Articles Tagged: Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Iowa state park rangers who had been told they had to move out of state-owned housing by Nov. 30, would get an eviction extension to at least 2024 under a budget approved Wednesday by the Iowa House.

Recent testing by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources found “very low” levels of two types of industrial chemicals in Cedar Rapids’ public water supply, but the city reports that its water remains safe to drink.

Central City has concentrations of toxic chemicals in its drinking water that exceed safety thresholds in other states and that are the highest so far identified by a new Iowa surveillance program.

Iowa DNR records show the park draws water from a 140-feet-deep well that is highly susceptible to surface contamination because of the porous sediment in the area.

The park rangers union called the eviction of rangers a potential violation of its contract with the state because living rent-free in state-owned housing falls under the category of supplemental pay and is a mandatory subject of collective bargaining.

Not a formal investigation, but the attorney general will look at why the price of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer has increased 315 percent since January 2021, and other types of fertilizer have increased between 171 percent and 290 percent, according to the federal agriculture department.

After evicting park rangers from Iowa’s state parks, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said it will continue to require live-in staff at fish hatcheries because they have a “live product.”

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ housing policy adopted in 2007 shows a shift in the agency’s perceived value of live-in park rangers and other staff at Iowa state parks.

Finding enough guests to stay at Honey Creek has always been a challenge because the resort is not near any major Iowa cities and doesn’t have a lot of other attractions nearby.

Iowa has more impaired waters now than two years ago, with bacteria and fish kills being the top reasons for listing, according to the state’s 2022 draft inventory.

Republicans who support a bill that seeks to limit public land buys say the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and county conservation boards shouldn’t be competing with farmers trying to buy timber for cattle grazing. Democrats say its more likely developers or other farmers snapping up land.

Large numbers of geese and pelicans have been found dead along the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa, and wildlife biologists aren’t sure what’s killing them.

The majority of state park staff being asked to move out of state-owned houses said the parks will be less safe and the public will have fewer services with no live-in rangers, managers and technicians.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is evicting park rangers and other staff from state-owned houses in 23 state parks because the agency doesn’t want to pay up to $1 million on repairs.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is asking for the public’s help in identifying the person who shot a bald eagle in southeast Cedar Rapids on Jan. 9.