By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)

Tomorrow’s Black Friday shopping extravaganza, followed by Small Business Saturday, marks a vital kickoff to the holiday shopping season, which a University of Iowa College of Business professor says could be make-or-break time for countless Iowa merchants.

Professor Peggy Stover, who directs the UI’s Marketing Institute, says some businesses may have a so-so 11 months and they rely on this weekend’s events to kickstart consumers for December to meet their margins and stay afloat.

“They’re very important, especially for the small retailers in Iowa, since so many of them are competing against your big box retailers,” Stover says, “and then you have, of course, the online retailers who have managed to carve out a significant market share of the holiday shopping.”

Not too many years ago, a majority of stores opened on Thanksgiving Day to beat the Black Friday deals, but there was a backlash that returned the holiday’s focus to family, reserving Friday for the shop-’til-you-drop enthusiasts. Now, very few retailers are open on Thanksgiving, and even many grocery stores will be closed.

“I think it’s both a great PR move by retailers, but it also comes on the heels of consumers just really realizing that the unsung heroes during the holiday season are the retail workers,” Stover says. “They oftentimes are not able to enjoy the holiday season, much like the rest of us, because they have to work.”

Many factors may impact the shopping season ahead, including high interest rates, inflation, record credit card debt, and the restart of student loan payments. Stover also says there’s a demographic change and a shift in mindsets coming, for which retailers will need to brace.

“You have Gen Z and then the younger Millennials, who they would prefer to pay for an experience versus goods or a product,” Stover says. “Another thing to take into account is that Gen Xers are starting to retire, so now you’re losing a consumer base that could have had more disposable income.”

One regional economist predicts holiday sales may rise three to four percent, but when inflation is factored in, retailers may only see a boost of between zero and one-percent compared to last year.

DES MOINES — Iowa’s most popular hunting seasons are less than two weeks away when more than 100,000 blaze orange clad hunters will be walking, posting, sitting and standing in Iowa’s timber and field edges hoping to tag an Iowa deer. The first deer gun season is Dec. 2-6; the second deer gun season is Dec. 9-17.

The good news is, that Iowa’s deer population is stable to slightly increasing across much of the state, with the exception of certain parts of northwest, west central and southwest Iowa.

“The gun seasons are the most popular of all of our hunting seasons, a lot of great tradition and memories are made during this time,” said Jace Elliott, state deer biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “These two seasons also play an important role for our deer herd management with more than 50 percent of the total harvest typically occurring during these 14 days in December.”

In 2022, hunters reported harvesting 109,600 deer and Elliott is predicting a similar harvest this year. So far in 2023, more than 25,000 deer have been harvested, which is slightly higher than each of the last two years’ harvest up to this point.

“Based on the reported harvest from our earlier seasons, we are expecting a similar harvest total again this year,” he said. “Data from our population surveys suggest there should be just as much, if not more, opportunity to harvest deer as past years in most regions of Iowa.”

While hunter success in earlier seasons has been good, Mother Nature can play a role when hunting opportunities are much shorter. Cool weather with snowfall on opening day leads to higher harvest; warm weather with rain leads to lower harvest. The way too early forecast calls for above normal temperatures.

Method of take for the gun seasons

Over time, the type of firearm allowed in the gun season has expanded from the original shotgun-only, to include muzzleloaders, handguns and, most recently, rifles.

Rifles shooting expanding type bullet with a maximum diameter of no less than .350 of an inch and no larger than .500 of an inch with a publish or calculated muzzle energy of 500 foot pounds or higher are allowed as a method of take in the gun season. The hunting regulations has a list of allowable cartridges that has generated the most questions.

Based on the recent deer hunter survey, the method of hunting during the gun season is split nearly 50-50 between hunters who prefer drive hunting (pushing deer towards hunters on post) and those who prefer stationary hunting (sitting in a tree stand, ground blind, etc.).

Changes to deer seasons

• The antlerless deer quota has been adjusted in 24 counties.
• The Population Management January antlerless-only season will be offered in Allamakee, Winneshiek, Decatur, Appanoose, Monroe, Lucas and Wayne counties if the number of unsold antlerless licenses on the third Monday in December exceeds 100 tags. This season allows the use of any legal method of take, including shotguns, handguns, muzzleloaders, bows, crossbows, and center-fire rifles .223 and larger.
• The Excess Tag January antlerless-only season will be held in any county that still has unsold county antlerless tags by January 10. Only centerfire rifles .223 caliber and above are allowed during this season.
• A new requirement for hunters who harvest an antlered deer is reporting the length of the main beam of each antler.

