(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa County Recorder’s Association plans to ask legislators to raise the fees they may charge for the documents they provide. Dickinson County Recorder Ann Ditsworth is the group’s vice president. “Since 1985, our fees have been the same,” Ditsworth says, “and so we have been studying the ways we could best advance that level.” Under current law, county recorders may charge seven dollars for the first page and five dollars for each additional page of a document. The association plans to ask legislators to raise the fee to 10 dollars per page.

“One of the things that we are most focused on for a fee increase is to be able to sustain the Iowa Land Record Repository, which we created in the early 2006 range and since then have continued to develop and maintain and add documents to,” she says. “…Every mortgage, every deed is going to this website that is one spot for all of the state of Iowa.” Ditsworth says the fees would be used to support the website and help county recorders update software.

“Since the time of computerization, naturally software has changed and so that is a part of how we preserve documents,” Ditsworth says. “Historic preservation is a large part of what we do because our documents are part of the American dream.”

County recorders also maintain copies of birth, death and marriage records and assists the state by registering boats and snowmobiles as well as all-terrain vehicles and off-road vehicles.

(Radio Iowa) – Ninety-two restored barns will be featured on this month’s statewide tour organized by the Iowa Barn Foundation. The group raises money to preserve the state’s dwindling number of barns. Wayne Frost, a spokesman for the foundation, says all 92 barns on the tour have received Iowa Barn Foundation grants.  “A sprinkling of the barns we have helped across the state,” Frost says. Twenty of the barns have never been featured before on one of the group’s tours.

“I would tell anybody who’s gone out on a barn tour before, come back again because we’ve got a lot of new barns,” Frost says, “and every barn has its own story to tell.” The tour is unique because people can go inside the barns rather than just drive by. Frost says some are working barns. “There’s hay in the hayloft (and) straw; there’s cattle, hogs, sheep, horses — so it’s a mix,” Frost says. “Some of them have spiffied them up.”

This is the Iowa Barn Foundation’s 24th fall tour, scheduled for the weekend of September 14th and 15th.  “The value of the tour is raising the awareness of the impact our barns have,” Frost says. “One of our board members, Dwight Hughes, likes to use the phrase that, ‘Our barns are really the castles on the prairie,’ and if you think of the landscape as you drive across the state of Iowa, all the barns that you see — it’s just amazing, but they’re disappearing.”

About 200-thousand barns were built in Iowa. Experts estimate only 60-thousand are still standing. Frost restored a barn near Waterloo that was built in the 1870s and it was included in the Barn Foundation’s spring tour.

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa clinic is offering free, short-term mental health counseling to rural Iowans who have limited or zero access to it, in addition to substance use prevention and treatment. U-I psychology professor Martin Kivlighan is co-director of the Telepsychology Training Clinic. He says they’re also providing a learning platform to teach the next generation of mental health professionals, who are in very short supply.

“It serves two purposes,” Kivlighan says. “It helps to train the future workforce within the state, while also providing really high quality services to folks who are in need of those.” Nearly 90-percent of Iowa counties are considered mental health care professional shortage areas by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which ranks Iowa 46th in the nation in the number of psychologists per capita.

Prof. Martin Kivlighan (UI photo)

“There’s a lot of different factors that are contributing to the workforce shortage,” Kivlighan says. “What we’re focusing on is training. That’s where we feel like we can make the biggest impact. So we’re just trying to increase access to training, increase the quality of training, and hopefully keep folks here in Iowa, where they’re coming from, to go back and serve their communities.” In a recent success story, Kivlighan says one of the clinic’s third-year doctoral students has announced she plans to return to her hometown in rural Kossuth County to open a counseling practice after graduating.

“She is just a wonderful advocate of rural mental health. As soon as she’s a licensed psychologist, she plans to go back there and take over the family farm as well as open up a practice to offer services to that community,” Kivlighan says. “So, it’s really rewarding, and it’s great to see this pipeline serving the purpose that we’re hoping that it continues to serve.” They’re encountering no one who’s averse to the technology, as he says the pandemic taught many of us how to use and be comfortable with video chats on our computers or phones.

