DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state court judge says environmental groups may proceed with a lawsuit seeking to halt expansion of a cattle farm in northeast Iowa near a prized trout stream. Judge Michael Huppert on Monday ruled against the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which sought to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter and Iowa State Council of Trout Unlimited. The groups are seeking to protect Bloody Run Creek, a stream in Clayton County that is among the few waterways designated with an Outstanding Iowa Waters designation qualifying it for a high level of protection. The owners of Supreme Beef want to stock farm buildings with 11,600 cows and spread manure on fields that are in the stream’s watershed.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa agriculture officials say two more bird flu outbreaks in commercial flocks will require the killing of more than 1.5 million hens and turkeys. They said Tuesday that one of the new outbreaks will lead to the killing of 1.5 million chickens at an egg-laying farm in Guthrie County, about 60 miles west of Des Moines. The other was at a turkey farm in Hamilton County, about 65 miles north of Des Moines, where 28,000 birds will be killed. The state veterinarian, Dr. Jeff Kaisand, says it appears the infections are coming from migrating wild birds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 17 states have had outbreaks in commercial or private outdoor flocks this year.
TAMA, Iowa (AP) — Tribal police for the Meskwaki settlement in east-central Iowa say a woman there was fatally mauled by a pack of dogs. The Meskwaki Nation Police Department says in a Facebook post that the incident happened Monday afternoon, when a large pack of dogs attacked a young woman in the area of Springs Road. Police said all of the dogs were later identified and killed. Police said they would not release the woman’s name or other details until a later date, citing “the sensitivity of the situation.”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is nearing passage of a dramatic reduction in unemployment benefits to try to force people to fill thousands of open jobs and reverse a trend in which the governor argues the state’s “safety net has become a hammock.” A measure supported only by the Republicans who control the Legislature would reduce allowable unemployment payments from 26 weeks to 16 weeks, placing Iowa among only six states with such severe limits. Currently, 40 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico pay up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. The proposed reduction comes as Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in February and the state’s businesses have struggled to hire enough workers. GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds has made the cutbacks a priority.
WILLIAMSBURG, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a man who was found dead last week in an eastern Iowa grain bin. The Iowa County Sheriff’s Office says 63-year-old Robert Wade Chittick, of Williamsburg, was found buried under 10 feet of corn after emergency responders were called around 7:30 a.m. Friday to the grain bin near Williamsburg. Arriving crews worked for an hour before finding Chittick inside the bin. He was declared dead at the scene. The sheriff’s office says the 20,000-bushel capacity grain bin is owned by Kinze Manufacturing and is leased to Circle J Grain of Williamsburg.
