w/ Kate Olson

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Although Iowa’s beautiful fall has lingered longer than usual this year, camping season will come to a close very soon for most people, if it hasn’t already. State Park Bureau Chief Todd Coffelt, says don’t let the changing seasons limit your enjoyment of Iowa’s state parks, or the chance to stay overnight. According to Coffelt, “We have nine parks scattered around the state with beautiful, comfortable year-round cabins. Allowing couples and families, and even larger groups to enjoy our parks in what we sometimes refer to as the ‘off season.’”

A total of 35 year-round cabins are available to rent for two-day minimums for anywhere from $35 per day to $200 per day. Visitors will need to bring their own bedding and towels, and some cooking utensils. Amenities of each cabin may vary slightly. Depending on the type of cabin, they can sleep between two and ten people, and are located in the following parks:

· Backbone (Fayette County)

· Black Hawk (Sac County)

· Honey Creek (Appanoose County)

· Lake of Three Fires (Taylor County)

· Lake Wapello (Davis County)

· Pine Lake (Hardin County)

· Springbrook (Guthrie County)

· Union Grove (Tama County)

· Waubonsie (Fremont County)

“Fall and winter in our parks offers a completely different experience for a lot of people,” says Coffelt. “There is a quiet solitude that is very appealing and we invite folks to come out and experience it, whether they stay in one of the cabins or just drop in for a hike.”

For more details about each cabin and park, visit the Iowa state park reservation system at iowastateparks.reserveamerica.com or call 1-877-427-2757. Currently, reservations for the two family cabins at Union Grove State Park are made through the park manager by calling 641-473-2556. Honey Creek Resort State Park’s 28 one-, two- and three-bedroom luxury cottages may be reserved throughout the year. Details are available at www.honeycreekresort.com or by calling 877-677-3344.

The Whiterock Conservancy near Coon Rapids in west-central Iowa is making plans for 12-hundred acres of land left to the organization by the Garst family. Mary Garst, the wife of hybrid seedcorn pioneer Roswell Garst, left the land to the conservancy following her death in 2014. Whiterock executive director, Conrad Kramer, says there are four sections of land involved. “Two of them are adjacent to each other and one parcel is actually adjacent to the existing Whiterock landscape, and another one is remote. So, only one of the four parcels is connected to our existing landscape here,” Kramer says. He says the lands have a variety of uses.

“Between wetlands and natural lands like prairie and forests, and productive land including hay land and C-R-P,” Kramer says. The Whiterock Conservancy is taking control of the land with an estimated value of seven million dollars. “We certainly will continue to manage it for production, but we would also like to make plans for restoration — prairie restoration and savanna restoration — on these parcels that are really prime candidates for some of that work. And also for opening them to the public, because all of them are quite special,” Kramer says. “Whiterock is already the third largest recreation area in the state, and we put a high priority on opening our lands for public recreation.”

Kramer says the donation adds a lot to the duties of the conservancy. He says they will probably have to hire another full-time person to the staff to oversee the new property. He says the non-profit conservancy depends on public support to run and they hope Iowans will help out. He says people can help out by using the facilities and paying camping and other fees. “But we also need Iowans to sit up and realize that this is a great asset for the state, but we don’t get any state tax dollars, unlike a state park. And if they want access to these great lands in the future, we need them to become donors,” Kramer says. He says they plan to have a formal public dedication for the new land sometime this spring.

To find out more about the Whiterock Conservancy, go to the organization’s website: whiterockconservancy.org.

(Radio Iowa)

AMES, Iowa (AP) — A team of veterinary researchers at Iowa State University has discovered the cause of a disease that makes baby pigs involuntary shake which has perplexed hog farmers for more than 90 years. Researchers from the university teamed up with scientists from Missouri-based animal health company Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica to use new DNA sequencing techniques to trace the piglet tremors to a virus.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Members of the citizen action group Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement are meeting with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to file a complaint demanding improved accountability and oversight of livestock farms.