“I think we all know we’re living in a really technological era right now, and 99% of folks own a smartphone, so it really is something that’s just become part of our everyday life,” Kivlighan says. “Where we do run into some issues is areas that might not have broadband internet.”

Rural Iowans who’d like to use the free service can find a contact phone number and email address at the website:
https://education.uiowa.edu/research/research-centers-and-research-initiatives/rural-psychology-collaborative

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston had a busy start to the Labor Day weekend, with nine arrests being reported. Sunday night, 37-year-old Jeffrey Michael Donald Drake, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended, and OWI/1st offense. Drake was released from custody after posting a $1,300 bond. Sunday afternoon 28-year-old Carlos Ivan Cortez, of Creston, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension. He was released on his Own Recognizance.

Three people were arrested early Sunday morning: 31-year-old Geronimo Romeo Gonzalez-Hernandez, of Osceola, and 41-year-old Ryan Lee Woosley, of Creston, were arrested at the Casey’s Store on W. Taylor Street, in Creston. Hernandez was taken into custody at around 2:30-a.m. and charged with OWI/1st offense. Woosley was arrested at around 1:54-a.m., and charged with Driving While Barred. Both men later posted bonds of $2,000 and $1,000 respectively, before being released. At around 12:25-a.m. Sunday, Creston Police arrested 34-year-old Thomas Legrand Wiggins, of Greenfield, for Driving While Barred. He was later released on a $2,000 bond.

A little after 3-a.m. Saturday, Creston Police arrested 18-year-old Liliana Aguilar Preciado, of Mount Ayr, for Driving While Suspended. She was cited and released at the scene on a promise to appear in court. At around 1:30-a.m., Saturday, 46-year-old Brian Wayne Zimmerman, of Creston, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. He later posted a $1,000 bond, and was released.

Late Saturday night, 18-year-old Tanner Dale Horacek, of Blair, NE, was arrested for Minor in Possession of Alcohol. He was cited and released on a Promise to Appear. And, Saturday afternoon, 32-year-old William Alwynn Bell, of Creston, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was late released on his Own Recognizance.

(Wiota, Iowa) – Crews from Anita Fire & Rescue and Wiota Fire responded this (Monday) morning, to a reported fire on a porch attached to the residence at 115 Allen Street, in Wiota. The call was dispatched at around 8:42-a.m.

‘Everyone evacuated the home safely, and the residents had managed to extinguish the flames prior to Anita Fire arriving on the scene.

Anita Fire continued to the scene to make sure the situation was under control. Wiota Fire crews were then advised to disregard while they were en-route.

No injuries were reported. Additional details, including the cause of the fire were not immediately available.

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa study finds a significant number of homeowners who qualify for low-interest government loans to rebuild after a disaster choose not to apply, or they reject the loan after they’re approved. Finance Professor Cameron Ellis, in the U-I’s Tippie College of Business, says they’ve done extensive research on people’s post-disaster borrowing habits dating back nearly 20 years, and the loans are an excellent opportunity. “Oftentimes they’re lower than Treasury rates, the government can’t even borrow at these interest rates,” Ellis says. “And it’s not even just people who don’t apply. It’s people who do apply and go through the application process decline the loan after learning more about it. It’s very odd, because there’s not a private alternative that would even come close to being as good of a deal.”

The study looked at loan activity following every natural disaster between 2005 and 2018, including the 2008 Iowa floods, hurricanes like Katrina and Harvey, Superstorm Sandy, and numerous western wildfires. Ellis says some people just have an aversion to going into debt, especially when the federal government is involved. “Most people’s experience borrowing money from the government comes through student loans, which, student loans are famously survived through bankruptcy. You almost always will pay back your student loans unless you get a hardship exemption,” Ellis says. “These loans are not like that. People don’t realize that they’re just like a normal loan, like a mortgage you would get where, if you go bankrupt, it’s discharged. You’re not stuck with it forever.”

