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Bowhunters encouraged to practice the ABCs of tree stand safety

Ag/Outdoor, Sports

October 1st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Tree stand accidents can happen to deer hunters regardless of skill level or experience and result in serious injury or even death. Unfortunately, in nearly every case, these incidents were preventable. To help prevent injuries, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with Tree Stand Safety Awareness, is encouraging hunters to practice the ABC’s of Tree Stand Safety:

  • Always remove and inspect your equipment
  • Buckle on your full-body harness
  • Connect to the tree before your feet leave the ground

“Hunters should take tree stand safety seriously, every time you hunt from, hang, or move a tree stand. By performing these three simple steps, tree stand users can virtually eliminate their risk of falling to the ground as the majority of falls occur outside the stand,” said Megan Wisecup, hunter education administrator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Nationally, the estimated number of falls from tree stands requiring emergency room visits decreased by 28 percent in 2017. In Iowa last year, there were four tree stand incidents and all resulted in injury. “That’s a significant, positive move on the tree stand injury prevention front but we still have room for improvement,” Wisecup said.

Iowa’s archery deer season begins today (Oct. 1)

Ag/Outdoor, Sports

October 1st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

An estimated 60,000 hunters will be heading to the timber in the next few weeks as Iowa’s archery deer season gets underway today (Oct. 1st). Forest wildlife research biologist Jim Coffey with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said hunters who spend time on preseason scouting should improve their chance for success later this fall. “Deer are habitual animals – their traditional trails now will be traditional trails later this fall and with all the rain over much of the state hunters have the opportunity to see the deer trails in the mud,” he said. “Even though food is plentiful now, hunters should still pattern the food sources and bedding areas.”

One food source deer will likely key on is acorns from white oak trees and Coffey said the white oaks in southern Iowa had an excellent crop this year. “Once you identify hunting areas, take advantage of the leaves being on the trees, knowing that once the leaves fall it will look a lot different to both hunters and the deer. It’s that time in the stand observing nature, seeing what makes the squirrels start barking or what it means when blue jays are calling that improves your skills as a hunter,” Coffey said. “Check your shooting lanes from both the ground and from the tree stand because it will look a lot different depending your angle.”

Coffey also advised hunters to inspect their tree stand and safety harness before heading out. “Make sure to check the straps and tighten the bolts on the tree stand and try on the safety harness to make sure it still fits. If it’s worn out or no longer fits, get it replaced. No one wants their hunt to end because they fell out of a tree stand,” he said. Part of preseason scouting includes preparing for a successful harvest. If planning to hunt in early October, or anytime the temperature is warm, hunters should bring large chunks of ice to put in the deer cavity to cool the meat. Freezing gallon milk jugs with water is a method often used by hunters. Then, get it to the locker as soon as possible.

Bow hunters harvested an estimated 23,000 deer in 2017. Iowa’s archery deer season is Oct. 1 to Nov. 30 and Dec. 17 to Jan. 10, 2019. Hunters who harvest a deer are required by law to report it by midnight of the day after the deer is recovered. Harvest may be reported online at www.iowadnr.gov, by phone at the toll-free number printed on the harvest report tag or through a license vendor during their regular business hours.

House fire in Walnut, Sunday

News

October 1st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Members of a family in Walnut escaped a fire at their home, Sunday evening. According to reports, Walnut firefighters were called 710 Highland Street at around 5-p.m., Sunday. Smoke coming from an upstairs bedroom was visible upon firefighters’ approach. The small blaze was quickly extinguished, and no injuries were reported. The cause was not immediately clear.

Camper trailer explodes in Crawford County – 1 seriously hurt

News

October 1st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

A camper trailer exploded Sunday afternoon in Crawford County, seriously injuring a man. According to KETV in Omaha, Deputies were called to the scene near Cedar Street and Oak Avenue in Schlewsig. At around 2-p.m., Sunday. Officials said 28-year old Brett Nuzu, of Kiron, had just opened the door to his camper to go outside to light a cigarette when the camper exploded. Nuzu was transported to Crawford County Hospital for treatment of burns to his face and hands. Authorities said he was later flown by medical helicopter to another medical facility for additional treatments.

Officials said the camper was parked behind three buildings, all of which had minor damage to their exterior walls. The camper was destroyed in the blast.

Iowa returns from bye week to prepare for Gophers

Sports

October 1st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Iowa is expected to be without linebacker Nick Niemann when the Hawkeyes return from their bye week with a visit to Minnesota. Niemann suffered a leg injury late in a loss to Wisconsin and defensive coordinator Phil Parker says sophomore Barrington Wade and junior Kristian Welch are expected to fill in.

Parker has been pleased with the play of the linebackers after losing all three starters from a year ago.

Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz says the tweaked their practice schedule heading into the Minnesota game. The Iowa offense has struggled the past few years coming off a bye week.

Ferentz says the improvement on offense the past few weeks can be traced to better production on first down.

Iowa State running back David Montgomery injured in loss at TCU

Sports

October 1st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Learfield Sports) — Iowa State coach Matt Campbell is not sure about running back David Montgomery’s status for this week’s game at Oklahoma State. Montgomery rushed for 101 yards in a 17-14 loss at TCU but left the game in the fourth quarter with an injury and did not return.

