(Radio Iowa) — The man who tracks pheasant numbers in the state is expecting a good season when hunters take to the fields for opening day Saturday. D-N-R wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says the roadside survey in August usually gives him a good idea of what to expect. He says the counts were down a little bit statewide but for the most part most were about the same. Bogenschutz says last year saw the best harvest in a decade and that sets things up for a good fall hunt. Not all areas of the state are equal. “South-central and south-east Iowa, the counts were down by 50 percent — so I think hunters in that part of the state are going to see lower bird numbers,” according to Bogenschutz. “But the rest of the state, the counts came in more or less unchanged, or down just slightly.”

There will be a lot of standing corn and beans this weekend and Bogenschutz says that could make it tougher to find birds. He says the crops provide a big hiding place for the pheasants and the more crops the more the birds concentrate. Bogenschutz says the people who get out are going to get some birds. He says the conditions will change as the harvest progresses. “Birds will figure out where the refuges are — but as soon as those fields are harvested — they are going to be available again,” He says.

Bogenschutz suggests you make a second trip into areas where the crops were not out of the fields this weekend. “I’d encourage hunters to go this weekend, it’s the opener, and you’ll shoot a bunch of birds. don’t overlook maybe three or four weeks into the season — because you may find birds that haven’t been been hunted yet once the crops start truly coming out,” Bogenschutz says. Bogenschutz expects hunters to take around 200-thousand pheasants. The August survey is nearly identical to 2008 when Iowa hunters harvested 400-thousand roosters, but Bogenschutz says hunter numbers are lower.

(Radio Iowa) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to release stored floodwaters in the upper Missouri River Basin to reduce the chances of flooding next spring. The Corps has about two-and-a-half months to get rid of a little more than five-million acre-feet of water from flood control reservoirs. The Corps’ John Remus says that’s doable with the amount of water they’re releasing from Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota. Remus says, “Our runoff forecasts, coupled with our reservoir studies, say that if we maintain the 80,000 cubic feet per second out of Gavins Point Dam and the associated releases out of Fort Peck, Garrison and Oahe, that we will reach that goal of 56.1 million acre-feet of storage by the next year’s runoff season.”

It’s been a wet year for the basin and Remus says if there’s a lot more rain and the Corps can’t evacuate enough storage, that could increase flood risks for everyone from Bismarck, North Dakota to St. Louis. National Weather Service hydrologist Mike Gillispie says there’s still a lot of uncertainty about flooding next spring. Right now, the soil is very wet and smaller lakes and ponds are full. Gillispie says it’s like putting a wet sponge in a freezer. “You start dumping water on top of that, all of that water is going to run off,” Gillispie says. “So we just don’t have that storage in the soils or in the ponds and lakes and streams and rivers that we’re starting at such a high level, it’s not going to take as much precipitation to start causing problems in the spring.”

He says the odds are slightly higher that the basin will see above-normal amounts of rain and snow through most of winter. The Missouri River Basin above Sioux City is predicted to tie for the highest amount of runoff in a single year in 121 years.

(Thanks to Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Joni Ernst says she’s pushing EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to fulfill the promises the president has made to blend a mandated 15 billion gallons of ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply. If it doesn’t happen Ernst says she’ll call for the president to fire Wheeler.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A hospital association spokesman has been fired after criticizing Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ handling of Medicaid privatization. The Des Moines Register reports that Thomas “Scott” McIntyre was dismissed from his post as vice president of communications for the Iowa Hospital Association after his personal, nonpublic Facebook post in March. He said at a state unemployment hearing that his post was satirical and intentionally over the top in what he described as “Donald Trump language.”

GRUNDY CENTER, Iowa (AP) — A man has died after being hit by a car in a convenience store parking lot in Grundy Center. KWWL-TV reports 29-year-old Anthony Guyer, of Aplington, was in a Casey’s General Store parking lot on Wednesday when he was hit by a car driven by 77-year-old Jean Newton, of Grundy Center. Police say Newton was backing out of a parking spot and abruptly accelerated backward, hitting Guyer and pinning him between the vehicle and a work trailer.