The administrator of the U-S Small Business Administration was in Iowa recently to visit the town of Greenfield, which was hit by a major tornado in May. Part of the trip was dedicated to educating people about the S-B-A’s loan programs to help businesses, homeowners and renters rebuild after a disaster. The U-I study found about 25-percent of people who qualified for such loans rejected them, or didn’t bother to apply. Ellis says some people get jumpy over interest rates, when they shouldn’t be. “When the interest rate goes up by, say, one percentage point, and the average interest rate in the program over our timeframe, going back to Katrina, is about two and a half percentage points. If it goes up by one percentage point, acceptance goes down by another 25%,” Ellis says. “Maybe it’s some debt aversion reasons why people would just decline at all. But it’s very odd that they’re so sensitive to interest rates, even though they’re a much better deal than you would get elsewhere.”

Ellis says more than one-million households -did- apply for loans during the period the U-I studied, and more than 12-billion dollars was dispersed to more than 285-thousand approved households. Ultimately, Ellis says fewer participants puts more financial pressure on homeowners, and slows the pace of disaster recovery for individuals and the community.

(Radio Iowa) – Labor Day marks the end of summer when kids are back in school and farmers are making plans to harvest. State Ag Secretary Mike Naig says the end of the drought has expectations high. “All indications are, is that we’re looking at a sizable corn and soybean crop this year,” he says. Naig says there’s never 100 percent perfect conditions across the state, and that’s evident again this year. “There are places that that certainly because of severe weather flooding, northwest Iowa in particular, some parts of southern Iowa that actually, believe it or not, got dry again and and so you’re going to have some variability in in some places across the state,” Naig says. He says those areas seeing weather impact don’t bring down the lofty harvest projections.

“By and large, we’re hearing about a really good crop. In fact, we may be looking at some record yields in places, and possibly even near or record corn and soybean crops in the state of Iowa,” he says. Naig says there’s some hope that the growing season will extend later into the fall.

“You know, it was a bit delayed at spring planting. So I think there’s plenty of folks that are saying, we sure could use a long fall. But then again, there’s gonna be some folks that go right on schedule,” Naig says. “So I would say the word that you’ve got to use for the crop this year’s is variability.” Naig says there’s moisture in the ground and the conditions are good right now for the corn and soybeans to mature.

(Radio Iowa) – The Labor Day weekend was expected to be a busy one on the state rivers and lakes. D-N-R boating law coordinator, Susan Stocker, says it has been a safe summer for boating, in part because high water kept some of the boats at the dock. “It was Fourth of July, before or after, before the Mississippi River or areas were able to support boating. So it’s been from a safety aspect, it’s it’s been a safer season,” she says.

Stocker hopes everyone makes sure the end of the season is safe as well by not drinking and driving a boat and following all the rules. “Make sure you’re always have a wearable life jacket for each person. And of course, it’s a fabulous idea if you’re going to wear it,” she says, “because similar to seat belts, you know, we never know when you’re going to get into a boating accident on the water or and so wearing a life jacket is very, very important. And reminder for all of the young people that are under the age of 13, they have to actually wear the life jacket.”

DNR Water Patrol boat

Those who take a canoe or kayak out one last time will also want to scout their route. “We have an interactive paddlers map on our D-N-R web page, under things to do, canoeing, kayaking, where to paddle,” Stocker says. “And so we’ve got updated interactive map that’ll tell you where you’ve got some construction, where you’ve got some conditions that are dangerous.”

Stocker says high water has left debris in some areas and there’s also erosion on shores. So be sure to check things out whether you are boating or on the water in a kayak or canoe.

Norwalk, Iowa — Police in the central Iowa town of Norwalk say a man target shooting with a compound bow in his backyard missed a target and struck a moving vehicle last Thursday.

