears of flash droughts in Iowa and across the region. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, says we’ve been seeing elevated temperatures for a few weeks already and that heat may soon start impacting Iowa corn and soybeans. Todey says, “Summer is hot but when you are warmer than average and have sunny skies, lots of wind, lower relative humidity, the atmosphere puts more demand or wants to use more water out of a crop.” A flash drought is the rapid onset or intensification of drought, brought on by all of the conditions we’re seeing.

Todey says it can appear — and spread — very fast. “That can add on problems very quickly, can add distress to a crop,” Todey says. “If you’ve got soil moisture to draw from, plants can handle this for a while. If your soil moisture is a bit more limited, the problems will show up sooner.”

The latest climate outlooks show warmer temperatures across Iowa and much of the Northern Plains into September. Soil moisture, he notes, is being depleted rapidly due to the hot, windy weather.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A Pottawattamie County man was arrested a little after 2-a.m. today (Tuesday), following a traffic stop in Red Oak. According to Red Oak Police, officers arrested 44-year-old Matt Len Staley, of Oakland, on a Felony charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (A simple misdemeanor). Staley was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond. Red Oak Police were assisted during the incident by the Mills County K9 “Judge,” and Mills County Sheriff’s Deputies.

(Radio Iowa) – Ten million Americans camped for the first time during the height of the pandemic according to Campgrounds America and — with the popularity of R-V campgrounds growing — a city in the one of Iowa’s tourism hot spots is reviewing its zoning rules for R-V parks. Okoboji City Administrator Michael Meyers says R-V camping is currently allowed in his city’s commercial district along the Highway 71 corridor.

“It just kind of came up here and we kind of started doing a hard look at our own zoning text and trying to figure out how we fit into that puzzle,” Meyers said. “I think the feel of the community is that we want to make that a conditional use moving forward.” Making property use conditional in a commercial zone gives Okoboji residents a chance to provide input.

“Our zoning districts are generally split into two different sections: permissible uses and conditional uses,” he said. “Conditional uses generally require much more approvals from the city including going through the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as going to the Board of Adjustment, notification of neighbors and just some heightened regulations around the specific use.”

Okoboji’s Planning and Zoning Commission will meet soon to consider these changes, which would ultimately have to be approved by Okoboi’s City Council. According to the R-V industry, more than 50 new campgrounds and R-V parks opened this summer in the United States.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board, Monday evening, discussed entry into Sunnyside Pool, in light of a staff shortage, and the possibility of increasing the Hotel/Motel Tax to pay for a Splash Pad and other, related matters. Parks Director Bryant Rasmussen appeared before the Board electronically, as he and two of his staff are out with COVID. Another staffer is out for a few more days with the virus. Rasmussen said some season pass holders to Sunnyside Pool have threatened to ask for reimbursement of their pass costs if they can’t get priority when there is limited admission to the pool when there are only one or two lifeguards on duty.

Bryant says the lifeguards are doing the best they can with the staff they have.

He says “Typically, pools lose money every single year. It’s a service we provide to the City of Atlantic.” Any money they do make is off gate fees and the concession stand. Rasmussen said “We’re doing our best to try and get as many patrons into [and out] of the pool as we possibly can, with respect to the amount of staff that we currently have there. Parks Board member John Krogman said understands the frustrations of season pass holders.

Krogman says “It’s an unfortunate situation given how staffing is at our pool and many other pools are around the State right now, but I don’t think we can limit [pool entry] or give preferential treatment just because you have a seasonal pass.” As it stands, there are four lifeguard available currently, three more are coming, and one more is coming in July. The issue is not just staffing the pool, it’s making sure the applicants pass the swimming test before they can be certified.

The staff they currently have, are working 40 or more hours per week.

In other Parks and Rec News, Board Chair Jolene Smith said she has been talking with Atlantic City Clerk Barb Barrick about getting more money to come into the pool, and increasing the amount of the hotel/motel tax from the current 4% to the maximum 7%, would be the best way to bring in more funds, especially when it comes to acquiring a splash pad, which surveys have indicated, is a desire of the people to have. The last time a measure to increase the hotel/motel tax went before the voters, was in November, 2017. The proposed three-percent increase failed by more than 53% of the vote. Smith said the Parks Department needs to do a better job of promoting what the funds would be used for.

If a proposed measure to increase the tax to 7%, it would come very close to paying for a splash pad project, Smith said. The Board agreed to continue with discussion during a work session.

(Avoca, Iowa) – A semi tractor-trailer rollover Monday afternoon, north of Avoca, has apparently resulted in only minor injuries. According to scanner traffic, the accident happened at around 4:48-p.m. near Avoca Regional Water, off Highway 59, north of Interstate 80 and Shelby County Road F-66.

Additional information is currently not available.

(Guthrie Center) – A teenager from Bayard was cited following a rollover accident at around 5:30-p.m. on June 15th. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says 14-year-old Taytum Odel Bates was traveling east on School Street in Guthrie Center. Where the road transitioned from paved to gravel, the 2006 Ford Ranger Bates was driving began operating in what authorities said was a “reckless fashion intentionally fishtailing on the gravel.”

The pickup fish-tailed for about 300 feet before the passenger side tires entered the south ditch. Bates over-corrected, causing the vehicle to skid across the road and enter the north ditch, where it overturned. Bates was not wearing his seat belt, and suffered suspected minor, non-incapacitating injuries. He was helped out of the truck by friends who had been following in a second vehicle.

