IOWA CITY – Roses, hollyhocks, bee balm and numerous other plants grow harmoniously in Timothy Volm’s front yard, but the lush vegetation is creating dissonance with the city. Volm has been ordered to remove all of the plants by Tuesday, July 9, 2013, or city staff will clear the site and charge the costs to […]
You are browsing archives for
Category: Environment
Iowa: From drought to flooding to normal...
After our drought worries earlier this spring and flooding concerns the past few weeks, could Iowa be on track for a “normal” summer? (And really, what is normal in Iowa, anyway?) Here is the most recent water summary update from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources:
A flood of memories: looking back at Iow...
Maybe people are tired of looking back and even I have been cringing whenever I hear the words “flood anniversary.” Still, it’s remarkable to think five years have passed since my hometown of Cedar Rapids, and much of Eastern Iowa, were inundated with unprecedented flooding. I keep a
Keys to drought, flooding and climate ch...
CEDAR RAPIDS – Ray Archuleta and David Brandt could hold the keys to solving both drought and flooding issues and even climate change. Their sessions during the June 6 soil seminar at Coe College in Cedar Rapids were nothing short of jaw-dropping. It’s probably not often that ‘soil seminar’ and ‘jaw-dropping’ are used in the […]
Parallels seen between flooding in Iowa ...
I remember interviewing Petr Kolar, the Czech Republic’s ambassador to the United States, just a few months after floods devastated Cedar Rapids and other parts of Eastern Iowa in 2008. It was remarkable, I thought, that Kolar noted that good could somehow come out of something as tragic as the epic flood that inundated 10 […]
Find out on June 6 why Iowa soils are “n
CEDAR RAPIDS – You might think that unless you’re a farmer, this seminar does not pertain to you, but I’m told gardeners and anyone who could be affected by flooding or drought and basically everybody who eats would benefit from the information that will be presented June 6 at Coe College in Cedar Rapids.
Reel lawnmowers: How “reelistic?”
My good buddy and fellow freelance journalist, Dave DeWitte, recently bought a new reel mower to reduce his carbon footprint. Find Dave’s candid impressions and assessment of his new mower here: By: Dave DeWitte My knees and shoulders are sore in ways I haven’t felt for years. I’m surprisingly comfortable with this discomfort. That’s […]
Iowa sets record with rainfall; most pre...
Just a month ago, we worried about another drought in Iowa. Now the concern is too much water. Earlier today, I traveled to Tama County and saw the flooding up close, a reminder of what we experienced in Cedar Rapids in 2008. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources noted in its water summary of May […]
Under water, again; flooding and storm w...
CHELSEA – It was odd seeing ducks and geese today, next to Highway 30, swimming in farm fields. I traveled to my uncle’s farm near Chelsea, in Tama County. I’m grateful that the past generations of my family chose to settle on high grounds in the rolling hills of East-central Iowa, but even that land […]
Flash flood warning in effect in Eastern...
The National Weather Service issued the following on Sunday, May 26, 2013: A Flash Flood Warning remains in effect until 1:45 am CDT for Southwestern Cedar, Southern Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Southwestern Linn and Northwestern Muscatine counties. At 7:57 pm CDT, National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated that the heavy rain producing