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Triple-digit temps in NW Iowa, early season heat wave to continue

News, Weather

May 28th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

It’s been a record-shattering weekend, weather-wise, in much of Iowa. “How quickly we went from a rather wintry April to a very summer-like May.” That’s Cory Martin of the National Weather Service office in Johnston. Heat advisories were issued for central and northwest Iowa on Sunday. “It’s just a strong ridge of high pressure that’s right now pretty much parked over the central tier of the country and that’s brought some unseasonably hot conditions,” Martin said, “a pretty early season heat wave.”

Several locations reported record highs on Sunday, including here in Atlantic, where our High of 100 beat the record of 91 set back in 1931. It was the second day in a row for a record setting temperature in Atlantic. Saturday’s High of 100 broke the record of 96 set in 1926. Carroll and Spencer reached the 100 degree mark, Sunday. The temperature reached 97 in Davenport, Ottumwa and Waterloo. It was 98 in Mason City. Fort Dodge and Des Moines reached 99 degrees.  Sioux City was the hottest spot — topping out at 101 degrees. “Definitely an unusual heat event to see this early in the season,” Martin says.

It may be a degree or two cooler today (Monday), but the temperatures are likely to still reach into record high territory, according to Martin. “Through the middle of the week, looks like temperatures are going to fall back a little bit. We’re looking at highs Wednesday maybe in the mid-to-upper 80s,” Martin says. “That’s still a few degrees above  normal for this time of year, but as we get back into Thursday and Friday, it looks like we’re going to warm right back up into the 90s and then we’ll be watching another system coming our way this weekend which may bring us some relief, but that’s still a little ways out, so it’s kind of tough to tell what to expect out of that at the moment.”

Temperatures in Iowa are usually in the mid-to-upper 70s this time of year. With all the heat AND humidity in Iowa right now, Martin says there’s plenty of instability in the atmosphere right now to fuel some thunderstorms. “The issue, if you’re looking at tornadoes right now, is the jet stream is pushed well north of the area,” Martin says. “We don’t have any stronger winds aloft that would typically help us with storm organization, to really get some significant severe weather going.”

Some of the record high temperatures for this date in Iowa were set more than a century ago, in 1895.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in News, Weather |

Skyscan Forecast & weather data for Atlantic: 5/28/18

Weather

May 28th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Today (Memorial Day): Partly cloudy. High 98. SE @ 10-20mph.

Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 68. SE @ 5-10.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy w/scattered showers & thunderstorms. High 93. SE @ 10-20.

Wednesday: P/Cldy w/scatt. Shwrs & tstrms. High 86.

Thursday: P/Cldy. High 88.

Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 100, which broke the old record of 91 set in 1931. Our Low this morning was 64. Last year on this date our High was 81 and the Low was 49. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 95 in 1895. The Record Low was 29, in 1984.

Posted in Weather |

Southwest District UMW & Villisca UM Church host program about Human Trafficking

News

May 28th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

A program pertaining to Human Trafficking will be held this Sunday (June 3rd), in Villisca. The Southwest District United Methodist Women and Villisca UM Church are hosting the program, which runs from 2:30-to 4:30-p.m. Sunday, at the Villisca United Methodist Church.

Paul Yates, executive director, and Megan Johnson, street outreach director, of “I’ve Got a Name,” in Lincoln, Neb., will share their knowledge of sex trafficking and how we can recognize it and help. Their program will help attendees:

·      Find out what sex trafficking is, how it begins and where it may exist.

·      Understand that sex trafficking exists in our communities throughout Iowa and Nebraska.

·      Discover how they can make a difference in the lives of those who are vulnerable to or who suffer through sex slavery.

“I’ve Got a Name” stands against sex trafficking through generating awareness, advocating, and financial support of those who fight injustice within our communities. I’ve Got a Name uses a faith-based approach to empower those who rescue, restore, and protect those who cannot protect themselves.

The program is open to the public and free of charge. All are welcome to attend and learn more about this growing problem across the country.