Phone use while hunting

Reminder to hunters that the use of cellphones, one or two-way radios to communicate the location or direction of game or furbearing animals or to coordinate the movement of other hunters is prohibited.

Outside of very few and specific exceptions, modern technology, including social media and instant messaging apps, is not allowed to assist with the hunt. Hunters are encouraged to keep their phone on their person and not in a backpack for safety reasons.

Be sure to report your harvest

Hunters who harvest a deer are required to report their harvest by midnight on the day after it is tagged or before taking it to a locker or taxidermist. The hunter whose name is on the transportation tag is responsible for making the report. If no deer is harvested, no report is necessary.

Successful hunters have the option to report the harvest by texting the registration number to 1-800-771-4692 and follow the prompts, through the Go Outdoors Iowa app, online at www.iowadnr.gov, by phone at the number listed on the tag, or through a license vendor during their regular business hours.

Main beam antler length added to harvest reporting requirement

Beginning this year, Iowa deer hunters who harvest a buck will have a quick, additional piece of information to report as part of the harvest reporting requirement – the length of the main antler beam. Specifically, hunters will be asked if the main beam length is below or above 14 inches, but will not be required to provide the exact length.

This information will provide buck age structure to the DNR’s harvest data, producing a better overall picture of Iowa’s deer herd from year to year.

Online hunting atlas

Hunters have an online tool that may improve their in-field experience, even before opening day.

The Iowa hunting atlas is an interactive map that shows all available public hunting land that is managed by the state, county or federal governments. The atlas is online at www.iowadnr.gov/hunting. A mobile version is also available.

A click on an area will show basic information like size, habitat type and likely species available.

Deer donation program

The Iowa DNR, the Food Bank of Iowa and 34 meat lockers are participating in the Help Us Stop Hunger program for 2023. Hunters are encouraged to contact a participating locker before they harvest a deer to see if the locker has any additional drop off instructions.

Hunters may also sign up as a deer donor with the Iowa Deer Exchange at www.iowadnr.gov/deer then scroll down to Iowa’s Deer Exchange Program link. There, donors can provide their information on what they are willing to donate. The database creates a map and table with information deer donors and deer recipients can use to get connected.

There are currently 23 hunters registered who are willing to donate deer, and 287 registered recipients wanting venison. Hunters and recipients who had previously registered for the Deer Exchange Program should review their information to make sure it is still accurate and active.

There is no cost to participate. It is illegal to sell wild fish and game in Iowa.

By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)

A few days ago, forecasters were warning of the possibility of snow on or around Thanksgiving, but now that we’re closer to the holiday, foul weather is being removed from the list of likely options.

Meteorologist Allan Curtis, at the National Weather Service, says if you’ll be on the road to visit family and friends for Thursday’s big meal, the roads should be dry.

“At least for Iowa itself, we’ll say the driving weather is going to be pretty good for the holidays, Wednesday through Friday timeframe,” Curtis says. “There is some still some snow within the region but primarily to our west and maybe even off to our southwest, so think of it as Nebraska, Kansas areas.”

It’s predicted Thanksgiving Day should be mostly sunny in Iowa with highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. Curtis says it’s expected to cool off this week, but that’s par for the season.

“No more 60s or even upper 50s, at least for the coming few days, but all that being said, for entering mid to late November, it really isn’t too bad. It’s about average,” Curtis says. “We’re looking at highs in the mid to upper 40s for most of those travel days, Wednesday might be on the warm side in the 50s, and then after Thanksgiving, we drop down into the 30s for highs.”

Many parts of Iowa got rain overnight and this (Monday) morning, the first precipitation we’ve had since before Halloween.

“From this morning through the beginning of the month, we’ve really had zero rain across a lot of the state, so even if it’s light, it’s still the first rain we’ve seen this month,” Curtis says. “I don’t think there’s going to be too many people complaining, although I think many wish we could get a little bit more.”

Keep up with the forecast at weather.gov.