The group studied livestock waste management plans from five counties and found plans with missing pages and indications of multiple farmers dumping manure on the same field. The manure management plans are required by state law for farms with at least 1,250 hogs. The DNR is responsible for oversight.

Jess Mazour, community organizer for Iowa CCI, says inadequate manure management is contributing to water pollution problems. DNR Director Chuck Gipp says the agency will review the complaint and respond. He says the agency is working with farmers to improve water quality but it takes time.

The harvest of Iowa’s crops was slowed significantly by rainfall toward the end of October, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Through Sunday, 85-percent of the state’s corn crop was harvested. Despite all of the wet weather, that’s 10 days ahead of last year and two days ahead of the five-year average. Ninety-six percent of the soybean crop has been harvested. That’s equal to the five-year average, but eight days ahead of last year.

Last week was Iowa’s wettest week in over a month-and-a-half. The USDA reports Iowa farmers, on average, had a little over 4 “suitable” days for fieldwork last week. Marion County received the most rain at 2.86 inches. There are areas of southwest and south-central Iowa where over 30 percent of the corn and 10 percent of the soybean crop remains to be harvested.

(Radio Iowa)

There are -no- new cases of bird flu reported this fall as yet, but the aftershocks are still being felt from the widespread outbreak in Iowa and elsewhere this spring. Poultry producers continue to rebuild their flocks after millions of birds were wiped out by the disease. U-S-D-A livestock analyst Shayle Shagam says the latest egg production numbers are still showing a drop. Shagam says, “We are currently looking at total egg production in the United States being down about 8% in September compared to a year earlier.”

Iowa was the worst-hit state by bird fly earlier this year. Iowa had 75 confirmed outbreaks in 18 counties, which led to some 32-million chickens and turkeys dying or having to be euthanized statewide. The federal survey shows the poultry industry is starting to recover and rebuild. “The industry is attempting to expand the number of egg-type hatching layers,” Shagam says. “On October 1st, it was about 3% above a year ago, so we’re looking at an expansion there. If we look at the number of egg-type chicks hatched during September, they were up about 13% from 2014.”

“We’re having to raise the birds that will raise the birds that will raise the eggs,” he says. Consumers continue to see higher prices for eggs. Shagam says the wholesale cost during the 4th quarter will be about $2.45 a dozen, compared to $1.63 a year ago. There are rising fears more bird flu outbreaks could occur this fall as migrating wild waterfowl, which are blamed for carrying the disease, head south for the winter.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge is hosting a fall bird migration series on weekends in November. The program series will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. on most Sundays in November. All programs are family friendly and each one stands on its own.

Programs will begin with an indoors presentation, after which participants will head outside to view and identify migratory birds in their natural habitats. Participants can bring their own equipment, but binoculars, field guides and spotting scopes will also be available.

The scheduled programs are Birding Basics on Nov. 7 and 8, Advanced Birding on Nov. 14 and 15 and Wetland Basics and Duck Math on Nov. 21 and 22. A program titled Wetland Food Cycles will take place on Nov. 28.

Iowans are coming together this fall to talk about what they want for outdoor amenities in their state. The biennial Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) assemblies give all Iowans an opportunity to discuss their vision of Iowa’s outdoor recreation, soil and water enhancement, historical resources, land management and more.

Upcoming REAP meetings include Nov. 3rd in Clarinda at Lied Center (for residents of Fremont, Mills, Montgomery and Page Counties), Nov. 4th in Neola at Breezy Lodge (for residents of Pottawattamie, Harrison, Shelby and Cass Counties), and Nov. 5th in Bondurant at the public library (for residents of Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Marion, Polk, Story and Warren counties).

REAP assemblies are locally led meetings where issues can be brought forth and voted upon. Meetings begin with an open house at 6 p.m., followed by the assembly from 6:30 – 8. Each assembly represents a region of counties and participants are required to attend the region for the county in which they reside.

Each year, REAP provides funding for local projects through a grant process and each year, the requests for city and county grants exceed the amount available by two or three times. Since the program debuted in 1989, more than $300 million has been awarded to more than 14,500 projects.