(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa D-N-R has finalized its state drought plan. D-N-R hydrology coordinator, Tim Hall, says the plan is a resource for state, county and local use — and should give them a better opportunity to stay in front of drought conditions. Hall says the plan also draws from the longtime U-S Drought Monitor and provides a more localized version of that national program. He says it provides schedules and structure for having discussions and meetings and providing information to local decision makers during times of drought.

The plan divides the state into five regions, and will provide information on the drought status in each area. You can see the full Iowa Drought Plan at the D-N-R’s website: iowadnr.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – Saint Patrick’s Day is next Friday and next week is traditionally one of the deadliest weeks of the year for motorists and pedestrians in Iowa and nationwide. Sheri Krohn, program administrator of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, says they’re partnering with local law enforcement to launch a nine-day effort this weekend, spreading the message about the dangers of drinking and driving — and to take impaired drivers off the road. “There’s a lot of celebrations surrounding this holiday which means an increase in alcohol consumption and an increase in pedestrian traffic, and it can also be a nighttime event,” Krohn says. “This year, the holiday is on a Friday which will again increase the amount of activities and pedestrians in the area.”

The program starts this Saturday and runs through next Sunday, March 19th. Krohn says if you’re at a St. Pat’s party on foot, you’ll need to be especially cautious. “Pedestrians can limit their number of drinks, stay alert while they’re walking, stay off of their phones, use crosswalks,” Krohn says, “and most importantly, make sure that you make eye contact with the driver before crossing the street.” During the week of St. Patrick’s Day last year, 48 people were either seriously injured or killed in car crashes on Iowa’s roads. “Drivers should also stay alert, slow down, stay off their electronics,” she says. “Everyone needs to play a part to stay safe.”

If you’re going to drink, Krohn says to make the smart choice and plan for a sober ride. If you’re the designated driver, she says to make sure you keep that promise of safety to yourself and your passengers.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill to set up a new, quicker routes for getting a license to teach in Iowa cleared the Iowa House this week. Representative Henry Stone, a Republican from Forest City, says it would help ease the teacher shortage. “When a teacher shows up in the classroom, kids aren’t asking them what path it took to be there,” Stone said. “Their only concern is to be educated to the best extent possible.”

If the bill becomes law, people with a college degree could be hired as teaching interns while they complete their
training for a license. The bill would also let a college graduate take an online course to get a temporary teaching license rather than enroll in a teacher prep program at a college or university. Sixty-one Republicans voted for the bill. Two Republicans and all the Democrats in the House voted against it.

Representative Molly Buck, a Democrat from Ankeny who’s a teacher, says there should be a required period of student teaching under the direct supervision of an experienced educator before someone leads a class on their own.  “Would you want you house wired by an electrician who had never done an apprenticeship? Would you like to be operated on by a surgeon who’d never been through a residency program? How about flying on a plane with a pilot who’d never actually flown a plane?”

Representative Sue Cahill, a Democrat from Marshalltown who’s a retired teacher, says she’s seen people quit after a stint of student teaching — with another veteran teacher in the room. “It is a lot different than it looks on TV, then it looks when reading a book, or you may have experienced when you were a student,” Cahill says. Stone says these type of alternative licensing options are being used successfully by teachers in other states like Wisconsin and Missouri.  “It might not be comfortable trying something you’re not used to,” Stone said. “But…why not give them a try?”

Stone says the traditional route of licensure, with periods of supervised student teaching, is always an option, but this bill would let capable people more quickly get a job leading a classroom. “Somebody who wants to pursue a teaching degree as a second career path or later on in life isn’t just doing it on a whim. They are invested in this process. Also the district doesn’t have to hire them,” Stone says. “At the end of the day the school district decides whether or not to hire that individual.”

Also this week, Republicans in the House passed a bill to change the make-up of the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners so five would be parents, five would be educators and one would be a school board member. Currently, the Iowa Department of Education’s director, two parents and nine educators serve on the board.

