By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

A bill to let residents in rural areas capture or kill skunks, opossum or raccoons that are a nuisance is on its way to the governor, but not before one last laugh about how clever — and destructive — raccoons can be.

Senator William Dotzler of Waterloo said a raccoon got into an old school bus he uses once a year to haul riders to the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

“He ate all kinds of stuff but the worst part of aggravation is I had a RAGBRAI hat…and that raccoon defecated in my hat on the way out of the bus!” Dotzler said, as gales of laughter rolled through the Senate.

Under current law, Iowans have to call a state-licensed wildlife control business to trap a raccoon if it’s causing a nuisance. The bill says people who live in rural areas outside of city limits would have permission to shoot to kill a raccoon or a skunk or opossum that’s ripping into things or chowing on food that’s not for them. Senator Tom Shipley of Nodaway said the raccoon population has “exploded” in Iowa, partly because there’s no market for raccoon pelts.

“Consequently they have become a tremendous nuisance, destroying agricultural crops, but also damaging houses — property in all aspects,” Shipley said this evening, “and this is just going to hopefully get that population under control.”

Shipley ended his comments on the bill by suggesting there may be someone in Glenwood with a replacement for the commemorative cap ruined by the raccoon on Dotzler’s RAGBRAI bus.

The bill passed the House March 7 on an 87-11 vote and cleared the Senate tonight 47-2.