DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — This year’s annual Iowa pheasant and quail population survey looks bad — a 30 percent drop in the average statewide pheasant population and a 23 percent decline for quail. But state officials say they believe the numbers are misleading.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials believe that unusually dry weather during the survey taken in August is to blame for the skewed numbers.

Upland wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says surveyors need heavy dew the mornings of the survey to get accurate numbers. That’s because it’s the dew that causes hens to move their broods from cover to gravel roads to dry off. If there’s no dew, the brood stays hidden from surveyors.

Bogenschutz says he expects similar numbers this year to 2016’s pheasant season, when hunters harvested about 250,000 roosters.

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in Clear Lake are considering banning smoking at the city’s parks and beaches. The Globe Gazette reports that many Clear Lake residents support the ban because of health issues related to secondhand smoke and the litter smokers leave behind. Council members unanimously voted Aug. 21 to begin drafting the ordinance with city officials.

Councilman Tony Nelson says the ban would follow similar bans in other Iowa cities. He says the ban makes sense because of the number of activities the city and residents hold in those public spaces.

Nancy Cornelius, of Garner, opposes the ban. She says she’s respectful of others when smoking in public areas. The City Council will seek public comment on the proposal at its next meeting Monday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa City woman accused of leaving her newborn for dead in a trash can has been sentenced to probation. The Press-Citizen reports that 24-year-old Ashley Hautzenrader was sentenced Friday to five years’ probation in lieu of a prison time. She pleaded guilty last month to child endangerment and to neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.

Authorities say Hautzenrader gave birth May 8, 2016, in a bathroom at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and tried to flush the baby down a toilet. She then put the baby in a pillowcase and left it in the trash. The child was found alive.

Hautzenrader told the court Friday she had been dealing with her first child’s serious heart condition for more than a year. A psychiatrist testified Hautzenrader suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of her second child’s birth.

Cass County Democratic Party Chair Sherry Toelle reports the organization will hold its Fundraiser and Silent Auction next Saturday, September 9th, 2017, at The Venue (307 Walnut), in Atlantic. Doors will open at 5 PM with a full dinner starting at 5:30 PM. Cost is $25 per person or $40 per couple. Invited guests will begin speaking at about 6 or 6:30 PM.

Toelle says “The reason we are holding a fundraiser and inviting folks to attend, we hold several drives throughout the year to give a hand up to Cass County residents who are vulnerable and need assistance. We also provide voter education and sponsor several community events during the year. Funds are needed to keep those programs active. We encourage others to join us and to participate in this event.”

The Silent Auction will be open at no cost to the public from 3-4 PM before being opened to those attending the Fundraiser. However, those attending the fundraiser event will have the last bid on items. The items being auctioned include a quilt; baskets of hair and/or beauty supplies; historical newspapers; books; gift cards to Lowe’s, Applebee’s, Bass Pro Shop, and Home Depot; baked goods; political memorabilia; calligraphy artwork; a Historic Trails doll; fixings for an organic Thanksgiving dinner; a Harley Davidson coffee mug; and other items too numerous to mention.

Keynote speaker is Jason Kander. Jason was a military intelligence officer in Afghanistan before he served two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives, and was then elected to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office in 2012. Kander is the president of Let America Vote, which he started  in February, 2017 to fight back against proposals across the country that make it harder for eligible voters to exercise their constitutional right to cast a ballot. He is also a CNN contributor.

All Democratic candidates for the 2018 Governor and US Congressional races have been invited as well as candidates for the Secretary of State, State Auditor, and Agriculture Secretary positions.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest early Saturday of a Kansas man on drug charges. At 2:16am Deputies with the Fremont County K9 Unit responded to a call of a stranded motorist attempting to flag down vehicles near the 15-mile marker of Interstate 29 northbound.

The motorist, Stephan Anderson, age 27 of Lenexa, Kansas was found be in possession of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.

Anderson was placed under arrest and is being held at the Fremont County Jail on $1,300 bond.

w/ Chris Parks

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests on Friday evening.

At 6:19pm Deputies arrested 26-year-old Nicholas Allen Philby of Red Oak at the intersection of Highway 34 and L Avenue. Philby was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.  He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.  Deputies were assisted by the Montgomery County K-9 Unit.

