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The time most Iowans are spending outside has increased dramatically as we moved into summer. Iowa Department of Public Health Medical Director Patricia Quinlisk says with so many activities going on, it can be easy to remember to protect yourself from mosquitoes. Doctor Quinlisk says make it easy to remember the bug spray by keeping it along with the other items you take outside. It’s something she does for one of her favorite back yard activities.
“I just put my can of insect repellent right next to my gardening gloves, to make sure that when I go out to start gardening that I don’t forget,” Quinlisk explains. “Because it is easy to forget, but it is important because West Nile is around that they use insect repellent.” West Nile is spread by mosquito bites and in the most serious cases can lead to death.
Quinlisk says they have not had any cases of West Nile virus confirmed yet, but she says it is a little early. She says it first starts showing up in mosquitoes that are being monitored and in horses. Quinlisk says you may not have been bothered by mosquitoes yet while out in the yard, but she says it just takes a little bit of water to get them to become active and seeking out someone to bite.
“These mosquitoes don’t fly a long ways, so one of the best ways of protecting yourself from mosquito bites and the diseases they may carry is to make sure that they are not breeding anywhere in your yard. So that means getting rid of all the little puddles that may be in your yard,” Quinlisk explains. “And that may be things as simple as your children’s toys that our left out in the back yard, or the dog’s dish. In my case I have bird baths.”
Doctor Quinlisk says you can make sure mosquitoes are not breeding in the bird bath by periodically changing the water. You can find a lot of different products with insect repellents in them on the store shelf. Quinlisk has this advice to make a good choice. She says there are only three repellents that have been shown to work well, and the Department of Public Health recommends the one called DEET. Quinlisk says the DEET has the added advantage of being able to repel ticks, so you get a two-for-one benefit when you spray it on. DEET can also be used on infants starting at three months of age. You should carefully read the label and any restrictions.
“There’s one called oil of lemon eucalyptus — which sounds very natural — but it cannot be used in children less than three years of age. So that would not be the one to buy if you’ve got young children,” Quinlisk explains. She suggests you check with your doctor if you have questions about the best products for children.
(Radio Iowa)
You might see a sign posted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources at your favorite state park beach this summer. Testing coordinator Mary Skopec says they will post of sign if their weekly tests show issues with blue-green algae and bacteria. “And if it is a bacterial impairment, normally what I have been telling people is very young children so babies, small toddlers, people with compromised immune systems — people who are on chemotherapy drugs for example — should really avoid being in that water,” Skopec says.
Even if you are healthy, you should take some precautions if the beach is posted for a high level of bacteria. She says anyone with an open cut should avoid the water and everyone should avoid swallowing the water. The recommendation involving algae is stronger. “When that advisory is due to the blue-green toxin, really people should stay out of that water because even contact with it for a healthy person can cause a pretty nasty skin rash,” Skopec says. “We can’t tell for sure always if everyone is going to get sick. The levels of toxin vary quite rapidly from day-to-day.”
She says the blue-green algae can also cause pets to get sick. Skopec says with the toxin advisory for the algae they recommend that people stay out of the water until it is clear and the advisory goes away. You can go online to see the results of the weekly testing. Go to www.iowadnr.gov/beaches to find the advisories. You can also call the hotline at: 515-725-3434.
Skopec says the levels of bacteria can change quickly if there is rain. The blue-green algae tend to flourish when it is sunny and hot.
(Radio Iowa)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowans are being warned to watch out for those plants on the side of the road with lacy yellow flowers. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that large patches of wild parsnip are growing now across the state. Also known as poison parsnip, the plant looks like a dill plant or Queen Anne’s lace. It is yellow and grows about four feet tall.
The plant is native to Eurasia and related to the carrot family. It has a sap that contains chemicals that can cause rashes, blisters, burning and itching when exposed to sunlight. The rash can hurt for weeks and scars may remain for many years.
Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources say more than 700 vessels containing more than 2,200 boaters were contacted as part of Operation Dry Water during the weekend of June 25th-26th. The effort to focus on enforcement of Iowa’s boating while intoxicated law is intended to draw public attention to the hazards of boating under the influence going into the Fourth of July holiday weekend, traditionally one of the busiest times for vessels on Iowa waters.
In all, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources along with partner agencies issued 227 citations or warnings during the Operation Dry Water campaign. While most of the violations and warnings involved having the proper safety equipment on-board, a total of 10 boating while intoxicated arrests were made during the effort.
