(Radio Iowa) – A study requested by the Iowa Legislature from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources estimates the benefit of deer in the state far exceeds the damage done to crops and cars. D-N-R State deer biologist Jace Elliott says all the numbers they have on deer were combined into one. “So this is the first time that any sort of work like this has been done in Iowa. Previously, we have relied on multiple different data sets that again reflected trends but weren’t exactly estimating deer abundance,” Elliott says.

The D-N-R worked with Iowa State University, the Iowa D-O-T, and Iowa Insurance Division to estimate the population of white-tailed deer and its economic impact. Elliott says the population numbers confirmed the trends they’d suspected. “What we found from this study was that populations are the highest in eastern and southern Iowa. So for instance, south-central Iowa, northeastern Iowa, places that we see a lot of deer harvest, a lot of deer hunting effort and things like that,” he says. “So it didn’t exactly surprise us when we got those results.”

Elliott says they determined the economic impact of deer by using things such as hunting fees that they could track, but says it is hard to calculate all the impact. “The minimum tangible value of deer to Iowa is about 181 million dollars per year. The true value is likely much greater, especially when we are unable to account for intangible benefits, like people enjoying them on the landscape, wildlife viewing and other things like that,” Elliott says. The negative costs from the deer herd was much lower. “When it comes to the cost of deer vehicle collisions, that was estimated at 129 million dollars per year, and crop damage in total, and this is accounting for row crops as well as specialty crops, was estimated at eight-point-six (8.6) million,” he says.

This DNR map shows deer populations across the state. (DNR map)

(Iowa DNR photo)

It’s not easy to make a plus and minus impact from the deer population — because if you hit one with your car, you re not happy. But if you bag a ten-pointer while hunting, you are happy. “When we go through, you know, the sort of cost benefit exercise, it’s easy to make it look like these costs are pitted against the benefits. But in reality, most Iowans appreciate having deer on the landscape, but would prefer to be minimally burdened by them,” Elliott says. “And at the same time, there are over 160-thousand deer hunters in the state that pursue that with their free time.” He says the study shows the need to continue their practices in deer management.

“What’s very clear is the importance of managing this species in a way that maximizes benefits and minimizes costs, and that’s going to perhaps mean different things to different people, but that’s why we focus on an engaged stakeholder process when we talk about managing this species in the state,” Elliott says.

The study says white-tailed deer were abundant when European settlers arrived in Iowa in the early 1800s but by 1880 were rarely seen and in the deer season was legally closed in 1898. They were re-establishment and the estimate of the population in 1936 placed statewide numbers between 500 and 700. The population increased and the deer harvest topped 100-thousand for the first time in 1996.

(Radio Iowa) – Hospitals across Iowa and nationwide are working to conserve supplies of intravenous fluid packets as one of the main suppliers of I-Vs, based in western North Carolina, was damaged and shut down by Hurricane Helene. Pharmacist Emily Mork, at Gundersen Palmer Lutheran Hospital in West Union, says she’s seen reports that some medical centers are being forced to reschedule or even cancel surgeries. “We’re not quite at that point yet. Our normal stock amount is, we have about a two- to three-week supply,” Mork says. “So we are in discussion right now with providers and surgeons and our ER providers and OB about limiting fluids as much as possible.”

Some patients can replenish fluids by mouth, she says, and won’t need to use an I-V. The next step is checking in with patients who’ve scheduled elective and non-emergency procedures, to see if they can be moved back. “We definitely have elective surgeries that we would consider rescheduling. The ones that we obviously cannot would be the emergencies, removing the appendix, emergency C-sections, gallbladders we couldn’t move,” Mork says. “We do colonoscopies throughout the week that are just preventative, so those could be rescheduled.” Baxter International had to close its plant in Marion, North Carolina, which produces about 60-percent of the nation’s supply of I-V fluids. It’s unclear when it may be able to reopen.

Mork says there are other companies that produce I-Vs, but they’re not cheap. “We have some secondary wholesalers that we’re able to reach out to,” she says. “When you look at costs compared to what we were buying, now we’re paying three times as much through these secondary providers, but their stock is also very limited, and then the prices are also skyrocketing.” It’s not considered price gouging, Mork says, but rather a supply-and-demand result from the shortage.

Axios reports UnityPoint Health, which operates dozens of Iowa hospitals and clinics, is facing I-V supply disruptions and has also implemented conservation measures.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Two northwest Iowa men face felony Insurance Fraud charges following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau. Authorities say 50-year-old Michael Vecchio, of Sioux Center, was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud – Presenting False Information (a Class D Felony), and 61-year-old Todd Meendering, of Boyden, was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud – Conspiracy (Class D Felony).

The charges against Vecchio and Meendering stem from an investigation that began in March 2024. According to criminal complaints filed by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau, Vecchio was involved in an accident while driving a vehicle that was to be detailed at Meendering’s business.  Vecchio filed a claim with his insurance company and provided false information to receive benefits for which he was not eligible. Meendering solicited the vehicle’s owner to make false statements to Vecchio’s insurance company to support the claim.

Michael Vecchio and Todd Meendering. Photos Courtesy of Sioux County Jail

On September 17, 2024, Vecchio was arrested. On September 20, 2024, Vecchio was released on a cash bond.  Meendering was arrested and released on a surety bond on September 24, 2024,

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

Note: A criminal charge is merely an accusation. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. 

(Radio Iowa) – Both of Iowa’s U-S Senators have signed onto a letter asking federal agents to investigate whether pro-Palestinian groups on college campuses are linked to Hamas. Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s concerned Hamas is using “Students for Justice in Palestine” chapters to shape U-S public opinion. If that’s the case, Grassley says those student groups should be registered as foreign agents. Grassley recently gave a speech about the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

“We ought to know who’s working for foreign countries as they try to influence foreign policy in this country,” Grassley said. Senator Joni Ernst says student groups can sometimes get federal funding or tax-exempt status and, if Hamas is funding National Students for Justice in Palestine chapters, those federal benefits should be cut off.

“If they are engaging in violent protests, if they are encouraging violent protests, then funding needs to be cut off or they need to re-register,” Ernst says. “We want to make sure that they are following federal government guidelines.” Over the past year, other groups of U-S Senators and dozens of Americans whose loved ones were killed in the October 7th attacks in Israel have called on the U-S attorney general to investigate whether the Students for Justice in Palestine is operating as an unregistered branch of a terrorist organization.

A year ago, Florida’s governor ordered that the group’s chapters on Florida campuses be shut down. In a statement to “Jewish Currents” magazine last year, Students of Justice in Palestine said their critics are trying to shift attention away from Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.