(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature has set aside 250-thousand dollars to start developing accurate maps of Iowa’s underground water resources. State geologist Keith Schilling is director of the Iowa Geological Survey, the agency that will develop the maps of shallow groundwater supplies.

“There’s an increasing demand for groundwater in Iowa from municipal users, business and industries and even irrigation,” Schilling says. “We know something about Iowa’s shallow underground water resources, but not everything we need to know.” Schilling says his agency has done some site specific research in some locations around the state.

“What we really need to do is to connect the dots,” Schilling says, “and understand how much of this groundwater is available, what’s the recharge rate that occurs, how much is discharged to the streams and how much is being used in order to develop some idea of the long term sustainability of our groundwater supplies.” Schilling’s agency has the equipment, supplies and technology that can be used to evaluate water supplies above the bedrock surface.

“That includes the shallow sand and gravel alluvium along our river courses,” Schilling says. “It also includes deeper sand and gravel bodies sitting on top of the bedrock, buried by thick glacial materials.” The alluvium he mentioned is generally the area that borders a river where sediment is deposited by the flow of water at the surface. The shallow GROUNDWATER maps — once completed — should help determine the long-term sustainability of each aquifer in Iowa according to Schilling.

“What product could we do first and easiest to get some producible results? In which case we might focus year one more on the Iowa River alluvium,” Schilling says, “because there are several users working in this water supply.” Schilling says understanding the basic distribution of Iowa’s shallow groundwater resources may prevent potential disputes over water access in the future.  “As users increase, the aquifer itself is not changing shape. There’s only so much water there,” Schilling says. “We need to understand how much water’s there and how sustainable its use is.”

Mapping DEEP underground aquifers that are BELOW the bedrock is really expensive and is NOT part of this project. The funding to start mapping shallow aquifers is included in a budget bill that cleared the legislature last week.

(Radio Iowa) – Planting season is underway for most of Iowa, except in the northeast, where the tractors are being stalled by unpredictable rainfall and a lack of moisture. The region’s been in extreme drought for three years, but in the past few weeks, it’s gotten several inches of rain. That’s thrown off planting plans for many farmers who anticipated a drier spring. Iowa State University field agronomist Terry Basol says it means the region still has a lot of catching up to do.

“Our 30-year average is roughly 30 inches of rain,” Basol says, “and last year, that total was 13.8.” Basol says moisture levels in the region’s topsoil are nearly drained, which makes rainfall even more critical. He says that lack of topsoil moisture is troubling for farmers, especially when compared to last year.

“Fast forward to 2024, that’s been depleted for the most part,” he says, “so we’re going to rely heavily on timely rains to carry us through.” Despite the rainfall of recent weeks, the yearly moisture average is down by more than 50 percent.

(Radio Iowa) – Developers of a northwest Iowa wind farm plan to erect 18 turbines in Emmet County. The Red Rock Wind Energy Center project is being scaled back in neighboring Dickinson County, though, as officials consider changes to Dickinson County’s wind turbine ordinance.

Joe Crowley is project developer for Invenergy, the company building the wind farm. “We’ve definitely been delayed,” Crowley said Tuesday. “…That being said, working with counties is how we build successful projects.”

The company originally planned to build 83 wind turbines in Dickinson County, but Crowley says that’s been pared back to around 70 wind turbines due to expected changes in the county’s ordinance. Yesterday, Crowley briefed Emmet County Supervisors on Invenergy’s prep work in their county.

“We’ve been doing geo-technical studies as well diligence to make sure that the sites that we currently have are suitable for the turbines that we’re contemplating,” Crowley said, “as well as just keeping up on working with landowners and refining our layout to make sure that they fit the needs as best as possible.”

The Red Rock Wind Energy Center is planned for Emmet, Dickinson and Clay Counties. Invenergy has built 17 other wind farms in Iowa.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – The fines for trespassing in order to hunt deer will go up significantly July 1. The law — and the fines — have been expanded to include trespassing to hunt any wildlife. The trespasser can be arrested and officers will be able to confiscate animals from hunters who trespass on private property — and assess more fines based on how many animals the hunter has taken. Senator Tom Shipley, a Republican from Nodaway, said it’s “a big deal” in southwest Iowa.