The waters targeted for this year’s effort were Coralville Reservoir, the Mississippi River, Brushy Creek Lake, Lake Manawa, Okoboji, Saylorville Reservoir and the Missouri River. The DNR received assistance in the effort from the Illinois, Wisconsin, and Nebraska DNR, Iowa State Patrol, local sheriffs and police departments and county conservation boards.
The Operation Dry Water effort resulted in 381 boaters being contact and 161 citations or warning being issued a year ago. Susan Stocker, boating law administrator and education coordinator for the Iowa DNR, said Operation Dry Water is an important mission to heighten boating safety awareness prior to the busy Fourth of July holiday. “One-third of all boating fatalities nationally involved alcohol and many of those victims were innocent bystanders,” Stocker said.
Iowa fares even worse than the national average with approximately half of the boating-related fatalities involving alcohol. “The effects of alcohol can be intensified when combined with wind and wave action and an extended time spent in the sun. Operators may not think they are under the influence, but their judgment, reaction time, balance and vision indicate that they are,” Stocker said.
There are slightly less than 220,000 registered boats in Iowa.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today encouraged Iowa hay and straw producers to register or update their listing on the Iowa Hay and Straw Directory. The directory lists Iowa producers with hay and straw for sale, as well as organizations and businesses associated with promoting and marketing quality hay and straw. 
Northey says “The directory has been a great tool for both buyers and sellers and we hope farmers will take the time to review and update their information so that it remains a valuable resource. This directory can serve as a critical link for those producing hay and those looking to buy, so we encourage Iowans to take advantage of this free directory.”
The listing is available to interested buyers throughout the nation, however only sellers from within Iowa can be included on the list. Names are gathered throughout the year with added emphasis now that hay harvest has started. Sections within the Hay and Straw Directory include “Forage for Sale,” “Forage Auctions,” “Hay Associations,” “Forage Dealers,” “Hay Grinders” and “Custom Balers.”
Farmers interested in listing should visit the Department’s website at www.IowaAgriculture.gov. An application form can be found by going to the “Bureaus” link and then selecting “Agricultural Diversification and Market Development.” Then click on “Hay & Straw Directory” on the right side of the page under “Directories.”
For those without internet access, please call the Hay/Straw Hotline at 800-383-5079. The Department will fax or send a printed copy of the application to be filled out. The Department is also supporting the Iowa Crop Improvement Association’s “Iowa Noxious Weed Seed Free Forage and Mulch Certification Program.” Through this program Iowa forage and mulch producers can take advantage of many emerging market opportunities for “Certified Weed Free” products. For more specific information on this program producers should contact the Iowa Crop Improvement Association at 515-294-6921. More information can also be found by visiting http://www.iowacrop.org/Forage_Mulch.htm.
A state agency that impacts many aspects of life in Iowa turns 30 years old today (Friday). Department of Natural Resources director Chuck Gipp says the governor and legislature created the D-N-R by combining four agencies in 1986. “There was an energy bureau, there was the environmental services side of the agency, there was the con (conservation) and rec (recreation) side of the agency, and the Iowa Geological and Water Services which was over in Iowa City all got combined into the Department of Natural Resources that we know today,” Gipp says.
Gipp is a former legislator who has led the D-N-R for five years, and says there are still those who think the D-N-R oversees too many areas. “There’s still a couple of people left over that think you should split the department back up into at least two,” according to Gipp. “Some complain that the representation of the department is dependent on the performance of the law enforcement officers. And then the other side of the agency — the con and rec side — think that the negative opinion is because of the field services side that has to go out and investigate complaints. We actually think, our management team thinks, that the department as it is, is what it absolutely needs to be.”
The D-N-R is highlighting 30 of what is says are success stories for the agency. One of those is the removal of large piles of thousands of used tires that developed after the tires were banned from landfills. “One of the concerns with the zika virus that’s occurring in others states….the Departments of Public health has determined that waste tires are a good place as a breeding ground for the mosquitoes that carry that. Iowa has been way ahead of the game for waste tire reduction. A lot of states are still grappling with that,” Gipp says.
The clean up of leaking underground fuel storage tanks is another success. “In Iowa there were anywhere between eight and ten-thousand of these sites. You often saw in your small towns that there was a gasoline station on each corner and you often as a result of that saw that there was a leaking underground storage site at these little intersections as well,” Gipp explains. The governor signed legislation this year ending the underground cleanup program. Gipp says a big change for the state came in the decision to take landfills from random piles of garbage in each county and city to a more regulated system.