Officers responded to the intersection of Shady Lane Drive and East 27th Street just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday after receiving a call about an arrow shot into a vehicle. According to a news release, authorities report “On arrival, officers located a resident who was target shooting with a compound bow in his backyard,” according to a news release from police. “Further investigation revealed that the resident apparently shot an arrow that missed the target and struck the front windshield of a vehicle being driven on East 27th Street.”

Police said the “arrow pierced the windshield and came to rest on the dashboard.” No injuries were reported. The archer was cited with shooting a bow within city limits without a permit.

In the release, police reminded locals that permits are required “to lawfully shoot arrows, paintballs, slingshots, air rifles, BB guns or other dangerous instruments within the city.”

(Radio Iowa) –  Ruth Harkin — the wife of former U-S Senator Tom Harkin — has written a book titled “When My Husband Ran for President and Other Short Stories” and proceeds from book sales will go to the Harkin Institute at Drake University. Tom Harkin served for a decade in the U-S House and for 30 years in the U-S Senate, but Ruth Harkin won elected office in Iowa before he did. As Story County Attorney, Ruth Harkin was one of the first women in the country to be elected as a local prosecutor. She also ran a government agency that managed billions in investments in other countries and served on the board of directors for an international corporation.

“Each job that I had, I really found myself just by happenstance, the only female in the room,” Harkin told Radio Iowa. “And my goal, aside from doing my job, was to get more women to join me in the room.” Harkin said the best part of writing the book was laughing at the memories and she hopes that’s conveyed to readers. “Really to understand the fun and adventure I had in trying to get more women into responsible positions within the workforce,” Harkin said. “I just hope that people who read the book have as much fun as reading it as I did writing it.” Harkin, who served as deputy legal counsel for the U-S-D-A during the last two years of the Carter Administration, describes the initial push back she got from the U-S Secretary of Agriculture.

“Bob Bergland called me over and he said: ‘I don’t want you to work here with me at the Department of Agriculture because when I look at you, I see my wife, and my wife could never do this job,'” Harkin said. “I started work there with a little uneasiness, but I just did my job and finally one day Bob Bergland called me over and he said: ‘I was totally mistaken about you…and I’m really sorry that I misjudged you.” Harkin, who celebrated her 80th birthday last week, has a chapter in the book about the day she and Tom Harkin met. They were both in Tokyo, at a shrine during a once-a-year carnival. She was on R-and-R from her job, working for the Army, running a service club along the D-M-Z in Korea, and Harkin was on R-and-R leave from the Navy.

“As I was walking along I started eating cotton candy and suddenly some guy comes up to me and says: ‘Say, could I have a bite of that cotton candy?’ And I looked at him and I said: ‘Where are you from?’ because of his Midwestern accent,” Harkin said. “We were in the largest city in the world at the time — Toyko — and he was from Cumming, Iowa, a town of 150, and I was from Vesta, Minnesota, a town of 350.” The couple married in 1968. Her book — as noted in its title — provides her perspective to Tom Harkin’s 1992 presidential campaign — starting her account with their discussion about whether to run. “I really was not keen on this idea at all, then the highs and lows of doing a presidential campaign — always raising money, getting ready for all of these different venues and juggling home,” Harkin said. “…I was working full time.” She, however, uses the word poignant to describe the decision to end the campaign and Harkin shares those details in her book.

Harkin laughs when asked if her husband has the patience to follow her lead and write his own memoir. “I wish he did,” Harkin said. “I would love to have him write a book about some of the challenges and battles he had working in the House for 10 years and in the Senate for 30. especially working on his trademark legislation, the Americans with Disabilities Act,” she said. “He has great stories to tell, but I just don’t think he has the focus and patience to do it.”

A “book launch” event for Ruth Harkin’s collection of short stories will be held this Thursday, September 5th at the Tom and Ruth Harkin Center at Drake University.