Posted in News |

Midwest Sports Headlines: 5/28/18

Sports

May 28th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jason Hammel struck out 10, Drew Butera and Salvador Perez homered, and the Kansas City Royals held on to beat the Texas Rangers 5-3. Hammel pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings. He gave up four hits, including three doubles, and two walks.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Harrison Bader’s pinch-hit bloop single off Pittsburgh closer Felipe Vazquez keyed a late rally and helped the St. Louis Cardinals surge past the slumping Pirates for a 6-4 victory. The Cardinals won for just the fourth time in 19 games when trailing after seven innings by pouncing on Pittsburgh’s bullpen.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Ben Mezzenga singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning and threw out what would have been the tying run at home in the eighth, and top-seeded Minnesota beat Purdue 6-4 in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. The regular-season champion Gophers won their first tournament title since 2010 and 10th under 37th-year coach John Anderson. The loss was Purdue’s first in eight games.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Florida State will host a regional in the NCAA baseball tournament for the 35th time while Stetson was named a first-time host. The NCAA announced the 16 regional sites, and the rest of the 64-team field will be unveiled Monday. Each regional will be made up of four teams playing in a double-elimination format. All are scheduled from Friday through Monday. Regional winners advance to best-of-three super regionals and those eight winners go on to the College World Series in Omaha.

Posted in Sports |

Iowa early News Headlines: Monday, 5/28/18 – Memorial Day

News

May 28th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Following the abrupt departure of one leading candidate, the five remaining Democrats running for governor are scrambling in the final days before Iowa’s June 5 primary. Candidates are working to win over supporters of state Sen. Nate Boulton, who suspended his campaign after the Des Moines Register reported last week that three women allege he touched them inappropriately years ago. If no candidate receives at least 35 percent of the vote, the nomination would be decided at a state convention.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — Officials and volunteers in eastern Iowa have opened a park on a former vacant lot with hopes of increasing habitat for bees, butterflies and other insects and demonstrating the importance of such efforts. The Muscatine Journal reports that the Pollinator Park opened in Muscatine May 19. A founding member of the nonprofit Pollinator Park Project group says they hope to attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other flying insects with the plants.

DECORAH, Iowa (AP) — A group that keeps an eye on the eagle population in Iowa says two eaglets at a nest in Decorah have died. Television station KCRG reports that a pathogen carried by blackflies, coupled with recent high heat and humidity, led to the baby birds’ deaths. The Raptor Resource project says the birds were hatched on May 18 and May 20, considered late for eagles.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Trial has been set later this summer for a Texas man shot by a Council Bluffs officer after allegedly leading police on a chase and ramming police vehicles. The Daily Nonpareil reports that a preliminary hearing was held Friday for 28-year-old Clifton Wade, of Zavalla, Texas. Wade is charged with two counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, assault on an officer and other counts for the May 1 incident. Wade’s arraignment has been set for June 25, and his trial is set for July 31.

Posted in News |

Cardinals rally past slumping Pirates 6-4

Sports

May 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Harrison Bader’s pinch-hit bloop single off Pittsburgh closer Felipe Vazquez keyed a late rally and helped the St. Louis Cardinals surge past the slumping Pirates 6-4 on Sunday.
The Cardinals won for just the fourth time in 19 games when trailing after seven innings by pouncing on Pittsburgh’s bullpen. St. Louis loaded the bases off Michael Feliz (0-2) and the Pirates brought in Vazquez with one out in the eighth. Bader fought off a 99 mph fastball from Vazquez and dumped it into shallow right field to tie the game. Vazquez walked Yairo Munoz on four pitches to hand St. Louis the lead and the Cardinals added another on a fielder’s choice RBI by Carson Kelly. Vazquez has blown three straight save opportunities for the Pirates, who have dropped seven of nine.Sam Tuivailala (1-0) picked up the win with a scoreless seventh. Bud Norris worked a perfect ninth for his 11th save. Matt Carpenter went 2 for 4 for St. Louis and is hitting .422 (19 of 45) since May 16. Jedd Gyorko got the Cardinals within one with a pinch-hit, two-run single off Edgar Santana in the seventh.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: Head to Milwaukee to take on the first-place Brewers on Monday. Luke Weaver (3-4, 4.31 ERA) starts in the opener. Pre-game 12:15, 1st pitch 1:10 on KJAN.
Pirates: Host the Chicago Cubs for three games starting Monday. Chad Kuhl (4-2, 4.20 ERA) starts the opener. Kuhl is 1-4 with an 8.23 ERA in seven career starts against the Cubs.

