HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING
Heat index values up to 105 expected in northwest Iowa, including Plymouth, Cherokee, Buena Vista, Woodbury, and Ida counties. Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses. You are urged to srink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.
STRONG THUNDERSTOREMS CAUSE DAMAGING WINDS
Heavy thunderstorms last night and this morning brought damaging winds to the area, including LeMars. Storm reports from last night included large tree branches down in Merrill around 11-46 p.m. At 11-52, a semi-truck trailer was blown over southwest of Le Mars. A thunderstorm wind gust of 62 miles per hour was recorded at the Le Mars Municipal airport around 11-55 p.m. Lots of tree damagewas also reported in the city. Power was knocked to northwest LeMars for a time.
At Midnight, a storm hit Kingsley, in southeast Plymouth County, causing trees and power lines to go down. A thunderstorm wind caused trees to snap off at C60 and Tamarack Ave.
Similar wind and damage reports are coming from Lawton, Pierson, Quiimby, Marcus, and Meriden in Woodbury and Cherokee Counties.
at 5-49 this morning, a 57 mile per hour wind gust and 3/4 inch hail was reported near Sioux Center in SIoux County. At 6 am, a thunderstorm wind gust of 57 miles per hour was noted a mile north of Oyens.
Rainfall amounts overnight included:
Le Mars (KLEM) 2.40
Orange City 1.2 SSE 1.27
Le Mars 1.0 E 1.20
OrangeCity 0.4 NNE 1.00
Storm Lake 3.1 S 1.00
Ireton 5.5 N 0.98
Orange City 0.3 0.97
Cherokee 5.1 S 0.60
Westfield 6.1 SE 0.59
Larchwood 1.2 NNE 0.32
THUNDERSTORMS KNOCK OUT POWER TO MORE THAN A THOUSAND IN SIOUX CITY
Thunderstorms have been rolling across Iowa bringing strong winds and heavy rain. Winds were clocked between 60 and 70 miles and hour in Sioux City in western Iowa just before midnight. Numerous power lines were knocked down by falling tree limbs. MidAmerican Energy spokesperson Tina Hoffman says line damage from trees can take longer to repair.
There were some 13-hundred customers without power as of 10 a-m and Hoffman says they may not have all of the power back on until six this evening.
In and around Le Mars, Midamerican had a little over 100 customers without power as of noon today.
IOWANS PLEASED WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF ALZHEIMER’S TEST
Officials with the Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association say they’re thrilled with the announcement of a highly-accurate blood test for the disease that’s now much closer to being widely available. Association spokeswoman Lauren Livingston says it would mean a significant shift to simpler, more accurate detection and diagnosis, potentially eliminating current methods that are expensive, invasive, and not always accessible. The research suggests the blood test could revolutionize the accuracy of diagnosis and provide a cleaner, quicker path to research participation and treatment. More than 62,000 people in Iowa have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia, and there are nearly 100,000 family and friends caring for their loved ones with the disease.
STATE OFFICIALS USE PANDEMIC RELIEF FUNDS FOR IOWA’S CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Iowa’s Crime Victim Assistance Program — facing a 42 percent cut in federal funding — is getting a cash infusion of five-and-a-half million dollars. The money comes from unspend federal pandemic relief funds forwarded to Iowa in 2021. Governor Reynolds and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird say it’s one-time funding to ensure crime victims continue to get state support to cover the costs of temporary housing, lost wages and any medical expenses associated with the crime. Attorney General Bird says the looming federal cut to victim funding meant closing the crime victims hotline and reducing the number of coordinators who are assigned to help victims who are called to testify in court against a perpetrator. Over the past 12 months, more than 54-thousand Iowa crime victims got grants from the state’s Crime Victim Assistance Program.
CROP AND WEATHER SUMMARY
Scattered rainfall allowed Iowa farmers 5.8 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending July 28, 2024, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Topsoil and subsoil moisture levels were much the same last week. Both were rated 13 percent short to very short, 80 percent adequate and 7 percent surplus.
Corn condition was rated 77 percent good to excellent. Soybean condition was 76 percent good to excellent.
Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms were observed almost every day of the reporting period, though most of Iowa’s stations experienced drier than normal conditions. Weekly temperatures varied from slightly above average across portions of central to northwestern Iowa to cooler east;
DUAL PURPOSE FOUND FOR PORTABLE CLASSROOMS IN ROCK VALLEY
Governor Kim Reynolds says portable classrooms being set up for students in Rock Valley will have a different use once repairs to the community’s flood damaged schools are completed.
The governor says Iowa Department of Transportation dump trucks have made several thousand trips to haul away debris from flood-ravaged neighborhoods.
While the vast majority of direct government assistance for Iowa flood victims is coming from the federal government, Reynolds says an agreement among states is filling a few gaps. It’s called the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
Reynolds briefly discussed Iowa’s recent string of severe weather during an appearance at an American Legislative Exchange Council event in Colorado.
IRETON AREA HIT AND RUN INFO SOUGHT
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information into a hit and run accident that occurred near Ireton Friday afternoon. A motor vehicle accident occurred at the Intersection of Highway 10 and Eagle Avenue, a mile north of Ireton. A south-bound cement truck, driven by 19 year old Miguel Mario of Sioux Center, stopped for a stop sign at the intersection. A pickup traveling in the same direction struck the rear of the truck. The driver did not remain at the accident scene, and continued to drive south on Eagle. There were no injuries reported.
SIERRA CLUB ASKS EPA TO REVOKE IOWA DNR’S POWER TO ENFORCE CLEAN WATER ACT
The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club is petitioning the E-P-A to remove a state agency’s authority to enforce the Clean Water Act. The group claims the Department of Natural Resources has failed to enforce the federal law for years. The petition says over 450 Iowa cattle feeding and industrial operations are dumping waste into waterways, despite expired permits. Wally Taylor, the chapter’s legal chair, says the D-N-R has also failed to prioritize protecting the state’s highest-quality rivers and streams.
Waste permits must be renewed every five years, though he says some haven’t been renewed since the early 2000s. Taylor says while D-N-R funding has gone down over the years, he believes failure to enforce the Clean Water Act has been deliberate.
Taylor adds that the Sierra Club has supported additional funding for the D-N-R in the past to make clean water enforcement more feasible.
GOVERNOR CO-CHAIRS NATIONAL SCHOOL CHOICE CAMPAIGN
Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowa’s state-funded Education Savings Accounts for private school students are part of an education revolution happening across the country. Reynolds is now co-chair of the “Education Freedom Alliance. It’s an effort by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative think tank, with the goal to have education savings account programs in 25 states by 2025. The governor’s “Students First Act” was the first bill the Iowa legislature passed in 2023. Over 30-thousand private school students in Iowa have qualified for Education Savings Accounts this year. When fully implemented next fall, Iowa will be among eight states where all private school students are eligible for state funding to cover tuition and other expenses.
