On this episode, we listen back to a 2025 conversation with Dawson resident and Air Force veteran Justin Wolfe, who received bronze at the 10th annual Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada. Adaptive sports have helped Wolfe push past limitations from his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Troy Peterson, a fellow veteran and Winterset resident, helped Justin turn to sports through his non-profit ValorFit. Later in the hour, research from ecologists Steven Dinsmore and Victoria Fasbender at Iowa State University demonstrates that humans can tweak their behavior in relatively small ways that could make a positive impact for the pectoral sandpiper, a migratory shore bird that often stops in Iowa on the way from breeding grounds in the Arctic to where they winter in South America. (This episode was originally produced Feb. 25, 2025.)
Madeleine Charis King
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Iowa Public Radio
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The Iowa Wildlife Federation promotes the national program, which helps people certify their yards and other outdoor spaces as healthy habitats for local wildlife. -
In 2022, Ava Jones was an outstanding high school basketball player, heading for a college career at the University of Iowa, when her life changed in a moment. Jones was walking with her parents and younger brother in Louisville, Kentucky, when an impaired driver jumped the curb and struck them. Ava and her mother Amy were seriously injured, and her father Trey died days after the incident. The University of Iowa honored Jones' scholarship to attend college, and 2025 brought her another life-altering circumstance: a cancer diagnosis. She is now in remission and shares her story of resilience. Later in the episode, Cathy McMullen of Iowa State University joins to talk about woodland wildflowers that are beginning to bloom around the state, and how Iowans can grow their own. -
The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City shared plans to reopen its visitor center, which has been closed for nearly two years due to major damage caused by a severe hailstorm. It's also seeking public input as it reevaluates what educational opportunities it can offer.
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Bison once dominated North America, with estimates between 30 and 60 million once roaming and shaping the prairies and grasslands. Westward expansion and U.S. policy greatly diminished the species, and by 1870, there were no more bison in the state of Iowa. On this episode, we learn about the keystone species with wildlife experts Jim Pease and Pete Eyheralde, and how the species became a conservation success story. We'll also learn about a herd of 70 bison at the Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa from visitor services manager Nancy Corona.
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According to new DNR reports, raptor surveyors and volunteers documented 58 osprey fledglings and 28 peregrine falcon fledglings in 2025. The positive numbers stem from years-long restoration efforts in Iowa. -
A nonprofit that grew out of one woman’s basement in Des Moines rehabilitates thousands of wild birds every year. But as it nears capacity, the founder plans to build Iowa's first wild bird hospital and education center.
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is recommending a 5% increase in hunting, fishing and trapping license fees to keep pace with inflation and increasing costs. License fees go to the state's Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund. -
We honor Jane Goodall’s legacy with a look back at her 2025 conversation and reflect on her impact with wildlife biologist Jim Peases.
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources discovered two pallid sturgeon for the first time in the lower Des Moines River earlier this year. The ancient fish is considered one of the rarest and most endangered species in North America.