At 7:37pm Montgomery County Deputies arrested 34-year-old Kyle Anthony Zeigler of Red Oak in the 100 block of West Coolbaugh Street. He was arrested on a valid arrest warrant for Theft 5th Degree. Zeigler was booked in to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 cash only bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:30 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa man has been acquitted in the death last year of his infant son inside a sweltering car. Television station KCCI reports that Judge Michael Huppert on Friday found Lance Williams not guilty of child endangerment, neglect and abandonment. The judge said the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Williams acted in either a knowing or reckless manner in the June 2016 death of the 6-month-old boy.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – The owner of a gun that a 4-year-old boy used to kill himself in Iowa last year has pleaded guilty in the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa says 30-year-old Daniel Henriksen pleaded guilty Friday to a federal count of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of marijuana. Prosecutors say Jayden Choate found Henriksen’s loaded gun on June 17, 2016, and accidentally shot himself in the head.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Eleven soldiers and two helicopters from the Iowa National Guard are expected spend approximately two weeks in Texas to help out in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The Guard says two CH-47F “Chinook” supply helicopters would deploy Friday along with soldiers from Boone, Davenport and Johnston units. Texas requested the aid under agreement between all 50 states, two territories and Washington, D.C., to assist one another in times of crisis.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Cedar Rapids authorities say a man who entered a city building in Cedar Rapids with a gun has been arrested and charged in the incident. Police say 42-year-old Russell Jay Howard was arrested Friday after he was released from a hospital. He’s been charged with carrying weapons and unauthorized possession of an offensive weapon. Police say Howard carried a sawed-off shotgun into the City Services Center on Aug. 23.

Officials with the Monsanto Fund, Friday night, presented Atlantic Community School District officials with a ceremonial check for $25,000. The funds are from the “Grow Rural Education” program, that allows eligible farmers to nominate their local public school district for grants to help enhance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. Since 2011, the program has given over $9-million dollars to rural school districts.

Once nominated, school districts submit applications to compete for $10,000 or $25,000 grants to help fund projects that enhance their STEM curriculum. Schuler Principal James Northwick and 5^th Grade Teacher DeLana Harris applied for the grant, which will be used by the District to create a Science Lab for Schuler Elementary School.

Schuler Principal James Northwick and 5th Grade Teacher DeLana Harris receive a ceremonial version of a $25k check from Monsanto sales reps.

In general, the grants are used to help improve test scores, but more importantly, according to Monsanto officials, they’re getting kids to think bigger about their tomorrow. Other school area districts that were nominated and are receiving Grow Rural Education grant funds, include:

The Coon Rapids/Bayard Community School District: $10,000 for Equipment Allocation for Student Motivation, Innovation, and Experimentation;  And The Mt. Ayr Community School District: $10,000 for Science Investigation Using Virtual Reality (3D) Technology.

A woman whose job with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers has made her both famous and infamous during many stressful times is leaving her post. Jody Farhat, the Corps’ Chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Office, is retiring today (Friday) after 34 years on the job. Farhat notes she’s seen some very difficult challenges as the Corps responded to extreme flooding or devastating drought conditions.

“I think I managed through those rough times knowing that the Corps has done our job the best that we could,” Farhat says. For example, the Corps — and Farhat — came under intense criticism during the floods of 2011 when high water on the Missouri River swamped cities and towns all across western Iowa and from North Dakota all the way to Missouri.

“The work that we do really does impact people,” Farhat says. “Trying to be very empathetic with folks and letting them know that we do understand that what we do impacts their lives and their livelihoods.” The Corps works to maintain an even, level flow of water in the Missouri River basin and in its reservoir system, but it’s often a difficult balance, trying to allow for snowpack in the Rockies and heavy rains versus long droughts. Farhat says she always tried to be as open as possible about river operations.

“It’s been a great honor for me to have worked for the Corps,” she says. “I believe that the Corps is a great institution and we really are focused on service to the public. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.” Farhat says she isn’t going to another job. She’s retiring and plans to stay in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area.

(Radio Iowa)