Gazette Daily News Briefing, August 28
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for August 28, 2023.
According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly sunny Monday with a high near 84 degrees. It looks at first blush like it will be nice through Thursday, with it heating back up above 90 degrees on Friday.
More than 100 dogs were surrendered last week to Iowa City Animal Services after an investigation of a dog breeder in rural Johnson County, according to a news release from Iowa City Animal Services.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship performed a random inspection Thursday at Sunset Valley Farm, 3027 540th St. SW near Riverside, which found the 131 dogs on the property were being kept in hot, dirty conditions, and many of the dogs were in a “state of distress.”
According to the report, the exhaust fan in the whelping building — where the dogs give birth — was not running when the unannounced inspection started. With the exhaust fan running, the indoor temperature was still 91 degrees Fahrenheit, with 64 percent humidity.
The whelping area was not clean, and nearly all the 16 female dogs and pups were found with matted coats and dirty fur.
Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel said no arrests have been made, but the investigation at the dog breeding operation is ongoing.
Loren Yoder, the owner of the farm, was cited multiple times by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2022. A call to Yoder Friday afternoon requesting comment was not returned.
The Iowa City Animal Shelter has been asking for donations from the community over the weekend to help care for the dogs. Their most recent request of Sunday night was for a freestanding, outdoor kennel.Measuring at least 6x8' and have a gate.They also were asking for canned wet food.
You can check with the Iowa City Animal Shelter what their latest needs are on Facebook or by calling 319-356-5295.
Drivers will be happy to know the massive reconstruction of the Interstate 80/380 interchange is ahead of schedule and nearing completion.
The goal is to get the last two ramps open by the end of the month, Hugh Holak, resident construction engineer with the Iowa Department of Transportation, told The Gazette.
Those two ramps are the Highway 218 northbound ramp to I-80 westbound and the I-80 westbound ramp to Highway 218’s southbound ramp.
The remaining work on the ramps includes shoulder grading, signage and other finishing work, Holak said.
Opening the ramps by the end of August, he said, should help traffic flow over the Labor Day weekend and for FRYfest in Coralville and Hawkeye football games.
The $387 million interchange project, one of Iowa DOT's top priorities, is at the junction of I-80, I-380 and Highway 218 in Johnson County.