(Radio Iowa) – A state official who signed off on the legal settlement with a dozen former Hawkeye football players says he applauds the decision to have Iowa’s Athletics Department cover the entire cost. State Treasurer Roby Smith, a member of the State Appeals Board, voted to approve the settlement Tuesday. State tax dollars were to cover nearly half of the more than four MILLION dollar payment to black players who alleged there was racial discrimination in the Hawkeye football program.

Smith is revealing the Iowa Attorney General’s staff told him before the vote that the University of Iowa and the Board of Regents were refusing the pay the full amount, but voting no would force the case to trial and that could cost taxpayers far more. Smith says requiring the Iowa Athletics Department to cover the entire settlement is the right course, but Smith is renewing his call for the university’s president to reexamine the University of Iowa’s relationship with Hawkeye athletics director Gary Barta.

State Auditor Rob Sand, another member of the State Appeals Board, voted against the settlement because it’s the fourth discrimination settlement during Barta’s tenure at Iowa. Sand says he’d like to see a copy of the two million dollar check the Iowa Athletics Department writes to the state so taxpayers aren’t on the hook for it. “I am delighted that President Wilson listened to the concerns that lead to my vote against the settlement,” Sand says. “I am delighted she listened to taxpayers who wanted real accountability.”

A bill pending in the Iowa House would forbid state tax dollars from being spent on any future legal settlement over Hawkeye athletics. The state treasurer says legislators should consider expanding the bill to prohibit tax dollars from covering all claims against the three state universities.

(Irwin, Iowa) – A collision in Shelby County Thursday, claimed the life of a 20-year-old man. The Iowa State Patrol reports Grant T. Gaer, of Irwin, was driving a 1995 Toyota Camry northbound on M-47 at around 3-p.m., just south of Irwin, when the vehicle crossed the center line of the road and the southbound lane. The car struck a transport van driven by 74-year-old Galen Dean Gaer, also of Irwin.

Grant Gaer died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt. The occupants of the transport van were not injured.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad says the proposed pipeline projects that would capture the carbon dioxide emissions from Iowa and other Midwest ethanol plants will help Iowa agriculture and biotechnology level up. Branstad is the senior policy adviser for Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions, which is proposing one of the pipelines. He called Summit’s project “critically important.”

“And if we don’t do it, I think, and you’ve probably see the research that’s been done by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association that said we would dramatically lose out on the amount of ethanol from the state of Iowa. That would mean loss of jobs and dramatic reduction in the value of our corn crop, in our land value,” Branstad says.

Branstad made his remarks during the Iowa Biotech Showcase and Conference in Ankeny Wednesday. The ethanol industry supports the proposed carbon pipelines because they say carbon capture will make them eligible for tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.

A coalition of environmentalists, farmers and landowners oppose the projects because of concerns about their safety and their property rights.

(By Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

Annual Scholarship Award to Encourage Horticulture Careers; available to all ages

The Cass County, Iowa Master Gardeners (CCMG) are again offering a $1,000 scholarship to local students, with applications due April 1, 2023. The purpose of this scholarship is to provide post-secondary funds to individuals who are studying and intend to pursue a career in a horticulture-related field. This scholarship is available to students who are graduating seniors in any of the following Iowa school districts, in which currently reside members of CCMG: Atlantic, AHSTW, CAM, Griswold, or Red Oak. This scholarship is also available to previous graduates, of any age, of any of these school districts. Scholarship committee members want to emphasize that students of any age studying in a horticulture-related field are encouraged to apply, regardless of the type of program they are studying, as long as they intend to obtain some degree or certificate in a horticultural-related field.

The goal of the Master Gardener program is to support horticulture education and community service. CCMG members provide many hours of volunteer service and gardening education within their local communities. This scholarship is designed to further that focus on education and community service. Enrollment in a horticulture-related program of study is required for consideration. Examples of horticultural-related fields are included on the application to give applicants an idea of degree fields that may be eligible to apply. The scholarship winner will be selected based upon horticulture-related career goals, history of community service, academic success, and quality and completeness of application. (Financial need is NOT a criterion.)

