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Pollen is becoming a problem for Iowa’s allergy sufferers

News

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – All the recent rain has helped keep pollen counts down in Iowa, but soon enough, the state’s allergy sufferers will be red-eyed, sneezing and sniffling. Dr. Ravi Johar, at UnitedHealthcare, says while the chilly winter weather may be gone, that pesky pollen will force some Iowans with seasonal allergies to remain indoors.

Johar recommends allergy sufferers try using air purifiers indoors, limit their time outdoors, and to run their air conditioners in their homes and cars to keep the pollen out. Johar also says to avoid leaving clothes out to dry on a clothesline as they can collect pollen from triggers like trees, weeds and grass.

A wide variety of allergy medications are available without a prescription.

Expect locally dense fog this morning (5/15/24)

Weather

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Sac-Calhoun-Crawford-Carroll-Greene-Boone-Audubon-Guthrie-Dallas-
Polk-Cass-Adair-Madison-Warren-Marion-Adams-Union-Clarke-Lucas-
Monroe-Taylor-Ringgold-Decatur-Wayne-Appanoose Counties….
534 AM CDT Wed May 15 2024

…Locally Dense Fog Through Sunrise…

Patchy fog has developed this morning over portions of central, western and southern Iowa. Visibilities below one mile have been observed in areas with a few locations dropping below one quarter of a mile. This fog is expected to persist through sunrise before some improvement. If traveling this morning, be prepared for rapid changes in visibilities over short distance and allow extra time to reach your destination.

Iowa DNR to ask Attorney General to file charges in approximate 750,000 fish kill

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – At the Iowa Environmental Protection Committee’s next meeting (May 22nd), the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will present a litigation report in which they ask the Attorney General to seek penalties relating to March 11th, 2024 fertilizer spill in Montgomery County. The Iowa DNR announced approximately two weeks later that the spill resulted in nearly all the fish being killed in a 50-mile stretch of the East Nishnabotna River to the Missouri border.

New Cooperative notified the Iowa Department of Natural Resources following the spill that approximately 1,500 tons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer (32% solution) had discharged into a drainage ditch. Officials say the release occurred due to a valve left open on an aboveground storage tank overnight. The fertilizer then traveled from the drainage ditch into the East Nishnabotna River.

According to the Iowa DNR’s litigation report, Iowa Code states that those liable for polluting water of the state are in violation of state law and should be liable to pay restitution for injury caused to a wild animal due to the pollution.

You can read the full litigation report HERE.

High School Baseball Scores from Tuesday

Sports

May 15th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Hawkeye Ten 

Kuemper Catholic 9, Treynor 4
Creston 1, Winterset 0
Lewis Central 7, Shenandoah 0

Western Iowa Conference 

Missouri Valley 15, Red Oak 7

Rolling Valley Conference

Ankeny Christian 4, Coon Rapids-Bayard 0

Corner Conference

Southwest Valley 11, Fremont-Mills 1
Griswold 11, Audubon 1

Raccoon River Conference

Dowling Catholic 12, ADM 2
Waukee Northwest 1, North Polk 0
North Polk 6, Waukee Northwest 1
Bondurant-Farrar 10, Pella 3

High School Soccer Scores from Tuesday

Sports

May 15th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Substate Boys Scores

Class 1A

Marquette Catholic 5, Highland 1
Mid-Prairie 3, Sigourney Keota 0

Class 3A

LeMars 6, Spirit Lake 0
Winterset 11, Atlantic 1
Iowa Falls-Alden 4, Forth Dodge 2
North Scott 10, Clinton 0
Sioux City West 8, Council Bluffs Jefferson 0
Western Dubuque 10, Northeast Iowa United 0

Class 4A

Cedar Rapids Kennedy 3, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 1
Davenport Central 4, Davenport West 0
Des Moines Lincoln 2, Waukee 0
Marshalltown 3, Mason City 0

Regular Season Scores

Council Bluffs Lincoln 5, Glenwood 1

Girls Scores

Regular Season Scores

ADM 5, Boone 1
Dallas Center-Grimes 4, Indianola 0

Body found on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River

News

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Sheriff’s Officials in Douglas County, Nebraska report a body was found floating in the Missouri River, Tuesday. Authorities were notified when a person called 911 about possible human remains floating in the river just north of the Douglas/Washington County line.