“I think raising these penalties is very important to those people in areas where they have people coming in from all over the country just deciding it’s their ground to play on,” Shipley said. Senator Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City, is skeptical. “I didn’t hear any good arguments in committee or elsewhere that would necessitate us raising the fines for trespass,” Weiner said, “or that there have been really egregious instances.”

Senator Tom Shipley

Representative Monica Kurth, a Democrat from Davenport, said she doesn’t condone trespassing, but this law seems excessive. “If a farmer’s trying to rid his property of nuisance raccoons and crosses a property line to get after those varmints and happens to have three of those critters in his possession, he would suddenly be fined $500 for the trespass, plus $200 for each of those raccoons,” Kurth said, “making a grand total of $1100.”

Republican Representative Mike Vondran of Davenport said trespassing is trespassing and the law is needed. “The simple act of knocking on your neighbor’s door and asking permission to deal with critters and varmints is one thing versus just deciding to go out and take your weapon and cross over a fence line, cross into another property where you have no concept of who is where and what activity they might be undertaking at the time,” Vondran said, “so to some degree this is a large measure of safety as well.”

The governor signed the bill into law Friday. It raises the fine to $500 for a first offense of trespassing in order to hunt. It’s currently $265. The fine for a second violation would be a $1000.

(Radio Iowa) – Nominations are now being taken to recognize Iowa farmers who go above and beyond to conserve resources and the environment. The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation is in its 73rd year of awarding the Iowa Conservation Farmer of the Year, which honors Iowa farmers committed to environmental stewardship and conservation. Farm Bureau president Brent Johnson says while Iowa is well known for its production capabilities, the award is a chance to highlight the conservation work. “We actually lead the nation in so many different conservation practices, and a lot of that is born on the farm directly, through innovation provided by farmers to implement new ways of conserving their resources and the environment around them,” said Johnson. “They’re doing a fantastic job, and there are so many good stories to tell.”

One nominee is selected from all 99 counties and will be considered for nine regional awards. Those nine individuals would then vie for “Conservation Farmer of the Year.” Johnson notes they are also looking for individuals who have continued innovating their conservation practices. “Those folks who have been involved in conservation practices for a long time, trying some new things and figuring out what works and what doesn’t work — making those tweaks and advancing in those areas,” Johnson says. “Those are the types of people whose stories we are looking to share with other farmers — those who have that ‘lead-by-example’ kind of mentality.”

The winner of this year’s award — announced at the Iowa State Fair in August — will also receive free use of a John Deere 5-M Series utility tractor for up to 12 months or 200 hours. Over the years, Johnson says he has heard of various ways farmers go about preserving the land and their resources. “I’ve heard of farmers using CREP water lands where they’ll use tile to fill up a pond and then rewater those acres so there’s water circulation,” he said. “There’s various different types of structures being put onto farms to help with water flow or soil erosion and then you can talk about buffer strips, bio-reactors, and terraces. There are so many good stories that are being implemented out there.”

Nominations are due May 10th, and forms are available at cdiowa.org/awards. The prize, valued at over $12,000, was donated by Van Well Equipment of Perry and John Deere.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Master Gardeners have a busy month planned in May! On Saturday May 11, the group will host their annual Spring Plant Sale on the Cass County Fairgrounds. A few weeks later, on Wednesday May 22, the annual Master Gardener Bus Trip will leave from the fairgrounds for a day of education, garden exploration and plant nursery shopping. Any interested member of the public is invited to both events to help kick off the start of the gardening season!

The Plant Sale begins at 8 AM on May 11 , and will be held in the front parking lot of the Cass County Community Center on the fairgrounds at 805 W 10th Street in Atlantic. The event promises to have a wide variety of perennials available for gardeners to add to their landscape this year, as well as lawn tools, décor, and gardening books. Interested gardeners are encouraged to arrive early for best selection. All items will be sold for a free will offering, with all proceeds used to support Master Gardener community grants, scholarships, and other projects around the county. A resource table with information on gardening topics and local projects will also be available.

