MORE AVIAN INFLUENZA IN NORTHWEST IOWA
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the USDA Plant Health and Inspection Service confirmed four more cases of Avian Influenza in Iowa. Three of the cases are in Clay County, and one is in Hamilton County. The Clay County sites are game bird duck farms, while the site in Hamilton County is a flock of commercial breeding chickens. The Centers for Disease Control say the recent cases are not a public health concern. There have been ten cases of Avian Influenza reported in Iowa in 2023, eight of them since October 20. Seven of the reported cases are in northwest Iowa.
CROP ADVANTAGE SERIES
The ISU Crop Advantage Series resumes this fall at locations around the state. Area agronomist Leah Ten Napel says there are a variety of activities from which producers can learn.
The series is spread out over four northwest Iowa locations. Sheldon, Storm Lake, Okoboji, and Le Mars.
The Crop Advantage series will resume in January of 2024, at Sheldon on January 3, Storm Lake January 4, Okoboji on January 23, and Le Mars on January 30. Registration for these locations will open in November. Specific information will be updated on the Crop Advantage website next month.
PLYMOUTH COUNTY CRASHES
The Plymouth County Sheriffs Office reports that two vehicles crashed last weekend during a snowfall, within an hour of each other, at the same location. The accidents happened last week Saturday on US Highway 75 north of Merrill. At 10:37 a.m., deputies responded to a single vehicle collision. 21 year old Abigail Harrison of Missouri Valley, Iowa, hit a patch of ice and lost control, striking a guardrail and causing damage. No injury was report. An hour later, at 11;36 a.m., another crash occurred on the US Highway 75 bridge just north of Merrill. 27 year old Elizamar Montanez Sanchez of Sioux City lost control and spun out, striking a vehicle driven by 60 year old Lisa Gubbels of Council Bluffs. There were no injuries reported.
PACK THE PICKUP
A Pack the Pickup event, benefitting Wet Nose Rescue of Plymouth County, is underway today at the Le Mars Walmart. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., donations of pet food, cleanup items, and the like, will be packed into a pickup parked at Walmart. A full list of items needed at Wet Nose Rescue can be found on their Facebook page. Pack the Pickup is sponsored by Walmart of Le Mars and Jensen Motors.
REST AREAS PACKED WITH SEMIS
Transportation officials met this week to discuss what to do about the lack of parking spaces for semis along Iowa’s interstates. Steven McMenamin, the Iowa D-O-T’s rest area administrator,
says the Iowa D-O-T has NO plans to close any interstate rest area in Iowa — or to open any new ones either.
The Iowa D-O-T is ordering a temporary, winter-time closure for an interstate rest area in southern Iowa that only offers parking spaces. It’s on southbound I-35 in Warren County, near the St. Charles exit. McMenamin says it’s a safety issue for truckers.
That particular parking-only rest area has been closed during the winter for the past few years. It will officially be closed November 13th and is expected to reopen next spring.
Some of Iowa’s full-service rest areas are at least 50 years old. There are another 12 interstate rest areas in Iowa that do not offer amenities like rest rooms and just have parking spaces.
Federal rules require a 10 hour rest period after a driving shift of no more than 14 hours. According to the national trade association for professional truck drivers, there’s just one parking spot for every 11 semis on the road today.