Multiple agencies worked together to pull the body of an adult male from the river along North River Drive a little farther south of County Road P51.

Anyone with information concerning this incident is being asked to call the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at 402-444-6000.

New state law will hold drivers more accountable in pedestrian accidents

News

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Legislation which Governor Kim Reynolds recently signed into law expands the definition of “pedestrian” in Iowa, which safety experts say is an enormous win for everyone who uses a crosswalk. Cara Hamann, director of training and education at the Injury Prevention Research Center, based at the University of Iowa, says broadening the legal description of pedestrian is an important move. “The law says that a pedestrian is a person on foot, and the new law expands that to pedestrian or pedestrian conveyance,” Hamann says, “and pedestrian conveyance includes things like people in wheelchairs, babies in strollers, people on rollerblades or skateboards, or people on bicycles.”

Hamann is an injury epidemiologist, meaning, she studies crash prevention and outcomes. While the law change won’t necessarily prevent accidents, she says the new distinction of what defines “pedestrian” is key. “People in vehicles are protected by the big metal surrounding that they’re in, whereas all these other users — or what we call vulnerable road users — don’t have that protection,” she says. “So ultimately, I think it makes sense that drivers should yield to users crossing the road legally in a crosswalk.” The new law doesn’t take effect for a few months, and while it won’t instantly make crosswalks any safer on July 1st, it -will- make drivers legally liable for anyone they may strike.

“Before this change, really only people on foot were written into the law, so that means if a driver hit a bicyclist in a crosswalk, they could walk away with no consequences,” Hamann says, “because there’s no law to uphold that says they should have yielded to that bicyclist.” Hamann, an associate professor in the U-I’s College of Public Health, says she’s very encouraged by the expanded legal definition of pedestrian: “This is a really positive change in the law that moves us toward a better traffic safety culture overall in the state, recognizing that all road users are important and we should take care of each other on the road.”

This is National Bike to Work Week.

VERNON HINZ, 92, of Bellevue, NE (Graveside Svcs. 5/17/24)

Obituaries

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

VERNON HINZ, 92, of Bellevue, NE, died Monday, May 13, 2024, at the Hillcrest Care & Rehabilitation Center. A graveside service for VERNON HINZ will be held 11-a.m. Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Graceland Cemetery in Avoca. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Avoca has the arrangements.

VERNON HINZ is survived by:

His sons -Adrian (Camille) Hinz, of Omaha, NE, and Paul (Deborah) Hinz, of Florida.

His daughters – Julia (Tom) Glissmann, of Ankeny, and Elizabeth (Lon) Miller, of Omaha, NE.

8 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.

Iowa’s Lisa Bluder on her decision to retire

Sports

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Lisa Bluder says she never seriously considered retirement until this past season was over. Bluder announced her retirement Monday after 24 season’s as women’s basketball coach at Iowa. It included 18 trips to the NCAA Tournament and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA title game. Bluder made an appearance on Tuesday night at a Polk County I-Club event in West Des Moines.

Bluder says she started thinking about the future after the season ended.

Bluder says she is going to miss being part of a team.

Bluder’s long-time assistant Jan Jensen has been named the new head coach.

Bluder says the time was right for Jensen to become a head coach.

Jensen will have a news conference in Iowa City this (Wednesday) afternoon.

Another Iowa football game may be moved to Friday night

Sports

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz hinted that a second game this upcoming season is being moved to Friday night. The Hawkeyes already have their annual Black Friday game scheduled at home against Nebraska.

The Hawkeyes played at Maryland on a Friday night in 2021 and Ferentz does not like the idea of infringing on high school football.

Ferentz made his comments at a Polk County I-Club event in West Des Moines.