For the annual spring sale, Cass County Master Gardeners offer a variety of perennial and annual plants from their own gardens, as well as plants dug from gardens in the local area. The Atlantic FFA chapter and horticulture students will again be set up at the plant sale, offering food plants and flowering annuals for sale. All FFA plants will be sold at a separate booth and individually priced. Information will also be available on student plant sales from other Cass County schools. Community members are welcome to donate plants to this event, and members may even help you dig! If you are dividing perennials in your yard this spring and have extra plants to donate, please call in advance and make arrangements to drop off donated plants before the date of the plant sale.

The annual Bus Trip on May 22 features a full day of garden visits, educational activities, and a chance to explore and shop specialty plant nurseries. The trip heads north this year, and includes stops near Wall Lake, Odebolt, Auburn and Lake View. The bus departs the fairgrounds in Atlantic at 8 AM and returns around 6:30 PM. The trip is coordinated by the Cass County Master Gardeners but is open to everyone.  Registrations are taken on a first-come basis, so register soon and be sure to reserve your spot on the bus! The cost is $65 for the day, which includes transportation, a meal and snacks. Registration forms are available at the Cass County Extension office and can also be found on the Cass County Extension website at www.exension.iastate.edu/cass. A full itinerary is on each registration form.

The goal of the Master Gardener program is to provide community service and education in horticulture.  The Cass County Master Gardeners utilize funds raised from their annual spring and fall plant sales for local community projects, include maintaining community garden spaces around the county, providing education programs to youth and adults, and providing financial support to local horticulture projects. Other upcoming events from the Master Gardeners include a local garden walk at the end of June and the fall plant sale on September 14. Master Gardeners will also be providing education to community members at events throughout the summer and offering the opportunity to train as a new Master Gardener beginning later this summer.

For more information about the plant sale, bus trip, and other Master Gardener activities in Cass County, please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu.  In addition, you are invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/master-gardener-program to keep up with local events and tips for gardening and learn more about becoming a Master Gardener in Iowa!

(Radio Iowa) – Farmers got the rain they’d been hoping for last week, but it cut down on the time they could be planting. The U-S-D-A crop report shows there were only three days suitable for fieldwork due to the weather. Corn planting hit 13 percent complete by the end of the week — up from four percent last week. That is three days ahead of last year and the five-year average. Eight percent of the bean crop is now in the ground, which is four days ahead of last year and six days ahead of the five-year average.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is announcing plans for a two-point-two million dollar upgrade at a popular park in north-central Iowa. The D-N-R’s Jacob Schaben says the Brushy Creek State Recreational Area covers 65-hundred acres of Webster County and it’s a proven destination for campers, hikers and horseback riders. For starters, Schaben says they’ll be renovating all three campground areas.

“Some of the things that we are looking at doing is upgrading electrical services in those areas. We have several campsites that do not have electricity,” Schaben says. “We’re looking to put in some water and sewer services as well in several of our campsites, and make some modern amenities to upgrade the park to the way people use it, including a concrete parking lot for visitors.” He says construction crews will be doing their best to keep the majority of the park open as they upgrade one or several areas at a time.

“We’re in the design phase of the project right now. We had a public meeting to showcase to the public what our intentions were,” Schaben says. “We’re looking at probably finishing up those designs over the course of the next couple of months. We could potentially start to see work as soon as November of 2024. We’re hoping to potentially have everything knocked out and finished by the time Memorial weekend rolls around in 2025.”

He says there’s also a plan to carve a new road through the north campground to make the area more user-friendly.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State Fair C-E-O, Jeremy Parsons, is preparing for his second event after taking over the top job last year.  “You know last year when I came in I really got to take advantage of the great staff and the fact that my predecessor Gary Slater had a lot of those details in place when I arrived in March and this year it’s kind of been I guess my own leadership getting those details in place,” Parsons says. He says they have been planning and working through the winter to prep for the August event.

“I think this year at the fair you’re just going to see an increased focus on the fair goer, what are some things we can do to make the fair goer experience better,” he says. “And so that’s going to be the driving force behind a lot of our things that we’re planning for this year.” Parsons says you’ll notice things across the fairgrounds.

“A new shower house up in the campgrounds for our great camping community, you’re gonna see a lot more seating at this year’s fair in terms of picnic tables places to sit down benches shaded areas,” Parsons says, “so be looking for those around the fairgrounds as well and just a lot of other improvements.”

This year’s Iowa State Fair runs from August 8th through the 18th.