(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is exploring ways to address a national decline in the number of hunters, and to prevent the drop from happening here. D-N-R wildlife biologist Matt Dollison says Iowa has seen its number of pheasant hunters -rise- by almost 20-thousand in the past few seasons, and they now number 83-thousand, but he says national hunter figures have been falling for decades.

“Back in the ’80s, we had about 9% of the population that was hunters and now they say it’s less than 4%, so we’ve lost a ton of hunters overall,” Dollison says. “It is nice to see a few more pheasant hunters taking advantage of the resource here in Iowa this past few years.” Dollison says several factors have likely contributed to the overall decline in hunter numbers nationwide.

“The high number that we had back in the ’80s was really driven by the Baby Boomers getting into hunting, so unfortunately, we’re losing a lot of them from the ranks of hunters,” Dollison says. “It seems like there’s a lot more activities for kids these days to be involved with and there’s way less free time for parents especially, and the kids also have more things to do themselves.”

Dollison says game populations and the availability of public land are also likely factors in the decline. That’s why he says positions like his exist — to manage habitats, spur population numbers in public areas, and to help organize hunting programs. He notes hunting-related expenses provide the bulk of the money for conservation efforts. “A huge portion of the funding for conservation comes from hunting license sales and hunter dollars in the form of excise tax on firearms and ammunition — 90% of the funding for conservation comes from that,” he says. “So, if hunters go away, we don’t have that anymore and that pays all of our salaries in the wildlife bureau, and our management budget is paid by that.”

The focus in the past was on hosting youth hunting events across the state, but Dollison says they’ve started turning to young adults in recent years.  “Now there’s a focus to encourage more adults to get into hunting, especially the 20-year-olds that are getting out of school, have available income and time, and aren’t loaded down yet by a bunch of kids and events to attend. The idea is to get those people into hunting, expose them to it, then they’ll eventually have kids, they’ll take their kids out, and then those kids will become hunters.”

Dollison encourages hunters to invite friends who are interested in outdoor recreation to go along, and to point them toward educational events in their area.

(Radio Iowa) – Secretary of State Paul Pate is being sued for directing election workers to challenge the ballots of over two-thousand people who he says got a driver’s license when they were legal residents, but may not be U-S citizens. The lawsuit has been filed in federal court on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens and a group of naturalized citizens. Orcun Selcuckor, a political science professor at Luther College in Decorah, is a native of Turkey. He became a U-S citizen in 2023 and then voted in two previous Iowa elections.

Selcuckor says he’s concerned about other Iowans who are new citizens and may not have the time to return to the county auditor’s office and prove they are citizens, as he did — or may be discouraged from voting altogether. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says she’ll defend the effort to ensure non-citizens do not vote.

The lawsuit alleges the secretary of state’s order discriminates against voters based on their natural origin and their status as naturalized citizens and violates a person’s constitutional right to vote. Secretary of State Pate says none of the people on his list are barred from voting since their voter registration has not been revoked and they will be able to vote if they show proof of citizenship.

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa is seeking approval from the Board of Regents for a purchase that would give it full ownership of a downtown Iowa City mall. The purchase would cover 45 percent of Old Capitol Town Center, which the school does not own, at a cost of nearly 21 million dollars. The mall is two blocks from the center of the main the U-I campus. The university has been using the portion of the building it owns for what it calls a U-I student and staff transaction hub.

The information for next week’s board meeting says the school would continue developing the mall spaces to serve student and operational needs. the university plans to continue to maintain the retail space to help offset the costs.

(Radio Iowa) – A Grinnell-based insurance company is asking Iowa’s insurance commissioner to approve a restructuring plan so it can sell stock. The company was founded in 1909 in Greenfield as the Iowa Farmers Reinsurance Association, it moved to Grinnell in 1938 and has been called Grinnell Mutual for the past six decades. It’s currently owned by policyholders, but Grinnell Mutual is asking state regulators to allow it to reorganize as a company owned by shareholders.

