Pheasant hunters didn’t have much luck in Iowa last year. Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources, announced Tuesday that an estimated 383,000 rooster pheasants were harvested last season. The record low pheasant harvest was expected after severe weather the previous winter and spring. "We had a real bad winter in (2007-08) and then of course last year, with all the flooding – it was a record setting spring in terms of rainfall," Bogenschutz said. "So, (with) the bad winter, we lost a lot of hens and then the hens that did survive got rained on continuously." Hunters in Iowa, over the last decade, have produced an average annual pheasant harvest of roughly 800,000 birds. Bogenschutz says the numbers should improve this year. "My gut feeling is we’re going to see the counts go up pretty much statewide," Bogenschutz said. "I don’t think they’ll go up by leaps and bounds, but I definitely think we’re going to see better counts than we saw a year ago." An estimated 86,000 hunters pursued pheasants last year in the state…also an all-time record low. Hunters from other states canceled their trips to Iowa because they knew the pheasant population was down. Bogenschutz is hoping the situation improves soon. He says pheasant hunters can spend a lot of money in Iowa on hotels, restaurants and supplies. Bogenschutz says a survey conducted in 1996 estimated that the economic impact of bird hunting in Iowa at $225-million. The D.N.R. will begin conducting roadside surveys in August and issue its annual pheasant forecast around September first. This year’s pheasant hunting season runs from October 31st to January 10th. Bogenschutz says hunters can receive updates on the pheasant forecast by visiting DNR website .
Pheasant harvest drops to record low
Ag Secretary says corn planting almost complete
Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey says farmers are on their way to finishing off corn planting in the state, as a lot of work got done last week. Northey says dry weather allowed farmers to get into the field and get the last bits of corn into the ground, and many farmers also got soybeans planted as well. He says warm weather has helped the corn that’s already planted emerge.
The latest crop report shows 97% of the corn planting is complete, eight days ahead of last year, but right at the five-year average. The report found 80% of the soybean crop has been planted. Last spring started with heavy snowcover and rains that saturated the ground and later led to record flooding. Northey says that’s not a major problem this year.
Northey says what happens from here on out is what matters, but says the state is in a lot better shape right now than last year. Farmers saw record grain prices that were followed by ups and downs — but Northey says things seem to have stabilized a little now. He says the mood among grain farmers is much better than it has been as grain prices have come up, and he says getting the crop in the ground helps.
Northey says livestock farmers have some nervousness over lower prices as well as higher prices for grain. He says there are some struggles among pork producers, dairy producers, and some of the poultry producers as well. The outbreak of the H-1-N-1 virus, or Swine Flu, is one thing that has hurt pork prices.
Northey says as the concerns over the disease have calmed down, the things have also improved for pork producers. Northey says there’s been some bounce back on pork prices — but there are still concerns about some of the trade restrictions implemented by some countries. He says though people have come to understand that the disease is not spread by eating pork. You can see the full weekly crop report on the Ag Department’s website .
Homebuilders speak out against sprinkler code
Iowa homebuilders are urging city councils to reject one of the latest safety recommendations for new home construction. The 2009 edition of the International Residential Code suggests all homes built after January of 2011 be equipped with fire sprinklers.
Creighton Cox, government affairs director for the Homebuilders Association of Greater Des Moines, says homebuilders believe smoke alarms save lives. "There’s dual fire smoke alarm detectors that are being mandated that we encourage. It’s a reasonable cost," Cox says.
"Smoke alarms will get people out of the house first notice." Cox says sprinklers, by comparison, aren’t necessarily an early warning system. "The fire sprinkler systems are really for the building construction, not for life safety," he says.
According to Cox, a sprinkler system will tack on another $5,000 to the price of building a new home and that may price some home-buyers out of the market for a new house. "We understand that an argument between a life safety of any measure and an economics life safety wins, but when you’re forcing people into an older stock, you’re forcing people into homes that are just going to be less safe for that family," Cox says.
Officials with the National Fire Protection Association say sprinklers can save the lives of young children and the elderly, as well as injured or ill people who struggle to escape from a burning building.
The State of Minnesota has rejected the idea of requiring sprinklers in new home construction, however, and home builders in other states — including Iowa — are lobbying state legislatures and city councils to reject that requirement in building codes.
Culver temporarily sides with businesses on tax issue
(This story was updated at 9:12 a.m.)
