(Radio Iowa/KJAN) – The calendar says spring doesn’t arrive until March 19th, but meteorological winter actually ended yesterday (Thursday), making today (Friday) the first day of meteorological spring. State climatologist Justin Glisan says it was cold and snowy, sure, but it really wasn’t much of a winter. “For December-January-February, third warmest winter on record,” Glisan says, “almost seven degrees above average. We’ve been throwing around the phrase ‘the lost winter,’ given how warm conditions were.”

As for the just-ended month of February, Glisan says what little snow fell didn’t stick around long. “If we’re looking at the average temperature, it was about 36 degrees,” Glisan says, “second warmest February in 152 years of records. That average is actually the climatological average temperature for March.” The statewide average for precipitation during February was only two-tenths of an inch, making it Iowa’s third-driest February on record. Glisan says forecast models predict March will be warmer than normal, with good chances for increased precipitation.

Weather data for February in Atlantic, shows we were much warmer and drier than average, last month. The Average High was 53, and the average Low was 21. Typically, we would have had a High of 35 and a Low of 15. Precipitation (melted snowfall) amounted to just one-tenth (.10″) of an inch, which was considerably less than the .96″ we would normally expect. Snowfall for the month was just one-inch.The data was compiled at KJAN, the official National Weather Serving reporting site for Atlantic.

Looking ahead, we find the Average High for the month of March, in Atlantic, is typically 48 degrees, while the Low should average out to be around 26. Precipitation (rain & or melted snow) is typically just under an inch, at 2.38 inches.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The University of Iowa police department is warning Hawkeye fans to be aware of ticket and merchandise scams. Officers say most scams happen through social media and instant messaging sites. They say fans should only buy from officials sources – including the Universities ticket office and their ticketing partner SeatGeek. Don’t share sensitive information with strangers.

Don’t believe ticket prices that are ‘too good to be true’. And report any suspected scams.

(Knieram, Iowa) – The Iowa State Patrol has released information about a fatal car and ATV collision that occurred Thursday afternoon in northwest Iowa’s Calhoun County. Authorities say a 2020 John Deere ATV operated by 84-year-old Michael Donald Leith, of Manson, was traveling north on Zearing Avenue, and failed to yield the right-of-way to a 2007 Ford Taurus that was traveling east on Highway 20. After the car struck the ATV, both vehicles came to rest in the median, east of the intersection.

Donald Leith died at the scene. The driver of the car, 88-year-old William Oscar Peterson, of Moorland, was injured and transported to his home by family members. The crash occurred at around 3:30-p.m., east of Knieram. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Calhoun County Medical Examiner, and the Iowa DOT.

March 1, 2024 – TAMA, Iowa – Seven-year-old Milla Keahna has been safely located. Law enforcement thanks the public for their assistance. This was a joint investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Major Crime Unit, Meskwaki Police Department, Tama Police Department, Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Marshalltown Police Department, and the FBI.

Previous report follows:

February 29, 2024 – TAMA, Iowa – This is an endangered person advisory on behalf of the Tama Police Department and the Meskwaki Nation Police Department. An endangered person advisory is being issued for seven-year-old Milla Keahna. Milla was reported missing to the Meskwaki Nation Police Department. Milla was reportedly last seen with her mother, Starla Mae Marie Lincoln, or possibly her father, Redmond Keahna.

Milla Keahna

(Radio Iowa) – People who falsely report a shooting or other incident that would require a massive police response could be charged with a felony if the governor approves a bill that’s cleared the legislature. Representative Zach Dieken of Granville says during the last school year there were 89 of these false reports about non-existent threats in school districts. “As somebody who has been not only been a trooper for 12 years, but also a SWAT officer for 7 of those 12, we cannot continue to waste manpower and put our lives at risk responding to things that are not real,” Dieken says.

These incidents are sometimes called “SWATTING” — a reference to “Special Weapons and Tactics” or SWAT teams. “This bill ups penalties appropriately, fitting the crime of false reporting,” Dieken said. “We cannot continue putting up with these instances.” Dieken says in addition to law enforcement, fire fighters and EMTs waste time and resources responding to something that turns out to be nothing.

Law enforcement responds to a “Swatting” call. (File image; public domain)

The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously.

(Radio Iowa) – Artist Amanda Browder has returned to the Sioux City Art Center to resume her “Razzle Dazzle” project, a massive textile sculpture that will be suspended from different areas of the art center’s buildings in August. Browder is back to lead a new series of “Sewing Days” throughout the metro area during the month of March. “Even since I’ve been gone and then came back, we’ve gotten fabric donations, people came in and helped sort fabric, or sewing some fabric at home,” Browder says. “We’ve got this whole system that’s really slow but sure but happening.”

The Sewing Days are events during which volunteers spend time pinning together long stripes of similarly colored fabrics and then sew them together. She says no previous experience with textiles or sewing is required for the project that will debut just before Artsplash this summer. “People come and donate fabric, spend some time pinning or sewing if they feel like it,” she says. “They’ll be able to go to the piece during Artsplash and point to it and say, ‘I made that, that’s my piece,’ and I want that to happen. It should be their piece. They should take ownership of this art piece and be like, ‘This is for my town. I participated. I live here. Here’s my representation.'”