The Sheriff’s Office says Bates was not part of the pickup owners’ family, and he was driving on a school permit. He was cited for Violation of the conditions of a minor’s school license, and Careless Driving. The pickup sustained $6,000 damage, and was a total loss.

CARROLL, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports untreated wastewater overflowed from a manhole near St. Anthony Regional Hospital on the southeast side of Carroll Monday morning.

An unknown amount of untreated wastewater reached the Middle Raccoon River before hospital and city staff stopped the spill about 11 a.m. City staff helped identify the likely cause of the discharge, a collapsed sewer pipe owned by the hospital.

DNR staff were onsite Monday afternoon to take water samples and look at the river. Residents should keep children and pets out of the river for the next 24 to 48 hours. DNR will monitor cleanup and consider appropriate enforcement action.

(Radio Iowa) – Three lower court judges and two attorneys have applied for the upcoming vacancy on the Iowa Supreme Court. The five are hoping to move to the Supreme Court when Justice Brent Appel retires on July 13th. The State Judicial Nominating Commission has scheduled interviews for each applicant — which will start Monday, June 27th with Third Judicial District Chief Juge Patrick Tott of Sioux City ( 9:50 a.m.). Ames attorney Timothy Gartin is next (10:10 a.m), followed by Des Moines attorney William Miller (10:10 a.m). First Judicial District Court Judge Alan Heavens, of Garnavillo 11:00 a.m) — and Iowa Court of Appeals Judge David May of Polk City (11:20 a.m) round out the applicants.

The commission will select three of the five after the interviews to forward to Governor Kim Reynolds. Reynolds then has 30 days to make her nomination.

(Radio Iowa) – Food banks across Iowa are struggling to keep up with increased demand as pandemic aid ends and SNAP benefits fall. Food Bank of Siouxland Director Jacob Wanderscheid says they’re getting fewer donations from Sioux City area residents and they’re getting only half as much food from U-S-D-A programs compared to last year, all while more and more people need help.

“We just can’t serve as many end users, so the guests at the food pantries may see less in the basket that they receive,” Wanderscheid says. “We may not necessarily be able to stay open for the full time that we’re advertising a pantry window.” He says they’re purchasing more food to try and fill the gap, but inflation means they’re spending 15-percent more for products. In Council Bluffs, more than half of the freezers at Care and Share Pantry are empty. They’re usually filled with meat, but director Carol Thein says it’s been hard to get all the protein the organization needs. She’s seen a near-50-percent increase in clients from this time last year.

“The food pantries, we’re all experiencing increased costs for utilities, and to rent the truck to get food and pay for the gas,” Thein says. “That’s just fewer dollars available to purchase food, but we’re not going to let that stop us.” As pandemic aid runs out, the U-S-D-A has decreased the amount of food it provides for the program Feeding America’s Food Banks. That leaves Thein questioning if her pantry should pare back on the food it gives away daily to continue service long-term.

(reporting by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – All three student body presidents spoke today (Monday) during the Board of Regents meeting as they held the first reading of a proposed four-point-two-five percent tuition increase. The Board says the increase is needed after they requested an additional 15 million dollars from the Iowa Legislature and lawmakers gave them a five-and-half million. I-S-U student body president Jacob Ludwig says he understands the situation.

“It’s clear to (me) that circumstances have forced the board’s hand. less than desirable appropriations from the state make it impossible to maintain both our current rate of tuition and our high level of academic quality at our institution,” Ludwig says. He says the tuition increase is another hurdle students face following the challenges of the pandemic.

“The tuition raise is regrettable. I know that the board does not make this decision lightly or with malice,” he says. The increase translates to around 350 dollars at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University and 330 dollars at the University of Northern Iowa. Ludwig says students are grateful for the increase in state support this year — but says state support is not keeping up.

“While support from the state has pretty much stagnated. state budgeting prerogatives have made the acquisition of additional funds an uphill battle that is harder to win with each passing year. This reality means that we have to have to advocate more and harder for these universities that we all love,” Ludwig says. U-I student body president, Patrick Johnson, talked about the impact of the tuition increase on student debt.

“Thirty-thousand-464. That number is the average student loan debt held per borrower in the state of Iowa as of 2021. That’s for in-state residents, a number which figures to increase consistently in the upcoming years,” Johnson says. He says he is also concerned that it costs out-of-state students around 30-thousand dollars just for one year of tuition and fees.

“We look to other states to bolster our student body with diverse perspectives from across the nation. At the same time, we asked students to remain in Iowa following their graduation,” Johnson says. “However, I was a state in which the median household income lies in the bottom half of the nation. The contradiction stands boldly before all of us, we continue to increase economic barriers for our students and simultaneously questioning the reasons why they must relocate following their graduation.” He says state lawmakers need to do more to help.

“I’m calling on our partners in the Iowa State Legislature to work together with the Board and with students alike to create the systemic change necessary to provide accessible affordable education to any student who pursues it,” he says. U-N-I student body president, Leila Masinovic, echoes the concerns. “Students and friends I’ve known for a long time had voiced their concerns about not knowing where to turn to be able to afford to continue their education. Many of them know that as this degree gives them an education — it also secures their ability to build a great future with their families, and in return give back to the community that has helped them get to where they are,” she says.

Masinovic says U-N-I depends on the state funding even more than the other two universities. “It is vital and only makes sense that the legislature…provides more funding to public universities and supports our community members and receiving their education with less of a burden on Iowa students and families,”Masinovic says. The Board of Regents will take its first vote on the tuition proposal at its next meeting.