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — As Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s star rises in early states like Iowa, the scrutiny of him is increasing, too. So far, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has glided through the campaign, raising large sums of money and impressing voters with his calm demeanor. But since he pointedly challenged Elizabeth Warren and others in the last debate, he has been criticized for being too cozy with the tech industry and faced renewed questions about his ability to attract black voters.

One person was injured early Thursday afternoon in Dallas County, when an Ogden Community School District bus carrying 20 students, rear-ended a vehicle. The Iowa State Patrol says 2005 Ford Focus driven by 18-year old Danielle Shreffler Mooers, of Minburn, was traveling south on Highway 169 at around 12:55-p.m., and had slowed or stopped to turn left into a farm entrance at the intersection  with 180th Street while yielding to northbound traffic.

A 2019 Thomas school bus driven by 43-year old Lisa Marie Bunbar, of Ogden, was traveling southbound and failed to yield or stop for Shreffler-Mooers’ vehicle. The bus crashed into the rear of the car. No one onboard the bus was injured. Shreffler-Mooers was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Des Moines.

The accident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she has signed on to a resolution from a fellow Republican that condemns Democrats for failing to follow the proper process in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. “Because what we’re seeing in the House is the fact that Democrats have been so heck bent on making sure they impeach this president that they are just randomly acting through this inquiry process. It’s not open, it’s not transparent, we don’t have access to the information,” Ernst says.

Ernst told reporters during her weekly conference call that the Democrats in the House are not following through on anything. “We have got to get our work done. The House needs to focus on getting things done like the U-S-M-C-A. And impeachment — if they are going to go down that road — they need to make sure that they are following standards that have been set, practices that have been set in the past. And the president is not receiving that same courtesy right now,” Ernst says.

Ernst was asked if she defends the president’s actions. “I can’t go down that path right now — because again — I haven’t seen all of the information. And bottom line, we don’t even know what the articles of impeachment are. (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi has not indicated what they are trying to do other than go after the president,” Ernst says. “So gain, it’s more of a political show over there than actually getting toward an objective.”

Ernst says she doesn’t have any information to make any kind of a decision on whether the president’s dealings with the Ukraine were an impeachable offense. “As I read through the transcript of the call, of course I didn’t see an impeachable offense there. We will need to hear from additional witnesses and I’m sure that the House will bring those witnesses forward. They will have to. I mean they will have to when they bring it over to the Senate for a trial,” Ernst says. “So again, I want to make sure that I am evaluating all the information as presented by the House prosecutors — that is under the assumption that they are going to send articles of impeachment over.”

Ernst says she will sit as a judge in the Senate if the inquiry moves forward and will make a decision based on the information. South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, who is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the resolution.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Joni Ernst says she’s pushing EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to fulfill the promises the president has made to blend a mandated 15 billion gallons of ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply. Ernst says she’ll call for President Donald Trump to fire Wheeler if the EPA doesn’t meet those blending promises.

Like other Iowa Republicans, Ernst has criticized the EPA but rarely Trump when questioned about the administration’s granting of oil refinery exemptions from blending ethanol into gasoline. That has removed 4 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol from the market, angering farmers.

Speaking to Iowa reporters Thursday, Ernst laughed when told Trump on Wednesday told the natural gas industry in Pittsburgh that Wheeler was working with small refineries to “give them everything they need” to stay in business. Trump applauded Wheeler as doing a “fantastic” job.

When asked if she would hold Trump responsible if the administration doesn’t meet his promises, Ernst said she’d watch the EPA and seek Wheeler’s firing if less ethanol is blended.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest at around 9:10-p.m. Thursday, of 42-year old John Robert Burson, from Sidney. Burson was arrested for OWI/1st offense, with his bond set at $1,000.

