Future Shock? or Back to the Future?
Visioning Iowa when the cicadas stage their comeback in 2041
They're coming . . . they're almost here. . . They're here now! Do you hear them?
The periodical cicadas, what else? After this past week of spring weather, we've had the requisite warm soil temperatures (64°), combined with more than ample warm rain, to trigger their emergence. Soon, especially if you live in southeastern or eastern Iowa, you'll be hearing them loud and clear, up to about the equivalent volume of a lawn mower – 110 decibels. Trillions of them!
Periodical cicadas aren't to be confused with annual cicadas. Brood XIX, ranging from the southern U.S., and reaching up into Illinois, has a 13-year-life cycle, and Brood XIII (mostly in the Midwest) has a 17-year life cycle. It's the first time since 1803 that these two specific broods have emerged together, although only a couple of states will get a double dose. Just imagine, if you hopped into the Wayback Machine and stepped out into 1803, Iowa would be a prairie or tall grass region, and still part of President Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase.
Brood XIII has spent the past 17 years leading a pretty boring existence: sucking on sap from tree roots and excavating tunnels beneath the soil. Once they emerge from our rain-soaked Iowa soil, the males will shrug off their exoskeletons, and use their new wings to fly into the treetops, where they'll join a mass cicada chorus in a very loud mating song. The females then will lay their eggs in the holes of tree branches or shrubs, and Brood XIII will spend the next three to six weeks above ground before they die.
Brace Yourself for 2007 Whiplash
Just imagine that you're one of these Brood XIII creatures, digging your way up 18 to 24 inches from below ground, and peering out over Iowa's topsoil. Suddenly your bulging red eyes glimpse the first light of day in 17 years. You'll only have a few weeks to catch up on what you've missed since you were a nymph cicada in Iowa back in 2007.
What would you see?
(1) Senator Barack Obama, a relatively unknown Illinois presidential candidate, launched a two-day, five-city swing through central and eastern Iowa. He appeared at grassroots events, giving brief remarks, and meeting Iowans one on one. By July, he had visited only 26 counties. Hillary Clinton was the clear front runner at that time.
(2) During a town hall meeting in Winterset, Senator Joe Biden was asked about the issue of 14 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., including a significant number of children. "No great nation can be in a position where they can't control their borders," he said. He suggested that the situation would require (a) More border guards, (b) Improved security in certain places, including "limited elements like a fence, but not a 3,000 mile fence," and (c) a path or "earned access" to citizenship for undocumented children.
(3) It was described as a "wild year of weather in Iowa". An historic ice storm brought down 1,000 miles of transmission lines. Above-average snowfall created a deep snow pack causing ice jams and major flash flooding in the Midwest, reinforced by cool Canadian air clashing with moist, warm Gulf air. Torrential rains clustered along a stationery front. Over 12 inches fell in SE Iowa, backing up Ottumwa's storm sewers into the city's water treatment plant, shutting down four pumps, and leaving the city without adequate drinking water. In Boone County, road damage was estimated at $150,000, and the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad sustained $1 million in damages.
(4) The 2007 Cancer in Iowa Report estimated 6,400 Iowans would die from cancer, second only to heart disease. Breast, colon and rectum, lung, and prostate cancer accounted for more than one-half of all new cancers and cancer deaths. Declines in male lung cancer deaths were attributed to declines in cigarette smoking; mammograms and improved treatments were credited with fewer women dying from breast cancer. The report noted, "Currently available interventions could reduce colorectal cancer mortality by 50% by the year 2020, with most reductions coming from increased screening. . ." It added that "declines in prostate cancer mortality are not as well understood. PSA screening test is available but clinical trials are not complete yet on the effectiveness of testing in reducing cancer mortality," researchers reported. The report mentioned the Agricultural Health Study, now in its 15 year study of agricultural exposures (including pesticides) and chronic disease (especially cancer) among commercial or private pesticide applicators (and their spouses, if married) in Iowa and North Carolina. (It was primarily funded by the National Cancer Institute).
(5) The University of Iowa Hawkeye women's basketball team appeared at the 2007-08 NCAA Division I women's tournament, led by 8th-year head coach Lisa Bluder. They finished the season with an overall record of 21-11 (13-5 in Big Ten), tied for regular season conference title. This season kicked off a run of eight straight seasons of the Iowa women playing in the NCAA tournament. Junior Wendy Ausdemore hit 78 three-pointers on the season to land in #2 spot on Iowa's single season list.
(6) Newton lost its "Washing Machine Capital of the World" title when Maytag closed, following its acquisition by Whirlpool. More than 3,000 Maytag employees lost their jobs. Maytag was founded in 1893 by Frederick Louis Maytag. A new Iowa Speedway had been completed, and its first major event came in 2007 with the inaugural visit of the Indy Car Series for the Iowa Corn Indy 250. Dario Franchitti won in a near photo-finish with Marco Andretti.
