Info from the Atlantic Animal Shelter.
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Info from the Atlantic Animal Shelter.
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources say dry conditions over much of Iowa will concentrate trappers near existing water when the Iowa furbearer hunting and trapping season begins on Saturday, Nov. 3rd. Vince Evelsizer, furbearer biologist for the DNR says “Right now, most of the crops are out and the weather looks decent for the first half of November,” so he’s expecting a good start to the furbearer season.
Surveys of two of the higher profile furbearers in Iowa – bobcat and river otter – have indicated the species could support additional harvest. The DNR increased the bobcat quota from 350 to 450 in the open zone, but kept the one bobcat per furharvester restriction, regardless if it was hunted or trapped. The river otter quota was raised to 850 this year, with licensed trappers allowed up to three otters.
Both species must be reported within 24 hours of harvest and a CITES tag applied within seven days after the harvest is reported to DNR staff. Last year, a record 326,368 raccoons were harvested in Iowa and Evelsizer expects the harvest this year to be similar to slightly higher. He said the fur markets are dependent on the Asian and European economies but appear to be about the same as last year.
Trapper numbers have increased more than 20 percent since 2009, from 14,000 to 17,000 last year.
Jim Field speaks with Mary Beth Kaufman, ISU Extension Family Finance Program Specialist, about the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance Program.
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Opening statements are scheduled at a Des Moines civil rights trial at which two black men will argue they were framed for the 1977 killing of a white, retired Iowa police officer. The lawyers for Terry Harrington and Curtis McGhee are expected to make their statements in a Des Moines courtroom today (Thursday).
Harrington and McGhee, originally from Omaha, Neb., served 25 years in prison after they were convicted of killing John Schweer in neighboring Council Bluffs. They were freed in 2003 when the Iowa Supreme Court found that prosecutors committed misconduct.
Lawyers will argue that Council Bluffs detectives used threats against a group of young car theft suspects to trump up evidence against Harrington and McGhee because of their race and the pressure to solve the retired captain’s killing.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – In what may be a sign of an improving state economy, Iowa officials say community college enrollment has dropped for the second year in a row. The Des Moines Register reports that this fall’s enrollment hit just over 100,500 students, a drop of 5 percent from a year ago. Last year’s drop was less than 1 percent. The Department of Education says enrollment rose nearly 6 percent to peak at more than 106,000 students in 2010. It rose more than 14 percent in 2009.
M.J. Dolan is executive director of the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees, and he says that “when the economy improves, people that were going to school go back to work. When the economy declines, people come to community college to hone their skills.”
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A monthly economic index report suggests an economic slump over the next three to six months for nine Midwest and Plains states. The Mid-America Business Conditions index dropped to 46.5 last month from 50.4 in September.
The survey of business leaders and supply managers uses a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline for that factor. The overall index figure was 49.7 in August, 48.7 in July and 57.2 in June.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says “growth in the regional economy is definitely moving lower.” The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
Here’s the Freese-Notis (podcast) forecast for the KJAN listening area, and weather data for Atlantic…
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