Iowa’s Insurance Commissioner held a hearing on the request yesterday (Wednesday). The Des Moines Register reports the company’s surplus has declined 31 percent since 2021, due to escalating insurance claims related to severe weather events.

Grinnell Mutual operates in 17 states and had over 700 employees.

(Radio Iowa) – Businesses have begun reopening this month at the shopping mall in Spencer that was hit by flooding that rushed through the community in June. Southpark Mall manager Kathy Anderson says the Palms Movie Theaters will reopen tomorrow (Friday). “Hobby Lobby’s been open for a couple of weeks,” she says. “Dunham’s is open…JC Penney’s is planning to be open on Friday…so we’re getting back there.” Hours of operation vary from store to store.

“Each store will probably be doing things on their own right now until they get all back and settled in,” Anderson says.

Flood levels in the mall reached 16 inches four months ago. Anderson says new flooring is yet to be installed in some areas, but she expects those projects to be completed by December. In July, Spencer officials estimated that 80 percent of the homes, businesses and other structures in the city were hit by flooding or sewer backup.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s neither a trick nor a treat as a surprise snowfall is blanketing parts of northwest Iowa this Halloween morning. A photo taken by an Iowa D-O-T snowplow camera in the seven o’clock hour shows flurries flying and snow on the ground. National Weather Service meteorologist Rod Donavon says they’re the state’s first flakes of the season, and October 31st is a little early for the first snowfall, but it’s not unprecedented. “We do have some light snow moving across northwest Iowa up into south central Minnesota, with that strong system that moved through. We have had some minor accumulations across northwest Iowa,” Donavon says. “We have seen some plow cameras, at least, showing a little bit of accumulation on roadways up in that area. Fortunately, as we go through the day today and get a little bit of sunlight, most of that will melt off the roadways.”

Forecasters issued a host of advance warnings about Wednesday’s storm, how it might include hail, high winds, heavy rain and tornadoes, but there was no mention of possible snow. Was this unexpected? “Yeah, definitely, it’s a little bit of a surprise that it’s gotten down into northwest Iowa,” Donavon says. “The main forecast was certainly up north, up into Minnesota, where the cold air was, and it looks like some of that cold air has filtered down into the state.”

IA DOT Snowplow cam 10-31-24, U-S Hwy 59 in NW Iowa

Some light snow may continue falling into north-central Iowa this morning, but little-to-no accumulation is expected. Wednesday’s powerful thunderstorms dropped temperatures some 30 degrees and also dropped plenty of rain. “The heaviest amounts were across east central Iowa, kind of along that Interstate 80 corridor from about Grinnell and then eastward towards the Quad Cities,” Donavon says. “We did have a couple reports right around Montezuma, in that area, right around two and quarter, two and a half inches, which is the highest in the state.”

Both Des Moines and Waterloo set rainfall records for the date, with each reporting over an inch-and-a-half, breaking records set in 1974. At least five Iowa counties had tornado warnings late Wednesday afternoon and evening, though Donavon says it doesn’t appear there were any twisters that reached the ground.  “We have not had anything confirmed at this point, as far as tornado touchdowns,” he says. “So far, what we’ve had is strong wind gusts with some damaging winds over 60 miles per hour.”

The most significant damage reported is on a Clarke County farmstead, with a barn destroyed and a grain bin damaged. Peak winds of 62 miles an hour were clocked in Appanoose and Lucas counties, while there were multiple hail reports, including golf ball-sized hail near Clear Lake. The new map out this morning from the U-S Drought Monitor shows almost 88-percent of the state in moderate to severe drought, but it’s based on data from before Wednesday’s storms.

Minden, Iowa – After being devastated by two tornadoes in a span of eleven days this spring, the City of Minden continues its recovery efforts. On Monday, November 4th, community leaders will host a visioning session to move the recovery efforts forward. Minden Mayor Kevin Zimmerman said “We’ve been doing a lot of work to address residents’ immediate needs, and we’ve also been laying the groundwork for our long-term recovery. A community’s recovery from a disaster like ours takes time. We understand this but are anxious to hear what the community wants to see in the future.”