Governor Culver temporarily sided with business interests on a controversial tax proposal and his staff announced the decision just before midnight Tuesday.
Culver used his item veto authority to reject the idea of retroactively requiring public disclosure of a list of businesses which this year receive more than half a million dollars in refunds through the state research and development tax credit. In a written statement, the governor said he feared businesses would sue to keep the information secret, and the matter would be tied up in court for years.;
The governor’s item veto, however, did not nix the proposal prospectively, which means companies that receive $500,000 or more in refunds from the state under the research activities credit will be publicly revealed in future years.
Culver also signed a bill which supporters believe will reduce nursing home fines. It means state regulators will forgive certain violations if a nursing home identifies an error on its own and corrects it before an inspection. The Iowa Department of Elder Affairs lobbied against the move, arguing nursing homes may never pay fines for errors that cause serious harm to nursing home residents.
The governor also used his item veto authority to nix two budget-cutting proposals that had won legislative approval. Culver said he agrees with the goals of keeping expenses in line, but he rejected the idea of keeping state vehicles in service longer. The governor said that might increase costs instead.
Governor takes final action on bills
Midnight was the deadline for Governor Culver to take action on the bills passed by the 2009 Iowa Legislature. Culver signed into law a so-called “granny tax.” It will require nursing homes to pay a per resident fee.
Officials estimate it will raise about $33 million annually. The money will be placed in a state fund and be used to qualify for $45 million in federal Medicaid dollars. According to an analysis from the Legislative Services Agency, private nursing homes in Iowa would see a net gain with those federal dollars.
Culver also signed a bill into law which makes it illegal to apply manure on frozen cropland. Another bill that’ll go into effect July 1st requires city councils and county boards of supervisors to ensure there’s “gender balance” on the local boards and commissions they, as elected officials, appoint to help manage local government.
On July 1st, the State of Iowa will join the rest of the states in allowing consumers to sue for fraud against individuals or businesses. Iowa’s attorney general had been on the only person in Iowa with authority to file such consumer fraud lawsuits.
Military vet wins award as first-year teacher
A military veteran that’s now teaching business education classes in north-central Iowa is the first recipient of the Teacher of the Year award for Iowa’s Troops-to-Teachers Program.
Kyle Teeselink is working at Manson Northwest Webster High School after spending 22 years as a weather forecaster in the U.S. Air Force. Principal Shawn Holloway says the 42-year-old Teeselink isn’t the typical first-year teacher.
"What we got was a guy that was a first year teacher, but came with a wealth of knowledge from other areas that he brings into the classroom," Holloway said. "Like all first year teachers, there’s been growing pains, but he’s done an outstanding job."
The Troops-to-Teachers Program allows eligible military veterans to receive federal funding to pursue a teaching certificate. Holloway says Teeselink commands a lot of respect from his students.
"That experience from the military, I think, just right away gives credibility to his position (as a teacher)," Holloway said. Holloway says Teeselink doesn’t bark orders at his students, but instead, leads by example. "He’s not a ‘raise your voice’ type of guy, but he has high expectations of his classes," Holloway explained. "He’s very much a professional."
Teeselink was recognized during Memorial Day services at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Manson. This is the first year Iowa has had a stand-alone Troops-to-Teachers program. Previously, the state worked with Missouri.
Grassley says freeze North Korea’s assets
Senator Chuck Grassley believes having banks around the globe freeze North Korea’s assets would change the community country’s nuclear ambitions. "One thing that seemed to work during the Bush Administration was when we froze their assets," Grassley says.
"They banked internationally…We froze the assets of North Korea…and it seemed to make a very, very big impact on them." North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test on Monday and fired off two short-range missiles today as a show of force.
There’s been almost universal condemnation of North Korea for its nuclear test from countries around the globe. The Bush Administration lifted the international restrictions which froze North Korea’s assets and Grassley says North Korea’s leaders have proven they cannot be trusted.
"They wanted their assets unfrozen and Bush did melt the freeze and they were able to do international banking again," Grassley says. "It seemed to be a big thing to ‘em and I would suggest reimposing the freezing of assets for North Korea." The United Nations Security Council has condemned North Korea’s recent actions and is drafting a new resolution to rebuke the country.
It’s unclear, though, how tough the Security Council might be as China — a Security Council member — doesn’t want to create a situation which would see thousands of refugees flee North Korea and settle across the border in China. North Korea already relies on foreign aid to feed most of its 23 million residents.