Browder says they could use more colorful fabric. “We’re still looking for donations. That’s the thing. We need cotton fabric that’s saturated in color, patterns or solids are totally fine,” Browder says. “I recommend staying away from pale colors and white and tan because when we look outside, we already see those colors on buildings and so we’re trying to recreate this building into a colorful explosion.”

More Sewing Day locations are being added continually to the art center’s website.

(Radio Iowa) – Tuition hikes would be capped and diversity, equity and inclusion programs would be restricted at Iowa’s public universities, under a bill passed by the Iowa House on Thursday. The bill would add two lawmakers to the Board of Regents as non-voting members, and it would make other changes to higher education policies, including some the universities have already set in motion. Republican Representative Taylor Collins of Mediapolis says the regents spend too much on D-E-I initiatives.

“This bill stops the pursuit of these distractions and ideological agendas, reorients the focus of our higher education system back to the pursuit of academic excellence which should’ve been the point from the start,” Collins says, “controls the ever-rising cost of higher education, and gives this body increased oversight over the regent enterprise.”

All Democrats and six Republicans opposed the bill. Democrats say they support capping tuition hikes, but this bill doesn’t help the universities make up for lost revenue. They also say Republicans are politicizing D-E-I efforts, and that’ll have negative impacts on Iowa’s future workforce.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa is getting its first-ever pet disaster relief trailer through the American Kennel Club. Tom Sharp, president and C-E-O of A-K-C Reunite, says the 20-foot trailer can be pulled by a heavy-duty pickup and dispatched to any local disaster scene in Iowa where pets need to be sheltered. “For instance, if the Red Cross sets up a shelter for people in a local high school, they could use this trailer and its contents to set up a shelter for pets,” Sharp says, “say in the gymnasium right there beside the people who are sheltering.” The trailer is packed with equipment that can be used to create a safe, temporary home-base for dozens of pets during the first 72 hours after a disaster is declared. Sharp says the trailer houses a range of animal care items.

AKC Reunite photo

“Including a generator. It has about 60 mostly extra large pet crates. It has plastic wrap so you can put plastic down on the floor and walls to protect the building that you might be going in,” Sharp says. “It has cleaning supplies. It has microchips and a microchip scanner.” The trailer was delivered this week to Jasper and Poweshiek County Emergency Management and it’ll be housed in Newton until it’s needed in any of Iowa’s 99 counties.

“In most states, counties have mutual aid agreements, where they can help each other out,” Sharp says. “So if another county needs help and the equipment is not being used in Jasper or Poweshiek counties, they can hitch it up to a truck and take it where it’s needed.” AKC Reunite is the largest non-profit pet microchip identification and recovery service provider in the United States. This is the 110th trailer it’s donated nationwide and the first to Iowa.

www.akcreunite.org/relief

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters predict Iowa will have another unseasonably warm weekend ahead, and one downside to the spring-like temperatures in the 60s and 70s is that creepy-crawly ticks will be on the move. Entomologist Tom Klubertanz says if you’ll be spending any time outdoors, especially hiking in the woods, wear insect repellent, and be sure to check yourself for ticks after you come back inside.

“It doesn’t even have to be that warm,” Klubertanz says. “Even in typical winters, if we get a warm spot into the 40s, it’s enough to get tick activity, but this is kind of extreme and the longer ticks are moving around, the more chance we’ve got of attracting them.” Ticks aren’t something Iowans would typically worry about in early March, but a warm winter means otherwise. Klubertanz says a longer tick season brings the threat of southern tick species migrating north.

Asian longhorn tick (ISU Extension photo)

“The two that come to my attention are the Lone Star tick and the Gulf Coast tick,” he says. “Both can transmit diseases, not Lyme disease, but other diseases.” There’s another tick to be watchful for, especially if you raise cattle or horses in Iowa. The Asian long-horned tick has been found in at least 19 states, including Missouri.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says there is a deal in the works to fund the federal government. Hinson talked about the deal during her weekly conference call with supporters. “An agreement in principle has been reached to fund the government and so I will keep you updated on that legislation we’re hopeful we’ll see it sometime this weekend,” Hinson says. The federal government’s fiscal year started October 1st, but Congress has not agreed on a budget for the year. The Farm Bill has been put off, but Hinson says it is not forgotten.

“I think it’s also important that we still prioritize the farm bill it’s why…. I think it was in December we sent a letter to Speaker Johnson urging him to still move forward and work on a farm bill our priority this week does need to be getting these bills done so we can complete the appropriations process and move on to the next one,” she says. Hinson also talked about the need to keep the pressure on the E-P-A to approve the year-round sale of E-15 gasoline.

“There are so many different elements of our economy that are dependent on this decision and delaying it is frankly unacceptable and irresponsible, so I will continue pushing for not only the waiver for this summer but going forward prompt responses from the E-P-A,” Hinson says. The E-P-A announced it would make E-15 available year-round for eight Midwest states starting in 2025. Hinson and the rest of the Iowa Congressional delegation sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for the ethanol-blended fuel to be allowed for this summer’s driving season.