(Updated) – Yet another case of a motorist traveling in excess of 100-mph has been reported in Iowa. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Ryan Devault told KJAN news a Trooper tweeted an image of a radar clocking a motorist on Interstate 29 in Fremont County, traveling at 107 mph.

It was the first triple digit speeder of the week, according to Devault. So what was the motorist’s excuse?

ISP radar pic via Trooper Ryan Devault (Twitter)

Trooper Devault says incidents of persons traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour began occurring in 2020, when COVID kept more people off the roads.

Now that the number of cases of COVID are declining and people are feeling more confident about hitting the road, Devault says less people are speeding, but those authorities to see, are blatantly in violation of the law.

Over the past year, motorists have been clocked speeding as high as the low 140’s in some cases. Trooper Devault reminds motorists there are stiff penalties that go along excessive speeds, and the fine is only one part of the price you’ll pay.

Insurance rates also go up dramatically. Devault says while you’re on the road, keep a close eye for motorcyclists. As the weather gets warmer, the two-wheel and three-wheel machines will be on the pavement, and they can be hard to see. He advises you turn your head to make sure they aren’t beside you when you switch lanes, and keep on eye on your rearview mirror, to see if they are approaching.

The Iowa Department of Public health Tuesday, reported 389 new COVID-19 positive tests, but there were no additional deaths.  The health department reports 395,738 total positive tests, and 5,959 total deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Iowa reports 2.39-million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered and 1.1-million total vaccine series completed. The state’s 14-day positivity rate is 4.0%. The seven-day rate is 4.2%. Both are unchanged from Monday.

Hospitalizations across the state jumped from181 on Monday to 195 on Tuesday. Iowa reports also: there are 48 patients in ICU (3 more than on Monday); 34 people with symptoms of COVID were admitted (an increase of four), and, 23 patients are on ventilators (3 more than last reported). In RMCC Region 4 (hospitals in western/southwest Iowa), the numbers are lower than on Monday. There are 13 COVID patients hospitalized; six remain in an ICU; there no new admissions of people with symptoms of the virus, and one person remains on a ventilator.

One of Iowa’s long-term care facilities is reporting a COVID-19 outbreak. The Urbandale Care Center is back on the IDPH radar, with 19 additional positive cases and 17 recoveries. The state reports 2,320 care facility deaths since the pandemic began, that’s unchanged from Monday.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

Cass, 1,458 cases; {+3}; 54 deaths
Adair, 979; {+0}; 32
Adams, 349 {+0}; 4
Audubon, 519 {+3}; 9
Guthrie, 1,285 {+1}; 29
Harrison County, 1,923; {+0}; 73
Madison County, 1,736; {+10; 19
Mills County, 1,781; {+2}; 21
Montgomery, 1,102;{+2}; 37
Pottawattamie County, 12,110; {+23}; 165
Shelby County, 1,362 {+2}; 37
Union County, 1,355; {+0}; 32

The 8:05-a.m. broadcast News, w/Ric Hanson.

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The 7:07-a.m. broadcast News, w/Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – If your neighbor’s lawn is looking shaggy, don’t scold them as they may be taking part in No Mow May. It’s an effort to toss out the image of a “perfect” lawn and raise awareness about alternatives that are friendlier to the environment and to pollinators, especially bees, which are now emerging from hibernation. Ginny Mitchell, education program coordinator of the Insect Zoo at Iowa State University, says lawns are America’s biggest crop and they provide no food or resources.  “The non-native grasses that we use as our lawns were brought over in the 1700s and they’re really outdated,” Mitchell says. “They don’t bring anything to our lives except work, right? How many people like mowing the lawn or applying fertilizers or doing anything to your lawn. It’s a lot of work.”

The No Mow May effort is just starting to catch on, Mitchell says, as about two-dozen homeowners in the Ames area have pledged to take part. Some plan to convert all or at least part of their lawns away from traditional grass. “We can plant alternatives that also help pollinators and insects and wildlife in general, birds,” Mitchell says. “We can plant things like violets which are low-growing and do not require lawns. We can do many different ground covers, creeping thyme which can withhold foot traffic, white Dutch clover, all sorts of other plants.”

Iowa has what’s believed to be the highest proportion of privately-held land in the U-S, which is why Mitchell says it’s important for homeowners to consider making the change. “Whether you’re converting your entire lawn, like I am, or just a small area, no matter what, it’s going to have a positive impact on the environment, reduce pesticides, reduce greenhouse gases from using a gas-powered lawn mower,” Mitchell says, “and frankly, you’ll have more time to stop and smell the roses.”

Even people who live in apartments can help, by starting with their balconies and planting cone flowers, goldenrod, coreopsis and other pollinator-friendly alternatives.If you live in the city, though, you should make sure you know how tall your grass can grow before local ordinances kick-in and require the lawn to be mowed.