Posted in Sports |

Farmers can now apply for state cost-sharing for water quality efforts

Ag/Outdoor

May 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Iowa farmers can now sign up for a cost-sharing program to help pay for water quality strategies. State Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says it’s the sixth annual round for the program which helps farmers install nutrient reduction management practices. Naig says, “What we make available is a cost share for cover crops or converting to strip-till and no-till and for using a nitrogen inhibitor in the fall on fall-applied fertilizer.” Farmers who are planting cover crops for the first time get the highest cost share, he says, and the funding will be doled out starting in July. Naig says, “We have had 8,000 participants over the last five years and 4,600 of those have been first-time users of one of those water quality practices.”

He encourages growers to apply for the cost share program as soon as possible. “It’s good to get in early because the dollars do run out at some point,” Naig says. “We’ll make those decisions in July or into August. Folks can call the office or visit our website, Iowa Agriculture-dot-gov, or they can walk into their county conservation office and apply for the cost share there.”

Naig says farmers are only eligible for cost share on up to 160 acres.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor |

Idaho dairies invest in robotic milkers from Iowa

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Faced with an increasing shortage of workers, Idaho dairies are investing in robotic milkers. John Paetz, regional manager of Lely North America, headquartered in Pella, Iowa, says “The interest in robotic milking in Idaho is growing quite rapidly.” The company has robots installed in three Idaho dairies now, with two more scheduled to come online in July and two more scheduled for later in the year or early next.

In robotic milking, the cow decides when she wants to be milked and goes to the robotic milker. While she enjoys a snack such as a high-energy pellet, a laser-controlled device finds her teats, cleans them and dries them, then attaches and milks. When she’s done, the robot detaches and the cow wanders off. All without human intervention.

Paetz says “Larger dairies, where they’re employing 20 people, can see a big benefit initially. We’re not in the business of displacing labor, but you can do the same job with less labor.” Idaho has been behind the curve in implementing robotic milking, partly because Lely, one of the major vendors, has been migrating its marketing across the country after starting in western Europe and then heading to Canada and the East Coast. “We just started looking at the western region in the last five or six years,” Paetz said. “We don’t want our infantry to outrun our lines of support.” Across the U.S., robots are now being used in 5 percent or fewer of the dairies, he said. “But it’s accelerating.”

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Boulton’s exit leaves Iowa governor candidates scrambling

News

May 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Following the abrupt departure of one leading candidate, the five remaining Democrats running for governor are scrambling in the final days before Iowa’s June 5 primary.

Candidates are working to win over supporters of state Sen. Nate Boulton, who suspended his campaign after the Des Moines Register reported last week that three women allege he touched them inappropriately years ago.

Polls have indicated retired businessman Fred Hubbell is leading the race, and Boulton’s departure could help him top the 35 percent mark required for the nomination. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the nomination would be decided at a state convention.

The other candidates are union leader Cathy Glasson, physician Andy McGuire, party activist John Norris and former Iowa City mayor Ross Wilburn.

The nominee will face Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Posted in News |

Iowa city opens park to help pollinators thrive

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — Officials and volunteers in eastern Iowa have opened a park on a former vacant lot with hopes of increasing habitat for bees, butterflies and other insects and demonstrating the importance of such efforts. The Pollinator Park opened in Muscatine May 19. Volunteers planted new plants during the ceremony.

The nonprofit hopes to attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other flying insects with the plants. Volunteers from Nature Conservancy of Iowa, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Muscatine County Conservation Board and City of Muscatine helped with the project. Bridgestone Bandag donated most of the seeds, which are all native species, and Muscatine Community College donated the greenhouse.

Pollinator Park will take up to four years to be fully developed. It will also feature benches, a pathway and signage to explain how an active prairie is sustained.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |