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Meteorologist says changing La Nina pattern behind cooler spring weather

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A DOT snowplow camera view of Highway 20 near Fort Dodge.

Warm spring weather has been slow to spread across Iowa and the rest of the Northern Plains, causing costly delays for planting, construction and other outdoor activities.

Meteorologist Dennis Todey , director of the U.S.D.A.’s Midwest Climate Hub, says changes are underway in the major climate drivers. “We are transitioning between La Nina and potential El Nino, so, a large part of what you’re seeing here is trapped,” Todey says. “There is this noted warming hole over the middle part of the country in the middle part of summer, so that’s what is coming into play here.”

La Nina patterns often bring cooler temperatures along with more storms in some areas and droughts elsewhere. El Nino patterns typically do the opposite. Due to the extended cold weather, many Iowa farmers are a couple of weeks behind in planting and Todey says it will take quite a while to get back to normal growing conditions.

“The catching up cannot happen during the early part of the summer,” he says. “Above-average temperatures, middle part of the summer don’t do much to catch us up in the way of growing degree days.” Todey says there is no single cause for the prolonged winter we’ve seen across much of the region in recent weeks.

“There is a little bit of La Nina influence still because we still are in La Nina,” he says, “but there’s not one indicator. There’s a combination of several different things that has locked into it.”

Many areas in the region have set all-time April records for snow and cold temperatures. The Midwest Climate Hub is based in Ames.

(By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton)

 

E-cigarette company to work with Iowa Attorney General to keep kids from vaping

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An electronic cigarette sold by JUUL.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is part of a plan announced by the e-cigarette maker JUUL to keep kids from using their devices.

Miller says a group of public health experts will work on a model of how combustible that all e-cigarette companies can use.

“We’ll work with them to try and develop the best practices for a company that sells either cigarettes or e-cigarettes to take the practices that keep the product from kids,” Miller says. E-cigarette sales are banned to anyone under 18. Miller says they want to be sure kids know that e-cigarettes have their own problems.

“The whole idea is that e-cigarettes are addictive like a combustible — and we’re concerned about kids becoming addicted to nicotine,” according to Miller. “It is true that e-cigarettes are dramatically less harmful than combustibles. I think kids know that and they are right about that. But, that’s not a reason to try and e-cigarette.” JUUL is contributing $30 millions to independent research on the issue and Miller says it’s key to have a manufacturer get involved in the effort.

“It’s really important for JUUL to step forward in this way. We’ve never had an opportunity like this to work with company that’s committed to not selling to kids. That frankly is very successful selling to adults so they don’t have to sell to kids. And are committed and willing to do what’s necessary to work with us to do that,” Miller says. “It’s a unique opportunity that we are really trying to seize.”

The effort to keep kids from not smoking the regular cigarettes has been underway for decades. Miller says the e-cigarette effort is much different. “In the most important category — daily use — we are just light years ahead of where we were on combustibles,” Miller says. Miller says Juul’s work is important in making a difference.

“JUUL has a great start on this whole issue, they don’t sell to kids that under 21 even though it is legal in most states,” Miller says. “They have a very good verification system when they sell the product to make sure the (buyer) is 21. They monitor social media in terms of sales to kids. And they do some work in terms of their retailers in sales to minors.”

Miller says the most recent numbers available show among 15-to-17-year-olds, only seven percent have ever tried or used JUUL in their lifetimes.

 

Letter released with lurid details of fired state official’s alleged harassment

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David Jamison (file photo)

The inappropriate behavior of a state official Governor Kim Reynolds fired in late March was escalating and made women feel unsafe at work, according to an employee who wrote a letter outlining complaints about her boss.

Governor Kim Reynolds released the letter this afternoon, at the request of the woman, with some passages blocked out to try to preserve the identity of the Iowa Finance Authority employee who wrote it. Reynolds fired Iowa Finance Authority director Dave Jamison shortly after receiving the information. It alleges Jamison tried to pressure his employee to go to his hotel room and talked repeatedly in the office about sex.

Jamison, according to the letter writer, knew he was engaged in sexual harassment because he often referred to prominent men like Matt Lauer and Harvey Weinstein who were fired for alleged sexual misconduct. The woman who wrote these and other lurid details down in a letter gave the governor permission to publicly release the document.

Governor Reynolds has issued a statement, calling Jamison’s behavior “disgusting and abhorrent.” Reynolds added that information like this “should only be released on the victim’s terms and no one else’s” because it is their story to tell.

On Monday, Reynolds told reporters there were no paper documents related to Jamison’s firing and she did not intend to reveal the reasons for his dismissal to protect the victims of Jamison’s actions. In addition, Reynolds argued the new state law that requires public disclosure of the reasons state employees are fired does not apply because Jamison was an “at-will” employee she appointed to the job rather than a worker hired under the state’s merit-based system.

The executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council says the way he reads the law, it applies to all state employees and state officials, including Jamison.

Democrats say the kind of predatory behavior described in the letter is sickening and they accuse the governor of trying to cover up the actions of a long-time political ally by initially refusing to release specific reasons for Jamison’s firing.

Here is the full letter. (Warning contains graphic content): Redacted-Letter-About-Jamison-PDF

Fire damages buildings in downtown Decorah

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Fire did some damage to buildings in downtown Decorah Wednesday. (KCRG TV photo)

A fire caused some damage in downtown Decorah Wednesday.

No one was injured in the fire, which was discovered shortly after 1 p.m. The cause remains under investigation, but the fire started on the deck of the upstairs apartment in one building.

An art gallery below the apartment was damaged, while a neighboring music store has smoke and water damage.

 

New law calls for state concussion guidelines for junior high, high school sports

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Megan Jones

Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law to establish state rules governing when Iowa junior high and high school students are to be kept out of school sports competition and practices when they have a concussion — and determining when they may return to play.

Representative Megan Jones of Sioux Rapids says the bill will impact thousands of Iowa students.

“Our kids deserve to have protection when they’re on the field, when they’re on the mat and when they’re on the court and this bill goes a long way in doing that,” Jones says. “Coupled with that, it gives our school districts the tools they need to protect our kids and their brains from CTE and from concussions.”

Senator Tod Bowman of Maquoketa, a former high school wrestling coach, says his son suffered a concussion in a meet this winter.

“He got tossed on his head. He was kind of out. You could tell and within about a second, second-and-a-half, he popped up and he was wanting to wrestle again,” Bowman says.

An athletic trainer at the meet, though, did an immediate assessment and Bowman says fortunately she told the boy on he was done wrestling for the night.

As a result of the new law, officials in the Iowa Department of Public Health will work with the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and the Iowa High School Athletic Association, which governs boys sports, to develop a “return to play protocol” for students who’ve shown symptoms or behavior consistent with a concussion or brain injury.

The bill the governor signed into law today says “continuing to play after a concussion can lead to serious injury and even death.”

Police exchange shots with man after chase through central Iowa

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Officer Dustin Wing.

A man led police on a chase through central Iowa Wednesday and fired shots before giving up.

Des Moines police were asked to locate a man who was believed to be suicidal and had a gun. They found the man near Interstate 235 in Des Moines and he took off. The chase went through Des Moines and headed north on Interstate 35. The Story County Sheriff’s Department put out stop sticks south of Ames and slowed the car and police say he fired more than one round from a pistol.

A Des Moines officer returned fire and the man stopped and after a short time threw the gun out of the car and was arrested without anyone being injured. The 21-year-old man has not been identified as was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation. Charges are expected when he is released.

The Des Moines officer who fired at the man is Senior Police Officer Dustin Wing. He is a 13-year veteran who is on administrative leave during the investigation based on standard procedure when an officer is involved in a shooting.

 

Deadline approaching for schools to apply for special water bottle filling stations

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A water bottle filling station.

The deadline is next week for Iowa schools to apply to have their water fountains swapped out for water bottle filling stations.

Suzanne Heckenlaible, executive director of the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation, says they’ve budgeted 300-thousand dollars for this year’s “Rethink Your Drink” program, which should be enough to outfit about 60 schools statewide.

“Priority will be given to schools that have a large percentage of students on free and reduced-price lunch, they don’t have a current water bottle filling station, and they’re in optimally fluoridated communities,” Heckenlaible says. Last year was the first year for the program and Delta Dental spent 230-thousand dollars to retrofit water fountains in 54 schools in 26 Iowa counties. That reached about 28-thousand students, encouraging them to quench their thirst without buying a sugary soft drink.

“Not only are we bringing the water bottle filling station to the school, we’re also bringing water bottles to every child there,” Heckenlaible says, “so they actually have the tool to fill up their bottle throughout the day to ensure they are hydrated.” Each child also gets a toothbrush and a book mark. Despite efforts by families, schools and public health agencies to educate students on better drink choices, kids often choose caffeinated beverages, sports drinks and energy drinks — or they just go without.

“We know that more than 50% of children and teens in the U.S. are not properly hydrated during the school day,” Heckenlaible says. “Certainly, that can impact cognitive functions and energy levels throughout the day.” By choosing water, she says students and staff are more alert, better hydrated, protect their tooth enamel and make their teeth more resistant to cavities. An added plus, in the first three months of the program, she says more than 200-thousand plastic water bottles were saved from Iowa landfills.

The deadline for schools to apply is May 1st at the following website: www.deltadentalia.com/H2O

 

GOP leader says ‘twists and turns’ but no acrimony in legislative shutdown

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Chris Hagenow

The first public airing of some of the budget plans Republicans in the Iowa Senate have developed began at 10 o’clock this morning.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to review and pass eight bills outlining spending for a variety of state agencies today. Budget bills for the Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Transportation cleared the House yesterday.

House Republican Leader Chris Hagenow of Windsor Heights this morning said “unless something dramatic changes,” it’s unlikely legislators will complete work on the budget and other issues this week.

“There is nothing that’s quite like a legislative shutdown and it has twists and turns and ups and downs,” Hagenow told reporters, “and then, in the end, it all fits together.”

Hagenow said Republican legislative leaders and Republican Governor Kim Reynolds and her staff are meeting regularly to decide what has to be done now and what can wait ’til next year.

“It’s not even that it’s acrimonious or anything like that,” Hagenow said. “It’s productive, but it just takes time to have a series of meetings to put all those pieces together.”

A spending plan for state economic development programs will be considered in the full House today.

Dubuque man given 50 years in prison for murder of girlfriend

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A judge on Wednesday sentenced a Dubuque man, convicted of killing his girlfriend, to 50 years in prison.

Twenty-five-year-old Fontae Buelow was found guilty of second-degree murder by a Dubuque County jury in January. Police accused Buelow of stabbing 21-year-old Samantha Link to death after a night out drinking in March of 2017. Buelow testified at his trial that he believed Link stabbed herself after the two got into an argument.

Prior to his sentencing, Buelow was allowed to address the courtroom and maintained his innocence – saying “I promise on everything I love I did not hurt Sam.” Link’s relatives delivered victim impact statements, calling her “caring, loving and beautiful.”

 

Judge who served the most time with the Iowa Supreme Court has died

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Justice Jerry Larson.

The Supreme Court Justice who had the longest tenure on the bench has died.

The state judicial branch says retired Justice Jerry Larson was born and raised in Harlan. He received his bachelors and law degrees from the University of Iowa. He practiced with his father in Harlan and served two terms as the Shelby County Attorney before being appointed to the district court bench in 1975.

Larson was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 1978 and in September of 2007 surpassed Justice Theodore Garfield as the longest serving member of the High Court. Larson wrote 991 opinions in his 29 years on the Iowa Supreme Court. Current Chief Justice Mark Cady served with Larson for 10 years on the Supreme Court, and said his is saddened to learn of his death. He called Larson “a great mentor and better friend with a keen legal mind, a quick wit, and a deep love of the law.”

Justice Larson is survived by four children, twelve grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. One of his sons, Jeffrey Larson, is the chief judge in the Fourth Judicial District and one of his daughters, Susan Christensen, is a district judge in the Fourth District. His daughter, Rebecca Larson, is an elementary teacher in Bettendorf, Iowa, and his son, David, is an attorney in Avoca, Iowa.