DROUGHT CONDITIONS IMPROVE ACROSS STATE
The recent snow and rains have helped push back some of the drought conditions in the state. D-N-R Hydrologist, Tim Hall, the rainfall has been good to see.
Northeast Iowa remains the driest area of the state, but the picture is better than last week.
Hall says it is good to see the dry weather turnaround in March.
The Drought Monitor shows the areas of the state not reporting any drought have gone from just more than two percent to now just under ten percent. .
HINTON FARMER IS SUCCESSFUL WITH COVER CROPS AND NO-TILL
A Hinton area farmer has seen success with a couple of conservation practices. Dick Coffman has been no-tilling his 160 acres for over ten years when he enrolled in the USDA’s Conservation Stewardship Program in 2015. In order to qualify for the program, he was urged to try cover crops on his farm. Even though the Conservation Stewardship Program expired four years ago, Coffman still uses cover crops. He’s found that both practices help control soil erosion and improve soil health.
IOWA HOUSE PASSES ANOTHER BILL TO FIGHT CARBON PIPELINES
The Iowa House has voted to let landowners seek a court ruling now on whether carbon pipeline developers qualify for the government’s eminent domain authority to force unwilling property owners to let the pipeline on their land. Republican Representative Charley Thomson of Charles City says land is the original asset in Iowa — and an unjust taking of land without remedy is not only irritating, it’s outrageous. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison says it’s disturbing that others are not hearing the pleas of landowners — or the truth of their message about private property rights. The Iowa House has previously passed other proposals to set up pipeline regulations, but all have stalled in the Iowa Senate.
REYNOLDS DEPLOYING IOWANS TO HELP TEXANS WITH BORDER SECURITY FOR THE THIRD TIME
Governor Kim Reynolds is sending a small group of Iowa law officers and dozens of Iowa National Guard soldiers to assist Texas authorities with border security. This is the third time Reynolds has deployed Iowans to Texas. One hundred-ten Iowa National Guard soldiers will start a month-long tour of duty Monday with the Texas Military Department. Eight state troopers and two Iowa Department of Public Safety sergeants will leave Iowa Sunday for a 28 day stint in Texas. Reynolds says Texas faces nothing short of an invasion with historic levels of illegal immigrants and the Iowans she’s sending south will be frontline help for Texas. All the people the governor’s deploying to Texas are volunteers and Reynolds says she’ll use pandemic relief money to cover their expenses.
BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE COULD BE CATASTROPHIC FOR SHIPPING IOWA GOODS
This week’s deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge may have significant ripple effects in Iowa, as that Maryland port is a vital link in the supply chain for getting Iowa’s commodities and a range of products to overseas markets. Iowa U-S Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s concerned that as long as that port is blocked by the wreckage and out of commission, the effects will be widespread.
Grassley says it’s possible Iowa companies that need to ship their commodities or products overseas via the East Coast can use another port, but most of them are farther away which would likely mean higher costs.
It’s still unclear how many people died when the bridge fell, perhaps six. Recovery operations are underway. There are calls for Congress to pass an emergency spending measure to pay for rebuilding the bridge, which collapsed early Tuesday after a support tower was slammed by a massive cargo ship, which was apparently malfunctioning. Early estimates say rebuilding the bridge could cost two-billion dollars and take a minimum of two years, possibly much longer.
HINSON MEETS WITH UKRAINE, POLAND AMBASSADORS
The top Republican in the U-S House says he’ll push for approval of wartime funding for Ukraine when the House reconvenes in April — but Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says she hasn’t seen details of the package. Hinson says Vladimir Putin is a thug and a dictator and the U-S cannot let him win the war. Hinson met last week with the ambassadors from Poland AND Ukraine and Hinson says she’s concerned the Ukraine war could spread into a wider conflict with our European allies in NATO. Hinson says any future U-S aid to Ukraine should be limited to military assistance. In February, Iowa’s two U-S Senators supported a bill that included military support for Ukraine and Israel, as well as humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine.