And, four people were arrested earlier this week on separate warrants, in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Department said on Wednesday, 23-year old Johnathan Robert Sibbitt, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail, on a warrant for Probation Violation. And 36-year old Misty Bea Petterson, of Glenwood, was arrested for the same type of warrant, at the Mills County Jail.

On Monday, 38-year old Tyler Nicholas Blakely, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office on warrants for two counts of Probation Violation. And, on Oct. 4th, 33-year old Shaw Aaron Peterson, of Glenwood, was arrested at the Mills County Jail, also on a warrant for Probation Violation.

Peterson’s bond was set at $20,000. Blakely’s bond was set at $10,000. Bond for Sibbit and Petterson were set at $4,000 and $5,000, respectively.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Oct. 24, 2019 – The Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 4 Office in Atlantic, report southbound Interstate 29 from exit 56 to exit 55 will be closed starting Monday, Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. until Monday, Nov. 5, weather permitting. Officials say the closure is necessary to allow contractors to raise portions of the interstate recently impacted by flooding. That will be accomplished by adding layers of asphalt in some areas.

During the closure, traffic bound for Council Bluffs will be detoured using the following route:  south on 16th Street to Nash Boulevard, west on Nash Boulevard to N. 25th Street, north on 25th Street back to I-29 at Exit 55 (N. 25th Street).

Traffic moving past Council Bluffs will be detoured at Exit 71 near Loveland onto eastbound Interstate I-880 (formerly I-680) to westbound Interstate 80 near Neola at Exit 29, to southbound I-29 at Exit 4.

Also at 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, one lane of northbound I-29 will open Exit 55: (N. 25th Street). Because traffic can become congested in this area during peak travel times, traffic moving past Council Bluffs will be encouraged to continue using the detour route of eastbound I-80, then westbound I-880 (formerly I-680) until both northbound lanes are open.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa is cutting four staff positions as part of a restructuring of an office that serves communities across the state.
The university announced Thursday that its six-year-old Office of Outreach and Engagement would be closed next fall, and its services and mission will be transferred to colleges throughout the university. UI spokeswoman Jeneane Beck says the move has “eliminated the need for four staff positions” and their employment will be ended when their contacts expire.

Among other programs, the office has housed the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities, in which students and faculty members partner with cities and towns to complete economic development, planning and other projects. Beck says that program will be transferred to the Graduate College next fall. She says the move should not affect ongoing projects in Keokuk, which is the program’s main partner this school year.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne is urging her Democratic colleagues to strike a deal with the Trump Administration on the U-S-M-C-A soon. “Whether it’s touring manufacturers, visiting with farmers or stopping into small businesses, everywhere I go the message is loud and clear: ‘Uncertainty is hurting our bottom line,'” Axne said. Mexico ratified the U-S-M-C-A this summer. President Trump’s trade advisor has been meeting with a group of House Democrats who are pressing for assurances that Mexico will abide by labor rules in the agreement. Axne, a first-term congresswoman who is not part of that negotiating group, says ratifying the agreement is a way to support beleaguered farmers.  “Supporting farmers is neither a partisan or a political issue. It’s simply the right thing to do,” Axne said. “Between devastating weather events, ongoing trade wars and the EPA’s unprecedented abuse of biofuels waivers, our farmers have been put through enough.”

Axne made her comments during a speech on the U.S. House floor yesterday (Wednesday). On the other side of the U.S. capitol, Republican Senator Joni Ernst gave a floor speech on the topic yesterday (Wednesday) as well. “Iowans want the USMCA now,” Ernst said. “…There is no reason Iowans should be waiting in limbo for this agreement to be ratified.” The Trump Administration has not sent congress the paperwork yet to turn the trade agreement into law, waiting to strike a deal with Democrats in the House. Ernst says House Democrats are distracted by other topics. “Like continue on their partisan expedition towards impeaching the president,” Ernst said. “…House Democrats need to do their job so that Iowa farmers, manufacturers and business owners can do theirs.”

Canada and Mexico are Iowa’s top trading partners. Mexico is the number one export market for both corn and pork.