For an expected 100,000-plus deer hunters, the long wait is almost over, Iowa’s gun deer seasons are right around the corner.

But before heading to the timber, it’s important that hunters go through their gear, sight in their gun and take time to review their hunting safety plan, said Craig Cutts, chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Bureau.

“Hunters should check their blaze orange gear to make sure it still fits and that that orange hasn’t faded to the point of being ineffective,” Cutts said. “We’re not hiding from deer during the firearm seasons; we want to be seen by the other hunters. The more external blaze orange that’s worn, the better the chance that hunters will be seen in the timber.”

The minimum amount of blaze orange required by Iowa law to hunt in the firearm deer season is a 100 percent solid blaze orange vest, but hunters should wear as much blaze orange as possible, he said.

“We have a lot more hunters choosing rifles and rifles can travel much greater distances so blaze orange is really important,” he said. “But they also need to be cognizant of that distance, so they need to take good shots – avoid shooting at running deer, and know what’s in front of and behind the deer, in case the shot misses.”

Not shooting at running deer is key to avoiding property damage or injuring another hunter. With the added distance rifles are capable of, hunters really need to be aware of what is behind the deer if the shot misses.

Cutts said there has been an average of nine hunting related incidents over the past three deer gun seasons involving rifles with around six involving personal injuries. Following the hunting plan is another way to avoid problems.

The hunting plan identifies the location, outlines each person’s role, describes how it will unfold and when the hunters are expected to return home. Hunters are encouraged to leave a copy of the plan with someone in the event of an emergency.

“You cannot deviate from the plan,” Cutts said. “The problems start when you see the deer coming out of a different area than you expected, then leave your location to get closer to the deer and suddenly the hunter is in the line of fire.”

Iowa’s first gun season is Dec. 6-10; second gun season is Dec. 13-21. For more information on hunting safety, contact your local conservation officer.

Iowa’s most popular deer hunting seasons start this weekend, when more than 100,000 hunters take to the timber for the long-awaited gun seasons.

Iowa’s first gun season is Dec. 6-10. Second gun season is Dec. 13-21. While hunters are split about 50-50 to which season they hunt, the trend has been moving toward second season due to the flexibility of hunting two weekends. Hunters are expected to harvest 55,000 to 60,000 deer during these two seasons, which is 50-60 percent of Iowa’s total deer harvest.

So far this fall, youth, disabled hunter, early muzzleloader and archery hunters have reported 28,600 deer through the harvest reporting system, which is three percent below the five-year average.

“We’ve had a strong harvest in Eastern Iowa, which has offset a lower deer harvest in Western, Central, Southern and Northwestern regions of the state,” said Jace Elliott, state deer biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). To date, the 2025 harvest is about exactly the same as the 2024 harvest at this point in the season.

“We are getting reports of low deer numbers in Central and Western Iowa in the wake of severe hemorrhagic disease impacts from 2024 and 2023. Hunters are encouraged to reach out to our wildlife staff and conservation officers to discuss what they are seeing in the field.”
Weather-wise, the 10-day forecast calls for high temperatures from middle 30s to middle 20s, which means the snow is likely here for a while.

“The cooler temperature generally leads to better harvest, but the snow can be tricky. We know that snowfall on opening day leads to a 10 percent increase in harvest for the season. Snow does make it easier to see deer, track deer and to see deer signs, which are all the right conditions for hunters to be successful,” Elliott said.

“However, if the snow is too deep, it can lead to fewer deer harvested and that’s likely due to hunter behavior, not deer behavior,” he said.

The gun seasons have been traditionally associated with groups of hunters walking through the timber, pushing deer towards other members of the hunting group, but results of the 2024 deer hunter survey found that gun season hunters are divided evenly in how they pursue the deer.

About half participate in traditional deer drives, while the other half prefer to hunt from stationary position. The deer hunter survey found that overall, 80 percent of respondents indicated they are satisfied with the overall deer hunting experience, citing the social aspect of the hunting groups and the opportunity to put deer meat in the freezer as two reasons they hunt.

Hunters are required to include the main beam antler measurement when reporting their deer harvest.

“Main beam antler measurement allows us to estimate the percentage of yearling bucks as part of the harvest. There was a strong variation across Iowa where counties with lower deer densities and less deer habitat saw a higher rate of yearling bucks as a percentage of the buck harvest,” Elliott said.

