An expert with Iowa State University Extension is warning that this year’s drought is so severe, recovery may be years away. Cathann Kress is calling the drought a “super slow-motion disaster.” Kress says Iowa crops pulled what little moisture there was out of the ground this year and that moisture won’t come back anytime soon. “It takes so long for the subsoil moisture to rebuild, so if we look at the other droughts like this – there’s been three others in this century…they all took three years to fully recover from,” Kress said.

As much as 18 inches of precipitation is needed to fully recharge Iowa subsoils, according to Kress. That’s not likely to before next Spring. “The average (precipitation) between October and April is about 12 inches, so even if we hit average – which most models show we won’t – but even if we hit average, we’d be below what it is we’re predicting that we need,” Kress said.

Kress was at the statehouse last week and warned lawmakers it’s hard to estimate the economic impact of the drought, as well as the effects on state tax receipts.

(Radio Iowa)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An antibiotic resistant “superbug” has been found by University of Iowa researchers in area wildlife.

Cedar Rapids television station KCRG-TV reports (http://bit.ly/RedumJ) that the potentially deadly bacterial strain MRSA was found in two rabbits and a migrating bird in a study led by the university’s Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases.

MRSA is a contagious bacterial infection often called a superbug because it is resistant to many commonly used antibiotics.

Epidemiology professor Tara Smith says previous research has found MRSA in swine and pets and a few cases in the wild, such as in dolphins and chimpanzees. But she says this was the first time a broad species distribution was studied in one geographical area.

Researchers collected samples from 114 animals brought to the Wildlife Care Clinic at Iowa State University.

The Cass County Extension office would like to invite community members to join them for a “CyTennial Celebration” open house on Friday, October 26 from 11 AM to 1 PM. This will be a tailgate-themed event in honor of the 100^th anniversary of homecoming at ISU during their game on Saturday the 27^th.

Tailgate snacks and beverages will be served and door prizes will be given out during the event. There will also be a “Cyclone Harvest” display where attendees can have their picture taken, as well as opportunities to participate in Extension and Cyclone trivia and learn more about resources and upcoming classes available through Cass County Extension.

Cyclone fans, Extension fans and ISU Alumni will be able to autograph a wall in “Cy’s Locker Room” and enter their name into a drawing for some great Extension resources and ISU gear. The wall will be up all week before the event, beginning Monday morning October 22^nd, for anyone to stop in and sign if they won’t be able to make the event on Friday.

For more information on the open house, or other upcoming extension programs, call the Cass County Extension Office at 243-1132, email xcass@iastate.edu or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass . Information, updates and previews of the fun will also be posted on Cass County ISU Extension’s Facebook page.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency said today (Friday), that the Fire Danger Index in Shelby County will remain in the “Moderate” category, through Monday morning, Oct. 22nd. The field and grassland fire danger conditions will be reassessed at that time, and another report issued accordingly.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Parts of drought-stricken Iowa, Nebraska and much of the Midwest are expected to be warmer and drier than normal in early winter.  The Des Moines Register reports that National Weather Service forecast maps issued Thursday show higher-than-normal temperatures are expected over the next three months for the western third of Iowa and all of Nebraska. But lower-than-normal moisture is expected for the eastern third of Nebraska and all of Iowa.

Mike Halpert, of the weather service’s Climate Prediction Center, says the predictions “are the weather service’s best guess, based on a variety of computer models. ”  Iowa state climatologist Harry Hillaker says “the clock is ticking” on refilling Iowa’s soil with moisture before the winter freeze.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources held its 12th and statewide park public forum in Shelby County Thursday evening. The forum was held inside the First Baptist Church in Harlan from 6:30 to 8:30pm. A crowd of over 30 people filled the community room inside the church. The event began with a short introduction by Bob Sherbomb, Regional Director of Parks followed by a video on all state parks in Iowa. The audience was then broken down into smaller groups to go over issues they face with state parks.

Kevin Szcodronski, Bureau Chief of State Parks for the Iowa DNR says the forum was to ask the public their top priorities. He said “Tonight we heard loud and clear the lake is important, fishing and a well kept up park.” Szcodronski says overall the public is not asking for big things. “If I had to summarize all 12 meetings it would be, Iowans are pretty traditional users of state parks. They want access. They want them well kept, open, trails to be good and more electricity.”

Other suggestions for Prairie Rose included a year round lodge or community center to hold family reunions or weddings along with a better office for the staff. Szcodronski says now that all the forums are complete, the DNR will compile the information and look for trends. “Then we are going to compare information from the small groups with information from our telephone surveys with general people of Iowa and compare answers. We want to see if there needs are different with current visitors. We will look at that very close and see what we can do in the future.”

All the information will guide the DNR to the 100th year celebration in 2020 to make all the State Parks in good shape when the spotlight shines on them. Szcodronski says the DNR will be releasing information about the public meetings on their website,  “Probably sometime in later November or early December, we will put some things on the website, some overall summaries and what we have heard from each park. It’s going to take us a while. It will be about a month, month and a half. We will post it on our website www.iowadnr.gov and keep track of it on there.” The public forum on Thursday finished with a short question and answer session with Szcodronski.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

Local residents, business owners and community leaders are invited to share their thoughts about opportunities and challenges in rural Iowa, during a Rural-Issues Roundtable Discussion in Corning, on October 25th. The discussion, featuring USDA Rural Development State Director from Iowa, Bill Menner, will run from 1-to 2:30-p.m. next Thursday, at the Corning Public Library (603 9th St.), in Corning. The meeting is open to the public.

The State Fire Marshals Office and Iowa Department of Public Safety report Burn Bans which had been in place for Carroll and Madison Counties, were lifted this week. The bans on open burning due to the extremely dry summer conditions, were enacted in late July. Recent rains and current climate conditions prompted officials in Carroll and Madison Counties to ask for their burn bans to be rescinded. The ban was lifted in Madison County this (Thursday) morning, while the Carroll County burn ban was lifted Tuesday afternoon. And, as mentioned earlier, a burn ban in Pottawattamie County, was also rescinded, on Wednesday.

Info on animals up for adoption at the Atlantic Animal Shelter.

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