(Radio Iowa) – The Washington D-C Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the E-P-A rule granting year-round use of E-15. Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw says this ruling — if it stands up — is devastating for the ethanol industry. “If this is left unchecked, this will be really bad. Not only would we lose sales currently — but I mean E-15 is the growth fuel for us in the near term as we look to transfer to higher blends. Today’s news in the D-C Circuit Court was particularly painful,” Shaw says.

He says it’s ironic the E-15 court decision came one week after the ethanol industry lost at the U-S Supreme Court over the small refinery waiver issue.  “The legal reason on these two decisions diametrically opposed to each other — and we come out on the losing side of both,” he says. Shaw says they are considering their next step.

He says they will look at every option from legal options to regulatory options and there is also the option of Congress taking action to clarify the rule and fix the situation. Shaw says there is no scientific or environmentally sound reason to erect arbitrary barriers to the sale of E-15 in the summer months.

(Radio Iowa) Even with the deluges of rain, hail and thunderstorms that brought severe flash flooding to parts of Iowa, June wrapped up with below-normal rainfall statewide. State climatologist Justin Glisan says we also experienced some wide temperature swings, finishing the month above-normal. “We did see the first half of the month, very warm and very dry,” Glisan says. “We had low relative humidity days and temperatures in the 80s and 90s, even some 100-degree readings across the state. The first half of the month was actually a top ten warmest start to the month.”

The second half of June brought storms and plenty of them. Parts of southeastern Iowa had heavy downpours, with some areas recording up to 11 inches of rain in two hours. In spite of that, given the long-running drought, the state overall was still lacking for rainfall. “On the precipitation side, well below average across much of northern Iowa, anywhere from two to four inches below what we’d expect in June, and June is the wettest month for the northern two-thirds of the state,” Glisan says, “so that is a red flag there in terms of drought conditions.”

Forecast models indicate the hot, dry pattern will continue into July. “We do see an elevated signal for warmer temperatures across much of the upper Midwest, including Iowa,” Glisan says, “and then equal chances of above-below-or-near average precipitation across southeastern Iowa, but then a slightly elevated signal for drier-than-normal conditions across northwestern Iowa.”

The latest map released Thursday by the U-S Drought Monitor shows conditions improving slightly, as the percentage of the state NOT in drought grew from roughly seven to 14 counties, all in the southeast, while abnormally dry conditions, moderate and severe drought areas all decreased, though slightly.

(Radio Iowa) – Tyson Foods held a grand opening today (Thursday) for its company-owned health clinic in Storm Lake. The Bright Blue Health Center is providing primary and preventative care to the 33-hundred employees who work at the two Tyson plants in Storm Lake, as well as their families. Russ Dierenfield, the manufacturing director for Tyson’s turkey plant in Storm Lake, says the clinic opened May 26th.

“Over the last month, our team members have been introduced to the services,” he says. “We’re excited to see more and more team members utilizing the center.” Tyson also operates a pork plant in Storm Lake. Dr. Claudia Coplein, chief medical officer for Tyson Foods, says they’ve found some front-line workers aren’t using their health plan benefits, don’t have a primary care physician or don’t seek care until there’s a crisis. “There are a variety of reasons for this,” she says. “It could be due to cultural barriers, concerns about cost as well as fear of what can sometimes be seen as a complex health care system. We’re trying to change that by providing easy access to high quality health care that helps detect health conditions early and also promotes healthy habits.”

In most cases, employees and their families will not be charged for services at the clinic. Tyson Foods is opening seven Bright Blue Health Centers near company production facilities this year and Storm Lake’s is the only one in Iowa. All seven are being run by Marathon Health, a Vermont-based company that manages worksite clinics in a number of different industries.

w/Brandon Schuering.

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July is National Parks and Recreation Month. Atlantic Parks & Recreation Department Director Bryant Rassmussen says Atlantic Parks and Recreation has put together a calendar of events with some options, to help you celebrate Parks and Recreation Month. Rasmussen says “We encourage everyone to get out and enjoy what the Atlantic Parks and Recreation have to offer. Whether it is on the calendar or your own preference, we hope you enjoy the great outdoors.”

He reminds patrons of the parks and others who just want to explore the great outdoors, that “We have a number of recreational equipment options available, free of charge to the you, to be checked out.”

Rasmussen also encourages you to follow Atlantic Parks & rec on Facebook, as each day they will put out a post with information on that day’s activity. As you are out there enjoying the parks, take pictures and use #ourparkandrecstory and #atlanticparksandrec. The first hashtag is the national one for the month and the second one is for the Atlantic Parks & Rec Department. Bryant wants you to help “Show the nation what Atlantic has to offer.”

(Radio Iowa) – State parks and lakes have been busy in the first holidays since things reopened after the pandemic and that is expected to continue once again for the Fourth of July. D-N-R boating law administrator, Susan Stocker, says some people will already take off today (Thursday) — and things will be crowded. She says the campgrounds, parks and waterways will be full as everyone wants to get out and celebrate. Stocker says you should do a thorough check of your boat before heading out — including a count to be sure there is a life jacket for everyone. “A lot of people like to use the logic that they can swim. Wearing a life jacket is the only thing that’s gonna save your life,” according to Stocker. “Unfortunately, approximately 86 percent of all drownings are people who are not wearing a life jacket.”

Stocker says an accident can happen quickly and you can be thrown from a boat. “You’re not going to be able have a life jacket on, and another thing about water.. the life jacket goes in one direction and the boat goes in the other direction and you are not going to be able to find it. So the only way to protect yourself is to be able to wear it before anything happens,” she says. Stocker says one thing you don’t need if you are driving a boat is alcohol. Operating a boat and alcohol don’t mix. People don’t realize and understand that the stressors of the wind, the sun, the glare off the water — all enhance the effects of alcohol. So, the alcohol needs to stay home and make sure everybody is safe,” Stocker says.

Using fireworks is governed by local jurisdictions — but Stocker says one rule is to keep them off the boat. “You certainly do not ever want to light fireworks on a boat at all. Wait until onshore, maybe at the campsite…to make sure it is safe because you do have the gas and vapors and fumes,” Stocker says.  She says those gas vapors and fumes can catch the boat on fire or cause an explosion if the fireworks are lit. Stocker says state conservation officers will be out looking for violations and helping keep everyone safer during the holiday.

(Radio Iowa) – A study finds Iowa communities with high levels of nitrates in the drinking water tend to be low-income communities. The Environmental Working Group report found 85-percent of the towns with the highest nitrate pollution were lower income. Nitrate largely stems from farm practices like the overuse of fertilizer and manure. Study author Anne Schechinger says the pollutant is linked to higher rates of cancer and birth defects, even at levels well below the current federal standard.

“We know, since this nitrate in drinking water problem is getting worse, that voluntary conservation is not enough to fix this problem,” Schechinger says. “We really need farmers that are required to stop pollution from going off their farm fields.” Nitrate removal is very expensive, and while some larger water systems may be able to afford treatment, Schechinger says many smaller, rural systems cannot.

“We think we have safe drinking water and that it’s regulated by the federal government so it should be totally okay to drink and not have any health impacts that come from what we’re consuming,” she says, “but it’s just devastating that people have to experience things like cancer just from drinking water every day.” Schechinger says the state needs mandatory conservation practices to limit nitrates from reaching water supplies.

(By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

w/Kate Olson.

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(Iowa DNR News) – Since May, state agencies, wildlife rehabilitators, and animal control operators in the Mid-Atlantic United States have received a sharp uptick in reports of sick or dead songbirds. Grackles, starlings, robins, and blue jays seem particularly vulnerable to this mystery ailment, which causes swollen and crusty eyes and neurologic signs, like disorientation, tremors, and loss of balance. To date, a definitive cause has not been identified and the number of affected states has expanded west to Indiana.

At this point wildlife experts cannot rule out some linkage to the Brood X cicada emergence event, as areas with affected birds largely overlap. Biologists in affected states are recommending that residents take down their bird feeders to reduce the possibility of congregating birds and facilitating disease spread. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is tracking this situation and has received no reports of unusual avian morbidity (sickness) or mortality (death) events within the state.

“At this time there is no need to remove bird feeders in Iowa, however we encourage the public to remain vigilant by reporting any unusual sightings of five or more affected birds,” said Dr. Rachel Ruden, state wildlife veterinarian with the Iowa DNR. Reports may be sent to Ruden at rachel.ruden@dnr.iowa.gov or avian ecologist Anna Buckardt Thomas at anna.buckardt@dnr.iowa.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A crop report finds the rain last week was helpful –but more moisture is needed. The report shows the amounts of rain varied widely with northwest Iowa still reporting more than two-thirds of its topsoil moisture short to very short. While the districts in the southern one-third of Iowa rated 60 percent or more of subsoil moisture at adequate to surplus levels.

The condition of the corn crop improved slightly — up to 60 percent in good to excellent condition compared to 56 percent last week. Soybean emergence is now complete — with 58 percent of the soybeans rated in good to excellent condition — a one-percent increase from last week.