The Horned Frogs won the game with a field goal with 37 seconds remaining. Campbell remains confident in his team despite a 1-3 start.

It was another stellar effort by the Iowa State defense though Campbell says they had trouble getting the TCU offense off the field on third down. The Horned Frogs lone second half touchdown was scored by the defense on a 53 yard return of a Zeb Noland fumble.

Hundreds gather for run to honor slain Iowa college student

News, Sports

October 1st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — Several hundred runners gathered in the hometown of slain Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts over the weekend to honor her memory with a run. The Des Moines Register reports the run on Sunday in the east-central Iowa town of Brooklyn helped raise more than $20,000 for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. Mollie Tibbett’s older brother, Jake Tibbetts, encouraged participants to enjoy the run the way his sister would have.

Twenty-year-old Mollie Tibbettts vanished while out for a run in Brooklyn on July 18. Her body was found in a cornfield more than a month later. A 24-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in Tibbetts’ stabbing death.

NAFTA break-through, reports indicate it’ll be renamed USMCA

News

October 1st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Several media organizations reported late last (Sunday) night that negotiations between the U.S. and Canada have resulted in a new-fangled NAFTA — and President Trump will rebrand the trade deal as the U-S-M-C-A. Midnight on September 30th was the deadline President Trump set for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mexico’s president agreed to renegotiated terms in late August, but talks between Canada and the U.S. stalled. The U.S. demanded a reduction in Canada’s tariffs on American dairy products. Canada insisted on keeping a system in place for resolving future trade disputes. President Trump is expected to approve the new pact with Canada’s prime minister and Mexico’s president before he leaves office December 1st. Congress would then have 60 days to review and vote on the new agreement.

Canada is IOWA’S largest export market. Mexico is number two.

Iowa State University part of the project to improve sweet corn

Ag/Outdoor

October 1st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Plant researchers at Iowa State University are working together with counterparts at the University of Florida, Wisconsin and Washington State University to improve the breeding of a summer favorite. I-S-U agronomy professor Thomas Lubberstedt has worked on improving field corn varieties and says sweet corn research has some new variables. “You’re very much focused on eating quality traits besides the general yield and resistance and stress tolerance traits — so it’s adding to the complexity of finding the best varieties,” Lubberstedt explains.

Roswell Garst developed the first hybrid field corn in Iowa back in the 1930’s and Lubberstedt says there have been years of developments and thousands of dollars spent on improving field corn. Sweet corn has not gotten as much attention in part because its production is small compared to the millions of bushels of field corn grown each year. “Field corn has a much bigger market because it has a lot of acreage, which means it’s (sweet corn) not that big of a business, which means the breeding programs involved in sweet corn breeding are usually smaller — the budget is smaller than field corn — that makes it a little more difficult to deal with more traits,” according to Lubberstedt.

He says finding the right tasting sweet corn varieties is still done in an old-fashioned way. “Currently that still has to be done by persons ultimately who do bite tests or who really taste it. That is part of this project to find methods that can quantify taste ultimately, and at least pre-qualify the most promising candidates,” Lubberstedt says.

Lubberstedt’s research is trying to use technology from field corn that more quickly produces inbred lines of corn that create the hybrid varieties. It is hoped they can incorporate the good tasting qualities needed for sweet corn into those quick breeding methods. “There are groups in the project focusing on trying to replace taste panels by biochemical methods that can be applied instead and help to predict which of those plants have likely the best tastes that correlates what has been found in test panels,” Lubberstedt says.

Those chemical methods could then be used to incorporate the taste into the faster breeding process. The researchers are sharing a four-year seven-point-three million dollar grant from the U-S Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative.

State auditor can’t speak of Medicaid review, ‘work in progress’

News

October 1st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — State Auditor Mary Mosiman says she cannot say when a review of the state’s Medicaid program will be released to the public. In June, Mosiman announced her office would examine the data to determine if Medicaid costs have been reduced since private companies assumed management of patient care. The move to privatize the system has become a political issue in the governor’s race. Mosiman, a Republican who is also seeking re-election, says she cannot answer specifics about a work in progress, but Mosiman says the final report from her office will provide “financial clarity” about Medicaid costs. “It will be issued. I just can’t give you an actual date or I would also be behaving politically,” Mosiman says. “…Everything we do in the office is important.”

Rob Sand, the Democrat challenging Mosiman, says he agrees the examination shouldn’t be political, but Sand says the auditor’s office needs to equip voters with the facts about what’s happened since Medicaid was privatized in 2016.  “This is the office that’s supposed to be a watchdog for Iowa taxpayers and I think one thing that a watchdog should be doing is as soon as there’s a major change, you ought to be sniffing around,” Sand says. “We are in a state of upheaval with this issue.”

Sand and Mosiman made their comments this weekend during an appearance on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program. About 680-thousand low income, disabled and elderly Iowans are enrolled in Medicaid. Former Governor Terry Branstad predicted taxpayers would have saved more than 200-million dollars by now due to switching the system to private management. However, a recent report showed per patient costs increased six-and-a-half percent this past year and are projected to jump another 11 percent this year.