The scholarship is for any student pursuing post-secondary education during the 2023-2024 school year. A scholarship check will be issued in January 2024, in the student’s name directly to the academic institution, upon receipt of an official grade transcript for the completed Fall 2023 semester, demonstrating a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5. A previous scholarship recipient may re-apply, but an individual may only receive a total of two scholarships from this program.

The application form is available through the high school guidance departments, or on the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/. Applications should be submitted to the Cass County Extension Office, 805 W 10^th St, Atlantic, Iowa 50022, or emailed to keolson@iastate.edu on or before the April 1 deadline for consideration. Questions can be directed to the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132.

DES MOINES – Today, Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) announced $26.88 million in grant funding through the final round of Destination Iowa, a $100 million investment in quality of life and tourism attractions. In recognition of the high interest in the program, Gov. Reynolds also announced an additional investment of $15 million to fund Destination Iowa applications from rural communities that did not receive grants in previous rounds.

In all, Destination Iowa awards were granted to 46 projects totaling $115 million that activated $480,265,783 in total investment. The seventh round of Destination Iowa funded the 10 projects. For the additional $15 million, IEDA reviewed applications already submitted by rural communities, defined as 30,000 residents or fewer that are not adjacent to communities of 30,000 or more residents.

Awards made from the additional $15 million, include (from our area:

The City of Denison was awarded $4,500,000 for the Crawford County Wellness and Recreation Center. The award represents 24% of the total project investment of $18,643,000.

The City of Treynor was awarded $800,000 for a multi-phase park and recreation project. The award represents 31% of the total project investment of $2,577,455.

The Stanton Community Foundation and Montgomery County were awarded $850,000 for the Stanton Area Trail Project. The award represents 35% of the total project investment of $2,456,110.

Funded projects must be completed by June 30, 2026. For more information on the Destination Iowa program, visit iowaeda.com/destination-iowa/. Funding for this program has been made available through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.  

Radio Iowa)- An Iowa towboat is headed upstream from Dubuque and it appears there will be an early start to the navigation season on the Upper Mississippi River. Al VanGuilder, with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers, says there are already some areas of open water at Lake Pepin along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.

VanGuilder says there’s still “pretty decent ice” on the upper end of the lake, but it’s thin enough for towboats to bust through to reach St. Paul. The towboat from Dubuque will rendezvous with another and they hope to reach the Twin Cities on Saturday, which he says is the unofficial start of spring.

The shipping season opened on March 21st last year.

(Radio Iowa) – The head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office for 15 years and 27 auditing officials from other states are raising concerns about a Senate bill that would limit the Iowa State Auditor’s ability to investigate state agencies.

The Republican who led debate on the bill Tuesday night said it would keep information private that’s not relevant to an audit. The president of the National State Auditors Association says limitations in the bill should be eliminated to protect the auditor’s ability to investigate “waste, fraud and abuse.” State Auditor Rob Sand said the bill guts the ability of the professionals in his office to conduct audits.

“This is the single most pro-corruption bill that has ever come out of the Iowa legislature,” Sand said during a news conference in his statehouse office.

Rob Sand. (RI photo)

The bill creates a process that lets state agencies refuse to give the state auditor’s office documents and it would forbid the state auditor’s office from going to court to get access to that information. “Any agency could bury any document that they don’t want to be seen in the light of day,” Sand said. “I think that’s dangerous and irresponsible.”

David Walker, the former Comptroller General of the United States for Presidents Reagan, Clinton and both Bushes, issued a written statement about the bill. Walker said it “undercuts” the independence of the Iowa State Auditor’s Office and parts of the bill “are inconsistent with Generally Accepted Government Accounting Standards.” Sand says he hopes legislators heed these concerns.

“We have experts from around the country who are saying that this is a terrible idea,” Sand said, “…that we are going to impact the state’s bond rating, that we are going to impact the state’s credit rating, that we could risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars that the federal government provides for services here in Iowa.”

Sand is the only Democrat currently serving in statewide elected office.