(7) King Corn, a documentary film followed two college friends who moved from Boston to Greene, Iowa to grow and farm one acre of corn. The movie highlighted the growth of corn production and government subsidies and the subsequent impact on the U.S., including the explosive growth of high-fructose corn syrup, and its connection to obesity.
(8) Chet Culver was elected the 41st governor of Iowa, taking over the reins from Tom Vilsack, who had served two terms.
(9) Sexual orientation and gender identity were added as an amendment to the 1965 Iowa Civil Rights Act. It required nondiscrimination in public accommodations, employment, housing, education, and credit.
(10) The first Iowa Hunger Summit was held in recognition of United Nations World Food Day around the globe and Dr. Norman E. Borlaug/World Food Prize Day in Iowa. It was designed to draw public attention to the causes of and solutions to hunger and encourage more action and partnership among Iowans to continue fighting hunger.
Any Surprises in the Year 2024?
The current crop of periodical cicadas has only a few weeks left before its life cycle ends. What changes sprouted in Iowa since they burrowed into the soil back in 2007?
· A dearth of national Democratic presidential candidates campaigning, since the National Democratic Party stripped Iowa Democrats of the first in the nation caucus status. (Third-party candidate RFK was here on April 13 to gather signatures from 686 voters from 35 counties to put him on the general election ballot in Iowa in November.)
· Undocumented immigration remains an issue for now-President Biden, but the numbers have grown exponentially, with many arriving from a host of other countries. The Iowa National Guard has been sent to Texas, on the pretense of protecting Iowa's borders from immigrants who potentially could fill some of the state's jobs. In the meantime, this week the U.S. Senate brought up the bipartisan border security bill for a second vote. It was defeated earlier this year when Trump told Republican legislators he needed it as a campaign issue. It failed by an even larger margin this week.
· Weather still is causing havoc, and dominating Iowa news, including the devastating tornado that destroyed so much of Greenfield a few days ago, and a 500-mile derecho on Thursday night recording gusts above 75 mph.
· The Iowa Cancer Report still makes news. Iowa had the fourth-highest alcohol-related cancers in the U.S. and the highest in the Midwest. Researchers pointed out that binge drinking is a modifiable behavior change. An estimated 6,100 Iowans will die from cancer, but the number of cancer survivors grew to 168,610. Cancers of concern include esophageal, colon and rectum, female breast, pharyngeal, and laryngeal.
· The University of Iowa women's basketball team, led by head coach Lisa Bluder and standout Caitlin Clark, finished second in the NCAA Women's Division Championship game. It was Iowa's second trip to the national title in program history. Bluder announced her retirement after 24 years of leading the Hawkeyes, and Clark, named national player of the year, was the number 1 pick in the Women's NBA draft.
· Iowa still is losing large employers. This year, it's the Tyson plant in Perry, where 1,276 people will lose their jobs in June. The plant opened in 1962 as the Iowa Pork Co., and was purchased by Iowa Beef Processors (IBP), then Oscar Mayer in 1965, before becoming IBP again in 1988, and merging with Tyson in 2001.
· The Iowa corn crop still is a source of controversy. But demand for high fructose corn syrup has declined since King Corn was released. Some food companies have removed it from their products.
· Chet Culver remains the last Democratic governor of Iowa since the 17-year cicadas burrowed underground in 2007.
· LGBTQ issues that positioned Iowa on the right side of history are threatened. Earlier this year legislators declined to advance a bill that would have stripped gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
· Iowa turns down $29 million in federal funding for a summer food program for children. A $900,000 state-run program available at specific sites is the Governor's alternative.
What's Ahead for Iowa?
How do the periodical cicadas know when 17 years have passed? No one knows, but possibly they use environmental clues, including changes in the composition of tree sap over the passage of time. Otherwise, if the cicadas could override their internal clocks, they might poke up just enough to get the lay of the land, and then plunge underground for a few more years.
The next generation of cicadas will hatch in the next six to 10 weeks, before tumbling from the treetops to the ground. Soon these cicada nymphs will burrow into the earth, attaching to tree roots to execute their deep dive. If, at any time during the next 17 years, trees in old growth forests are removed, the cicadas will lose their source of food, and die without emerging again. They don’t inhabit farm fields or urban developments. Early reports suggest that Brood XIX may be extinct in Louisiana.
Seventeen years will pass before the periodical cicadas emerge again in 2041 as young adults. What changes do you predict that they'll find in Iowa?
I’m delighted to be a member
I enjoyed the look back to 2007. Iowa has changed a lot since then.
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