Learn more at the ISU Insect Zoo’s website: https://www.ent.iastate.edu/insectzoo/

The Reverend George B. Hitchcock House near Lewis opened Monday, for guided tours. The tours are available Wednesdays through Sundays, with the first tour each day beginning at 1:15p.m. Additional tours will start at 2:15 p.m., 3:15 p.m., and 4:15 p.m. In order to comply with CDC guidelines, a mask will be required and social distancing will be observed. A mask will be provided with the cost of admission. The charge for a tour is $5 per person over the age of 14.

George B. Hitchcock House (2018 photo)

The Hitchcock House was built in 1856, and was used to assist in the safe passage of fugitive slaves through southwestern Iowa on their way east and north to Canada during the mid-19th century. The house now serves as an interpretive center of the life of an early pioneer, and the escaping slaves who traveled the Underground Railroad to freedom. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places, and was accepted as a site on the National Park Service Network to Freedom and designated a National Historic Landmark in February of 2006.

National Historic Landmark sites embody the actual sites where significant historic events occurred or where prominent Americans worked or lived, and represent ideas that shaped our nation. National Historic Landmark designations are an official recognition by the federal government of a historic properties’ significance. Less than 3,000 historic properties in the United States are designated as a National Historic Landmark.

(Radio Iowa) – The owners of Iowa wineries, distilleries and breweries would be able to get a state license to sell their products for consumption at a second location under a bill that’s headed to the governor. Under current law, state licenses for selling glasses of Iowa-made wine, beer or spirits are just for the property where the alcohol is produced.

Jane Bloomingdale

Representative Jane Bloomingdale of Northwood says a second location could send business to the first. “This is a good bill for Iowa. It allows our native manufacturers to have a presence on Main Street, which I think is very important in particular to our wineries,” Bloomingdale says. “It also allows them a little more visibility and hopefully they get more visitors out to their vineyard.”

Senator Carrie Koelker, of Dyersville, says this bill means an owner might be able to cut, copy and paste their tasting room and gift shop model to a second retail location. “This is a great tool for Iowa’s economic growth and tourism industry,” Koelker says. “Wineries, distilleries and breweries have become local staples and attract Iowans and are part of our economic engine.”

The bill passed the House in late March and it passed the Senate last Thursday.

(Radio Iowa) – Negotiations continue at the statehouse to try to end the stalemate between Senate and House Republicans over taxes. A proposed cut in property taxes along with an acceleration of income tax cuts are priorities for the Senate G-O-P, but Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver says there are a lot of other decisions to make, too. “The House has passed a lot of different bills. We’ve passed a lot of different bills and we need to just get on the same page and figure out what those joint priorities are, what we can pass to move the state forward, and end with a successful session,” Whitver says. Speaker Pat Grassley, the top Republican in the House, says there are state budget issues to resolve as well. “We’re having conversations with the Senate to try to figure out where the middle ground is on everything,” Grassley says, “whether it’s budget policy, tax policy…just policy in general that’s out there.”

Republicans hold a majority of seats in the House and Senate and therefore control the debate agenda. Democrats in the legislature continue to criticize Republicans for failing to use the state’s budget surplus to provide pandemic relief to small businesses and individuals. Jennifer Konfrst, the second-ranking Democrat in the Iowa House, says back in January, Republicans promised to address a lack of child care in Iowa. “In fact, all we’ve got is another task force that’s been announced to address child care,” Konfrst says. “Well that’s great, but the situation we have isn’t that we don’t understand where the problems are. The situation is we haven’t done anything to fix the problems.”

The Republican-led House has passed a series of tax credits designed to boost the number of child care slots in Iowa, but those have stalled in the Senate. The Senate’s Republican leader says those proposals could be added to a final compromise on tax policy.

Des Moines Police assisted in the arrest on Sunday of a man suspected of having involvement in a Kansas homicide case. KCCI reports police said they learned a potential suspect was in the area on Sunday after a homicide in Prairie Village, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. They were provided with a photo of 58-year-old Michael Lavaughn Balance, of Des Moines, who authorities believed to have lived in Des Moines. An officer said he recognized the suspect, and said he’d had contact with the suspect the day prior.

The Des Moines Police Department located Balance and took him into custody. Law enforcement in Prairie Village, Kansas, obtained a warrant for Balance’s arrest. The man is in the Polk County Jail awaiting extradition.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL) announced Monday that another arrest was made in the starvation death of an Ankeny dog and the neglect of another. Todd Townsend is facing 2 charges of Animal Neglect – Death or Serious Injury. On Friday, Amber Robison of Ankeny was arrested and charged with 2 counts of Animal Neglect – Death or Serious Injury.

Todd Townsend

The ARL said a dead, emaciated dog was brought into the shelter last weekend. The ARL realized another dog was in the Ankeny home and said they were able to save him.