The director of the Iowa Water Center says the state’s farmers are losing more than one-BILLION dollars a year in revenue due to soil erosion. Rick Cruse, who’s also an agronomy professor at Iowa State University, is part of a team of scientists working on what’s called the Iowa Daily Erosion Project. Cruse says that billion-dollar figure is a very conservative estimate of Iowa’s annual losses.

Cruse says, “We’ve looked at our estimates of soil erosion since we broke the prairie in Iowa, and based on the erosion estimates since that time and up until now, we’ve lost somewhere around six-and-a-half to seven inches on average across the state.” The research dates all the way back to 1850 and determined that more than a half-foot of topsoil has been lost in the past 16-plus decades of Iowa farming.

While six or seven inches of dirt may not sound like much, Cruse says the rich, black topsoil is what enables Iowa to be one of the world’s leaders in food production. When the precious soil is whittled away, so is Iowa’s livelihood. “The soil changes as you go down and at deeper depths,” Cruse says. “Most people understand, if you try to grow grass on a construction site or you try to grow grass or a garden in that subsoil material that’s left over after they scrape the topsoil, that’s essentially the same thing we see in the fields if soil continues to erode and we take that topsoil away.”

Many incentive programs are in place and farming techniques are being used that are designed to slow erosion, but Cruse says none of them have fixed the problem. “We need perennials in some parts of the landscape in Iowa if soil loss is going to be reduced to an acceptable level,” Cruse says. “The question you asked is, are these (programs) working, they’re working, they’re helping, but all of these are parts of a system. Any one thing alone is not the answer but putting the pieces together is.”

The Iowa Daily Erosion Project is made up of scientists from I-S-U, the University of Iowa, Colorado State University, the National Soil Erosion Research Lab, and the USDA National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Fremont County report a man who allegedly entered a residence several times over the past month and stole money and frozen meat, was arrested following an investigation into a burglary and theft that began Friday morning. The burglary and thefts occurred at 1128 305th Avenue. During the investigation, 27-year old Jeffery Greene, of Malvern, was contacted and admitted to the crimes. Greene was arrested for three counts of Burglary and on one count of Theft in the 2nd Degree. He was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $10,000 bond.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman and her dog were injured in a crash Saturday afternoon on the southbound exit ramp of Exit 1 off Interstate 29. Authorities say a semi operated by 24-year old Dexter Williams, of Raeford, NC., and owned by the Schneider National out of Gary, IN., was parked on the shoulder of the off ramp, off the traveled portion of the road, when a 1993 Ford F-150 pickup took the off-ramp and ran into the back of the semi. The accident happened at around 2:25-p.m., Saturday.

The driver of pickup, 72-year old Sharon Allumbaugh, of Shambaugh, suffered incapacitating injuries and was transported by Riverton Rescue to the Grape Community Hospital in Hamburg. A dog located in the pickup suffered life-threatening injuries, and was extricated by Hamburg firefighters before being transported to the Fremont County Vet Clinic by deputies.

Officials say seat belts were in use prior to the accident, and alcohol was NOT believed to be a factor in the crash. Instead, deputies believe a possible medical issue was the cause. Damage to the semi was estimated at $1,500. The pickup was a total loss. Charges are pending.

All 336 of Iowa’s schools district have been approved or have applied to join into the program that puts experienced teachers in the role of guiding the less experienced educators. Department of Education director Ryan Wise, says there are 115 school districts in the process of implementing what’s known as the Teacher Leadership and Compensation System (TLCS) , with the others now preparing to do so after getting their plans approved.

“There’s a 20-member commission on Teacher Leadership and Compensation the represents teachers, administrators, the school boards, the teachers association, folks from all over the education community in Iowa that review the plans,” Wise says. “The plans have 10 parts to them and the commission members score each part of them in teams of two.” It is the second year of implementation for the plan. Each of the plans must meet five base criteria, with the first being that every teacher has a salary of at least 33-thousand-500 dollars.

“Improving entry for new teachers — so giving them more and better opportunities to learn and collaborate early in their careers — creating multiple leadership roles for at least 25 percent of the teaching staff, having a rigorous selection process for choosing their teacher leaders, and then aligning their professional development given the opportunity to lead professional learning,” Wise says. He says finding the multiple leadership roles for at least 25 percent of the teaching staff is probably the toughest criteria to meet.

“That’s a significant number and it was designed intentionally — because we believe that that’s a critical mass to really spark some change and improvement in teaching and learning,” Wise explains. The size of the district can make it tough to institute. “For some districts it can be challenging to get a least a quarter of their teachers to say ‘yep, I want to do this I have a vision for it.’ In some places that’s been easy, they’ve had far more applicants than positions available. For others it’s something that they need to build over time,” Wise says. He says some districts have found they have to shift some funds to salaries to meet the minimum requirement for the program.