He says it was determined that it was better to used lined landfills. Gipp says a result of that was to create the recycling programs to save money by keeping more garbage out of landfills. “So we in Iowa not recycle about 50 percent of the waste that used to formerly go into landfills.” Cleaner air and water are cited on the list too. “When it comes to the air in Iowa, emissions are down 33 percent since 2009, so that has been a huge success,” Gipp says. “The Clean Water Act has given us the type of regulation to ensure — not 100 percent — but to ensure that the Flint, Michigan problem won’t occur here in Iowa.”
The D-N-R has seen a lot of success in programs to bring back the bald eagle, the trumpeter swan, peregrine falcons, breeding trout, and the management of other wildlife. “I distinctly remember as a child growing up in Decorah, Iowa that if you wanted to see Canadian geese you had to go to Rochester, Minnesota to Silver Lake up there. Today you can’t find a spot without geese — a beautiful animal and in some cases a nuisance,” Gipp says. “…there wasn’t a hunting opportunity for the whitetail deer until the 1950’s, and yet today we have that controversy between too many and too few.”
Also on the recreation side, the state has seen the creation of 12-hundred miles of bike trails. Gipp says many people outside the state, and many who live here probably don’t realize all the natural resources that are available in Iowa. “We’re very proud of the accomplishments of the department and we hope that the citizens of Iowa have opportunities they wouldn’t have had without the work of the department, the work of the communities and the citizens of Iowa,” Gipp says. He says partnership of citizens, businesses and communities have help the D-N-R be successful in its first three decades.
The complete list of the 30 accomplishments is highlighted in the July/August 2016 issue of Iowa Outdoors magazine, and can be found on the D-N-R’s website at www.iowadnr.gov/30th.
(Radio Iowa)
It’s July 1st, which means a string of new state laws go into effect today (Friday).
Iowa landowners can legally carry a loaded gun while they’re driving an A-T-V on their property. The bill that goes into effect today lets A-T-V operators on someone else’s property carry a gun, but the gun cannot be loaded and must be in a case. The law does NOT let you stay ON the A-T-V while shooting. You have to get off the vehicle to shoot. Another gun-related law about “suppressors” went into effect in March, on the day Governor Branstad approved it. It is now legal to have “suppressor” or “silencer” on a gun in Iowa.
Tougher penalties are also in effect beginning today, if you’re caught littering or illegally dumping garbage. The crime of illegal dumping covers getting rid of things like old television sets, refrigerators and tires in ditches, fields and other places that are NOT legal dump sites. If you’re caught illegally dumping something that weighs more than 10 pounds or something larger than 15 cubic feet, the fine will be a thousand dollars for a first offense. If you’re caught a second time, the fine doubles. It triples on a third offense. The crime of littering things like a pop can or a candy wrapper is a simple misdemeanor, but because of this new law fines can now go as high as 625-dollars.
The Keep IOWA Beautiful organization estimates the State of Iowa spends 35 million dollars each year to pick up the garbage that’s tossed out of moving vehicles. A Keep AMERICA Beautiful survey concludes nearly 22 percent of all litter is paper, about 20 percent is plastic and nearly six percent is glass. The largest share of litter, though, comes from smokers. Nearly 38 percent of litter comes from cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products.
(Radio Iowa)
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Workers are dredging in Council Bluffs’ Lake Manawa for the first time in decades as part of an effort to improve its water clarity and eliminate algae blooms. The Daily Nonpareil reports a dredging barge is slowly making its way across the 715-acre lake, removing sand from the lake bottom. Crews are concentrating on a 60-acre area, where they want to increase depths to a maximum of 16 feet deep.
The lake now has a maximum depth of 12 feet with large areas only 6 or 7 feet deep. It’s the first dredging of Lake Manawa since 1982. The work will cost $4.2 million, paid from a statewide lake restoration fund. The company doing the work plans to remove 500,000 cubic yards of sand from the lake bottom.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Four scientists credited with creating food that’s fortified with essential nutrients and vitamins and has helped an estimated 10 million people avoid starvation and disease are the recipients of this year’s World Food Prize. Drs. Maria Andrade, Robert Mwanga, Jan Low and Howarth Bouis were announced Tuesday as the 2016 World Food Prize laureates during a ceremony at the U.S. State Department in Washington.
They are being honored primarily for developing a vitamin A-fortified orange-fleshed sweet potato, which has helped reduce a vitamin deficiency that causes blindness and increased mortality in children in many countries, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia. The World Food Prize was created by Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug in 1986 to recognize improvements in the quality and availability of food.
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