SPORTS BRIEFS

Chronic wasting

disease found in

several counties

     Fourteen tissue samples from wild Iowa deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease, bringing the total deer testing positive to chronic wasting disease in Iowa to 44.

     The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is waiting for results on follow up tests for two suspect samples that could raise the total positives for the year to 16. The deer tissue was collected primarily during the fall from hunter harvested and road killed deer.

   “The way that this disease moves, these results were not unexpected,” said Todd Bishop, chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Bureau.

   Eight positive deer were confirmed in Allamakee County, four in Clayton County, one (plus two suspects) in Wayne County and, for the first time, one in Dubuque County. The Dubuque County deer was a roadkill, 2-1/2 miles southeast of the city limits.

   “Hunters are doing an excellent job harvesting deer and providing samples in our priority areas, areas where the disease had been confirmed before. We want to slow this down as best we can while still having high quality deer hunting, hoping science can provide some solutions down the road,” Bishop said.

   More than 6,800 tissue samples have been collected during the 2018 deer season. The DNR contacted each hunter whose deer tested positive and offered to collect the meat and any remaining bones and tissue. Hunters turned over the meat in every case. The collected material was bagged, sealed, then disposed in a local landfill. 

Schmitt records

nine-pin 300

     Eric Schmitt of Monticello recorded a 300 bowling game during the Sunday Night Fun League Jan. 13 at Legacy Lanes.

     The league uses nine-pin scoring, meaning the first roll counts as a strike when a bowler knocks down either nine or 10 pins. Schmitt, who has had three previous 300 games in the league, had nine regular strikes and three nine-pin strikes.