Statewide, yearling bucks made up roughly 40 percent of the total buck harvest.

The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Board of Directors announced $12.2 million in grants to 26 Local Housing Trust Funds to strengthen local housing initiatives. The awards were made through the Local Housing Trust Fund Program and are expected to benefit 2,473 families.

“These grants are an essential and highly effective resource, empowering regions to direct funds where they are needed most to meet local housing needs,” said IFA Director Debi Durham. “The success of this program is reflected in the thousands of Iowans who now have safe, affordable homes, made possible through strong partnerships with Local Housing Trust Funds across the state.”

The grant funds will support a range of initiatives aimed at developing or preserving housing for low-income households across the spectrum of housing needs. This includes the development and preservation of housing, assistance for persons experiencing homelessness, rental assistance, homeownership support, bolstering the capacity of local housing organizations and other efforts that directly address local housing needs.

“This support advances our mission to ensure residents in Northeast Iowa have access to well-maintained, safe and affordable housing,” said Spiff Slifka, Board Chair of the Northeast Iowa Regional Housing Trust Fund (NEIRHTF). “With much of our region’s housing stock aging, these funds are critical to preserving homes and strengthening the vitality of our communities.”

The State Housing Trust Fund helps ensure decent, safe and affordable housing for Iowans through two programs. The Local Housing Trust Fund Program receives at least 60 percent of the SHTF allocation to provide grants for organizations certified by IFA as Local Housing Trust Funds. The remaining funding supports the Project-Based Housing Program, which aids in the development of affordable single-family and multifamily housing. IFA administers both programs and provides technical assistance to housing-related organizations.

Established by the Iowa Legislature in 2003, the State Housing Trust Fund continues to play a vital role in advancing Iowa’s housing priorities. The awards announced today are expected to leverage an additional $3.6 million in other financing or approximately 30 cents for every dollar of Local Housing Trust Fund Program funding.

Since its inception, the State Housing Trust Fund has supported more than 41,400 Iowa households through the LHTF Program, investing more than $140 million and leveraging an additional $130 million in other funding to advance local housing initiatives.

Locally, the AHEAD Regional Housing Trust Fund – serving Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Mahaska, Van Buren, and Wapello Counties – will receive just over $469,000 while Great River Housing – serving Des Moines, Henry, Lee, and Louisa Counties – will receive nearly $478,000. The list of 2026 Local Housing Trust Fund awards is available here.

Residents of Danville went several hours yesterday without power. According to Danville City Hall, the outage was caused by multiple factors; one being all the power lines in Danville are underground requiring more investigation to find and repair the faulty equipment. The power outage came as a bit of a shock to the citizens of Danville as they have not experienced a widespread power outage of this caliber in 1,290 days. Power was restored approximately 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening, and Danville Utilities does not expect any more interruptions in service.

Last night, 12/2/25, the Mount Pleasant School Board held a work session at the district office at 6pm. During the work session, Shannon Bisgard of the Grundmeyer Search Firm walked the board through the next steps in the superintendent search. He explained how the firm will narrow the applicant pool and identify candidates for the board to screen.

The board also held a closed session which began 6:07 p.m., citing Iowa Code 21.5(1)(i). That section of the law permits a closed meeting when discussing the professional competence of an individual to prevent irreparable harm to their reputation. The board reported that no action was taken and reopened the meeting to the public at 7:15 p.m.

A School Improvement Advisory meeting is also scheduled for tonight at the High School Media Center starting at 6PM. This meeting is open to the public.

Other Meetings in the KILJ listening area:

The City of Wayland meets tonight, Wednesday December 3, 2025 for their regular meeting at the Wayland City Hall Council Chambers.

The Henry County Board of Supervisors meets tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. at the Henry County Courthouse. On the agenda are approval of the agenda, minutes, and claims, followed by the department head meeting and reports from supervisors’ sub-committees.

The Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission will hold their regular board meeting on Thursday, December 4, 2025 at noon in West Burlington. There is a link to join the meeting virtually.

The agendas and items up for discussion in each of these public meetings has been posted on kilj.com and can be found by hovering over the news tab and selecting Meetings and Agendas.