DES MOINES– Floodplain mapping and watershed planning will be discussed at a meeting of the State Interagency Missouri River Authority (SIMRA) Nov. 18 in Des Moines. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. at the Iowa Utilities Board, located at 1375 East Court Ave.

Scott Ralston from the Iowa DNR will present on the efforts of the DNR and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on providing new and updated flood hazard data for counties along the Missouri River. Larry Weber from the University of Iowa will present on a rural watershed approach to be used in the East and West Nishnabotna River watersheds. Other items on the agenda include updates on basin conditions and from the National Weather Service.

The complete agenda is available on the SIMRA website at www.iowadnr.gov/simra.

Interested people can attend the meeting by conference call. Dial 866-685-1580 and follow the prompts. The conference code is 5152817051 followed by the pound (#) sign.

• KJAN, Atlantic  .55″
• Massena  .08″
• 3 miles South of Lewis  .8″
• Red Oak  .32″

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert reports the grassland and field fire danger index will remain “High” through at least this Thursday, due to lack of moisture. When the Fire Danger rating is “High,” burning of any kind is restricted in Shelby County unless approval is received from local Fire Chief. Controlled burns that are not reported will result in Fire Department being dispatched, and Fires extinguished if determined to be un-safe. Please call 712-755-2124 with questions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An unseasonably warm week has aided farmers in getting crops out of fields in Iowa and Nebraska although both states remain slightly behind the five-year average. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday in its weekly crop update that in Iowa 71 percent of corn is harvested, about two days behind the average. The soybean crop is 89 percent harvested, about five days behind average.

Farmers in southwest and south central Iowa still have a third or more of their soybeans to harvest. Nebraska experienced a week with temperatures averaging nine degrees above normal helping to get 91 percent of the soybean crop in, near the 96 percent five-year average.

Corn farmers in Nebraska are 69 percent harvested which is near the 70 percent five-year average.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, along with Iowa Department of Transportation Director Paul Trombino today (Monday), announced the designation of three new Iowa Byways and the modification of three existing byways in the state. The three include: Bridges Byway in Madison County; White Pole Road Byway between Adair and Dexter, and, Jefferson Highway Heritage Byway between Northwood and Lamoni.

The byway changes come following the review of proposed routes for designation as Iowa Byways conducted by the Iowa Byways Advisory Council led by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT). Three organizations responded to a call for applications in 2014 for new byways.  Proposals were also submitted on behalf of four existing Iowa Byways for route extensions or modifications.

The White Pole Road Byway between Adair and Dexter, just north of Interstate 80 along old U.S. Highway 6, is a piece of transportation history linking “five small towns” and events from wagon ruts and train robbery to present day. The roughly 26-mile route was formerly a part of the route known as the Great White Way is lined with 700 white painted telephone poles. It was submitted by the White Pole Road Development Corporation.

The Bridges Byway in Madison County focused on the iconic and widely known covered bridges located throughout Madison County, the 82-mile route will also feature scenic natural areas, the John Wayne birthplace, and other unique destinations.  It was submitted by the Madison County Conservation Board with the support of the Madison County Chamber of Commerce and the Interim Madison County Scenic Byway Committee.

The Jefferson Highway Heritage Byway between Northwood and Lamoni, roughly along U.S. Highways 65 and 69, is an historic north-south U.S. border-to-border route, that was originally envisioned in 1916 as part of a national corridor for car and freight travel as the auto age developed and before the Interstate system was initiated.  It was submitted by Loring Miller (Leon) and the Jefferson Highway Association on behalf of Decatur County.

The Iowa DOT will work with the new byway applicants over the next several months to assist initiating the byway organization, finalizing the signed byway route, and creating a unique route brand that will be featured on signage to be installed along the route by the 2018 tourist season.

To learn more about Iowa Byways and to order a free Byways Travel Guide or Byway brand poster, visit www.iowabyways.org.

The Cass County Conservation Board invites you to the 4th Biennial Lighted Halloween Campground tomorrow night (Saturday, Oct. 29th), at Cold Springs Park in Lewis.  The non-scary, family friendly event takes place from 7-until 9-p.m. Enjoy refreshments, smores, and a bonfire at the shelter. Vote for your favorite site!

Prizes are donated by our event sponsor Cappel’s Ace Hardware. The event will be cancelled if there is inclement weather.

A delegation of Japanese feed buyers will arrive in Iowa this morning (Thursday) for a three-day trade visit to the Hawkeye State. Dennis Friest, of Radcliffe, is a member of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and the U.S. Grains Council. He says the delegates will visit the DuPont Pioneer headquarters in the Des Moines area and several farming operations.

“They’re going to stop out at my farm for a few hours and make some more visits in southwest Iowa,” Friest says. “We try to work with these buyers to show them what we do and the quality of product that we grow here and keep our markets open, overseas markets.”

Other stops include the Poet ethanol plant in Jewell, the Ag Partners coop in Ellsworth, the Green Plains ethanol production facility in Shenandoah and a farming operation in Randolph. With a population of 127-million, Friest says Japan is an important market for ag products.

“Japan is the second-largest corn market for the United States, importing over 10-million metric tons of corn,” Friest says. “They’re also the 10th largest dry distiller grains market. They’re a huge customer and have been for many years.”

The Japanese delegation represents people involved in corn processing, the feed and corn trade industries as well as a hog and poultry industry journalist. Learn more at: www.iowacorn.org.

(Radio Iowa)

• KJAN, Atlantic  .07″
• Red Oak  .07″
• Sidney  .05″
• Missouri Valley  .03″

w/Kate Olson.

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Pheasant hunting season in Iowa starts Saturday and Iowa D-N-R wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz is expecting a big turnout. “There’s a lot of hunters in the state and they’re going to be excited,” Bogenschutz says. “Looks like our crop harvest is progressing nicely and getting the crops out always helps on that opening day.”

While it won’t likely be a record, he estimates many thousands of hunters will take to the fields and forests this weekend. “We’re expecting somewhere between 55- and 60-thousand,” Bogenschutz says. “Hopefully, more toward the 60-thousand mark, maybe a little better. We should have a bump in hunters this year. Looks like our counts were pretty good.”

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Pheasant counts were up in some regions of the state and down in others, which balances out to being relatively close to last year, which was one of the best for pheasant hunting in several years. The annual youth pheasant hunt was held over the weekend. Between one- and two-thousand young hunters took part in the two-day event for those ages 15 and under. Learn more at: www.iowadnr.gov/hunting.

(Radio Iowa)