skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Iowa Drought Plan Uses History to Predict Future

play audio
Play

Thursday, March 16, 2023   

Iowa has developed its first-ever plan to predict drought before it happens. Officials said it is designed to mitigate the effects of the drought by planning for it, while helping the state manage the water it needs for human consumption, agricultural and industrial uses.

Unlike other states mandating water restrictions in the face of a drought, Iowa is measuring the effects of the current weather patterns to predict what can happen in the future based on the data, and avert the effects of drought on the front end.

Keith Schilling, Iowa state geologist, said the data will help put cities, towns, and farmers in a better position to manage what is sure to come.

"It's inevitable. We know we get droughts periodically here in Iowa," Schilling pointed out. "Because you know it's coming, start talking about who gets the water, where do we get the water, so we begin to allocate things differently, we begin to think about conservation and implement that as drought gets more severe."

As part pf the plan, researchers aim to put drought-monitoring stations in all of Iowa's 99 counties, so the data is more reliable and less sporadic, which could cost as much as a million dollars.

In addition to measuring soil moisture and rainfall as part of the drought-monitoring plan, Schilling explained scientists will pay particular attention to Iowa's streams as barometers of the future, based on clues they offer about the distant past.

"And the nice thing about streams is that there's a long history of stream flow measurements in Iowa," Schilling emphasized. "We can use that long history to say, 'Well, how did the streams respond in the 1930s drought or the 1950s drought' and so forth. And so we have this measure of an historical response that we can take today and say, 'Well, how does it compare in history?' "

The U.S. Drought Monitor uses information Iowa supplies from its data stations to report on drought severity, and Schilling added its reports are only as good as the data Iowa supplies, which is why getting stations statewide is a critical part of the new drought plan.

References:  
Webinar NOAA 2023

get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021