As this long-term planning launches, the community also will have the opportunity to celebrate the re-opening of the Minden Bowl Café & Lounge. The community gathering hub was severely impacted by the April 26th tornado and has been closed since. Now, Minden Bowl leaders are thrilled to again be serving the community.

Minden Bowl owner Chad Heilig said “It’s been a long few months, so having the opportunity to celebrate our re-opening with the community is going to be pretty special. We’re excited to again be a regular part of so many people’s lives.”

Monday’s event will begin at 6:00 pm with the Minden Bowl ribbon cutting, followed by the community visioning session. For those unable to attend the event, an online survey will be available to share their ideas.

(Davenport, Iowa) – Davenport police say a body found in the Mississippi River on October 24th, has been identified as 24-year-old Olivia Harrison. Harrison had been reported missing to police earlier this month. Police say no foul play is suspected. Her body was found in the river, on the LeClaire Park riverfront. The medical examiner investigator indicated the body appeared to have been “in the river for an extended period of time,” according to a press release.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans will need to reset all of their clocks this weekend as we fall back an hour, and now is the ideal time for parents to start getting their kids ready for the shift as Daylight Saving Time ends. Pediatrician Dr. Casey Freymiller says even small changes over the next few days can have big impact. “Spending a few days beforehand, adjusting little by little, 15 minutes each night, going down later, getting up a little bit later, can lead to less of a dramatic shift of a whole hour for them on Sunday,” Freymiller says, “and especially going into Monday into school again.” Freymiller says exposure to light plays a big part in a kids’ sleep schedule, and it’s important for them to have light in the morning.

“If it’s a particularly dark day, having a good sunlight exposure with an artificial lamp that’s designed to do that, that can really help wake kids up as well and set their clock,” Freymiller says. “Having less sunlight definitely makes us want to sleep, and so you definitely can notice kids being tired earlier on. Some kids, just like adults, can be affected by a little bit of the seasonal affective disorder.” Many of us have to sacrifice sleep from time to time, but Freymiller says it’s a precious commodity that’s often overlooked, especially for kids.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (photo)

“Getting good sleep is important for learning. Being able to be present and awake and alert at school to do the learning, but also to keep what we learn during the day,” he says. “It helps kids regulate their emotions, keeping them from being too high of emotions and keeping them from being way too low.” Freymiller says parents can also try small doses of melatonin to help shift a child’s sleep schedules ahead of the time change.

(Radio Iowa) – Halloween pumpkins that didn’t get smashed or eaten by squirrels pose a problem for waste haulers after the trick-or-treating is over. The Ames Resource Recovery Plant burns garbage to produce electricity and assistant superintendent Mark Peebler says mushy pumpkins don’t burn. They have collection areas outside the plant for them. “Two totes that are out there they’re marked with pumpkin labels or pictures. The pumpkins can just be dropped off in there, and then we aggregate it, and then we haul it out to our current contractor for organics and yard waste,” he says. He says they also take gourds along with the pumpkins.

“Last year we were over 23-thousand-300 pounds, so almost 12 tons of pumpkins and gourds were collected,” Peebler says. He says they get pumpkins of all sizes and some are showing their wear and tear from being Jack-o’-lanterns. “By the time we get them, they’re usually pretty shriveled up, but I would guess, anywhere from ten to 15 pounds for the average. And then you get some of those large ones that are much heavier,” he says. Waste recyclers say keeping organic food materials separate from recyclables has long been a problem. Peebler says they try to keep letting residents know the importance of keeping things separated.

“There’s constant education and outreach. I know several different local haulers offer yard waste as a subscription base to collect that material at the residence,” Peebler says. Peebler says they will keep their collection bins for the pumpkins and gourds available 24/7 through December 1st, as some people use them for Thanksgiving decorations.