“A significant majority of districts in Iowa are already above that 33-thousand-500 minimum requirement. But for some small districts, rural districts, there are funds that they have to use for that first,” Wise says. The T-L-C-S is designed to improve the quality of teaching in schools and Wise says parents should take note of what their schools are doing. He says parent should ask questions of teachers to see if they are getting more opportunities to collaborate and learn. “Our premise is that it spreads out great teaching, so we’ll have more teachers in more classrooms working together,” Wise says.

Wise has more than one reason to have interest in this program. He has two children in school and he worked on putting the program together at the Education Department before he stepped up to become its top leader. “You know, that’s why I moved to Iowa, because I was passionate about teacher leadership and believed this was a great direction for an entire state to have,”according to Wise. It’s been exciting to see this develop over three years and to be on the verge of every single district in Iowa having a plan is really exciting.”

The program gives each district roughly 312 dollars for each student to be used to implement the T-L-C-S. The entire system will cost 150 million dollars annually once all of the districts have their leadership plans in place. For more information on the teacher leadership system, visit the Department of Education website.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Iowa farmers expect fewer problems shipping their crops this year because railroads have made improvements and the market may encourage more farmers to store their grain initially. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that railroads have upgraded their networks since the problems of the last couple years. And the low grain prices may prompt more farmers to hold onto their harvests.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The Davenport school board will likely decide Monday whether to close a school with declining enrollment. The Quad-City Times reports the board is scheduled to decide Monday whether to close J.B. Young school. Superintendent Art Tate proposed the move in August because enrollment at the school is below 60 percent of the building’s capacity.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Mason City officials may reconsider the ban on using metal detectors in parks they adopted just last month. Park Board Chairman Don Nelson tells the Globe Gazette he is working with scavengers who use metal detectors to develop a permit system that would allow the hobby.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man who robbed a Davenport bank Saturday afternoon might have tried to rob a different bank earlier in the day. The Quad-City Times reports a man successfully robbed a Wells Fargo branch downtown shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday. A man matching the same description tried to rob Northwest Bank at 1454 West Locust Street about three hours earlier.

Sheriff’s Officials in Montgomery County said Saturday, a Villisca man was arrested Oct. 20th on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. 24-year old Jesse Allen Luft was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $20,000 bond.

Police in Red Oak report two arrests. Late Saturday night, 23-year old Dylan James Hambright, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 1200 block of Senate Avenue on a charge of Disorderly Conduct. His bond was set at $300.  Red Oak Police arrested 27-year old Richard Dean Pierce III, late Saturday morning, following an investigation into a burglary that took place Thursday, at the Eagles Lodge in Red Oak.

Pierce faces charges that include Burglary in the 3rd degree, and Criminal Mischief in the 4th degree. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail Saturday on a $5,000 cash bond.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports three, recent drug-related arrests. Officials say 22-year old Renee McConahay, of Pacific Junction, was arrested this (Sunday) morning in Thurman, for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. McConahay was being held in the Fremont County Jail on a $2,300 cash bond.

And, on Friday, deputies in Fremont County arrested Shaina Tate and Caitlin Meyerwitz, both of Thornton, CO. Both were taken into custody following a traffic stop on Highway 2, and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance (Butane hash oil, and marijuana). The Fremont County K9 unit assisted deputies with the investigation. Both women were being held in the Fremont County Jail on $1,000 each.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton made a surprise appearance at a Des Moines concert for her campaign headlined by pop singer Katy Perry on Saturday. She and her husband former President Bill Clinton urged Iowans to caucus for her on February 1st. Clinton, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley spoke to Iowa Democrats’ Jefferson-Jackson dinner last night.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential contender Ben Carson is brushing off rival Donald Trump’s criticism of him as a “super low energy” candidate. Carson says he does have a tendency to be “relaxed.” But as a neurosurgeon who operated 18 to 20 hours at a time, he says he takes a backseat to no one when it comes to energy levels. Carson made the comments in an interview taped in Iowa for Sunday’s “Meet the Press” program on NBC.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police are investigating a shooting outside a Sioux City home that injured two people. The Sioux City Journal reports that the shooting happened near 15th and Isabella streets about 11 p.m. Friday.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs man has been arrested after police say he threw a large, plastic playhouse at an officer Thursday night. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 34-year-old Joseph Stoddard was arrest early Friday on suspicion of twice violating a no-contact order, second-degree burglary, disorderly contact, interference with official acts and three counts of assaulting an officer. Stoddard remains in the Pottawattamie County Jail on $15,000 bond.

An Amber Alert issued Saturday afternoon in Iowa was cancelled at around 5:45-p.m. Authorities said both 13-year old Paige Johnstone and her alleged abductor, 19-year old Kevin Ramirez have been located in Georgia. Both subjects were found to be safe. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the child and the suspect are in a sexual relationship, even though Ramirez is an adult. He also has a criminal record. Authorities would would not confirm whether Ramirez was in custody or not. Johnstone had been reported missing from Ottumwa at around 8-p.m., Friday.  An Amber Alert was issued for her at around 3:30-p.m, Saturday.

Kevin Ariel Toala Ramirez

Paige Janet Johnstone