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Trump officials deny U.S. citizen children were 'deported' to Honduras; Arkansas League of Women Voters sues over ballot initiative restriction; Florida PTA fights charter school expansion, cuts to mental health funding; U. of Northern Iowa launches international student exchange.

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A judge blocks use of a wartime law for deportations, ICE is criticized for deporting U.S. citizen children, Arkansas faces a federal lawsuit over ballot initiative restrictions, schools nationwide prepare for possible Medicaid cuts, and President Trump's approval rating is down at the 100-day mark.

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Migration to rural America increased for the fourth year, technological gaps handicap rural hospitals and erode patient care, and doctors are needed to keep the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians healthy and align with spiritual principles.

Iowa's 'Kung Fu Panda' turtle facing endangered status

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Wednesday, December 11, 2024   

A small turtle made popular in the "Kung Fu Panda" movies could soon be added to the endangered species list. Iowa wildlife advocates are working to restore it to its native habitat and give the turtle a better chance for survival.

The Blanding's turtle is popularized in the long-running, lighthearted animated movies but its fate is anything but funny. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will decide in coming months whether to list it on the endangered species list. Officially, fewer than 3,000 Blanding's turtles are left in Iowa.

Karen Kinkead, Wildlife diversity program coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said they are a cryptic species and hard to count but are easy to identify when you spot one.

"They're kind of this drab, olive green-grey color. Their shell is shaped kind of like a helmet. They are sort of nondescript," Kinkead outlined. "But then you see this bright yellow chin and the way that their lower jaw is formed it makes it look like this is an animal that is always smiling."

Decades of habitat loss and predation have already put the Blanding's turtle on the threatened list in Iowa. A partnership between the state DNR, Iowa State University and the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines just hatched nearly five dozen baby Blanding's turtles researchers will raise until adulthood, then tag with telemetry gear to track them in the wild.

Kinkead pointed out the zoo is "head-starting" the turtles by hatching and keeping them in the zoo over the winter, instead of allowing them to hibernate.

"They keep them awake and keep feeding them so they grow larger," Kinkead explained. "Then when they're released into the wild the next summer, they're a bigger size."

Kinkead added being bigger and more mature makes the turtles less vulnerable to predators once they are released.


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