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Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were dead for some time, warrant shows

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their dogs were apparently dead for some time before a maintenance worker discovered their bodies at the couple’s home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, investigators said.

The bodies were found Wednesday. Denise Avila, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, said there was no indication they had been shot or had any wounds that would indicate foul play. But Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office detectives wrote in a search warrant affidavit investigators thought the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”

Hackman, 95, was in an entryway, and his 65-year-old wife, Betsy Arakawa, was lying on her right side in the bathroom. A space heater was next to her head and may have fallen when she abruptly dropped to the floor, according to the affidavit.

The New Mexico Gas Co. tested the gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to the warrant. At the time, it didn’t find any signs of problems and the Fire Department found no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning. A detective wrote that there were no obvious signs of a gas leak, but he noted that people exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide might not show signs of poisoning.

The sheriff’s office planned a Friday afternoon news conference to provide updates on the case.

The gruff but beloved Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

“He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” his daughters and granddaughter said in a statement Thursday. “We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”

Worker found bodies of Hackman and his wife

According to the search warrant affidavit, a maintenance worker reported that the home’s front door was open when he arrived to do routine work Wednesday, and he called police after finding the bodies.

But in a 911 call, the maintenance worker said he was unable to get inside when the operator asked whether the people in the house were breathing.

“I have no idea,” the subdivision’s caretaker said. “I am not inside the house. It’s closed. It’s locked. I can’t go in. But I can see she’s laying down on the floor from the window.”

He and another worker later told authorities that they rarely saw the homeowners and their last contact with them had been about two weeks ago.

Hackman appeared to have fallen, a deputy observed. A cane was nearby.

A dead German shepherd was found in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, police said. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said during an unrelated news conference Thursday that the dog was found in a kennel. Two healthy dogs were found on the property — one inside and one outside.

“There was no indication of a struggle,” Mendoza said. “There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed, you know, that would be indication that there was a crime that had occurred.”

Results of autopsies conducted on both bodies are not available yet, sheriff’s officials said, noting that carbon monoxide and toxicology test results are pending.

The search warrant affidavit suggests that police appear to have a working theory that “some kind of gas poisoning” happened, but that they don’t know yet and aren’t ruling anything out, Loyola Marymount University law professor Laurie Levenson said.

“They don’t have clear evidence that it’s any type of homicide, but they’re asking for blunt instruments or other weapons that could be used,” said Levenson, who has no connection to the investigation. “It doesn’t also look like some kind of planned double-suicide.”

William & Mary Law School professor Jeffrey Bellin said the request for a search warrant was somewhat unusual because investigators who file one usually believe a specific crime was committed. In this case, no alleged crime was mentioned, Bellin said.

Police tend to overstate what they know, but this is the opposite, said Bellin, who also isn’t tied to the investigation.

“It just struck me as very careful in a way that search warrant affidavits often are not,” he said.

Actor known for his versatility

Hackman routinely showed up on Hollywood lists of greatest American actors of the 20th century. He could play virtually any kind of role, from comic book villain Lex Luthor in “Superman” to a coach finding redemption in the sentimental favorite “Hoosiers.”

Hackman was a five-time Oscar nominee who won best actor in a leading role for “The French Connection” in 1972 and best actor in a supporting role for “Unforgiven” two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year’s ceremony.

Tributes quickly poured in from Hollywood.

“There was no finer actor than Gene,” actor-director Clint Eastwood, Hackman’s “Unforgiven” co-star, said in a statement. “Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much.”

Hackman and Arakawa settled in Santa Fe

Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s. They soon moved in together and relocated to Santa Fe by the end of the decade.

Their Pueblo revival home, a style typical in the area, sits on a hill in a gated community with views of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The four-bedroom home on 6 acres (2.4 hectares) was built in 1997 and had an estimated market value of a little over $4 million, according to Santa Fe County property tax records.

Hackman and his wife also owned a more modest home next door.

Hackman co-wrote three novels, starting with the swashbuckler, “Wake of the Perdido Star,” with Daniel Lenihan in 1999, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. He then penned two by himself, concluding with “Pursuit” in 2013, about a female police officer on the tail of a predator.

In his first couple of decades in New Mexico, Hackman was often seen around the historic state capital, known as an artist enclave, tourism destination and retreat for celebrities.

He served on the board of trustees for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum from 1997-2004, the museum said in a statement.

Hackman’s later years

In recent years, he was far less visible, though even the most mundane outings caught the attention of the press. There were articles about him attending a show at a performing arts center in 2018, as well as pumping gas, doing yard work and getting a chicken sandwich at Wendy’s in 2023.

Aside from appearances at awards shows, he was rarely seen in the Hollywood social circuit and retired from acting about 20 years ago. His was the rare Hollywood retirement that actually lasted.

Hackman had three children from a previous marriage. He and Arakawa had no children together but were known for having German shepherds.

Iowa Ag Secretary discusses federal bird flu plan

By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says he’s encouraged by the announcement of a plan by the U.S. Ag Secretary to address Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

Naig tells Radio Iowa it is a five-pronged plan. “To say, what more can we do? And how can we try to get ahead of this? Of course, that’s important for producers, but also for consumers,” he says. “Obviously, we see the price of eggs and after three years of high path affecting production, now’s the time to look at some different strategies.”

He says the plan has some new things and some that have been already in use. “Some additional focus on biosecurity, some more support for farmers, more compensation for some of their losses, and also now a bringing a focus to potentially bring vaccine into the picture,” Naig says. Naig says the biosecurity would help keep the disease from getting into facilities. “U.S.D.A. has had a pilot that was developed to allow for some biosecurity audits on farms. It was being piloted, and some folks in Iowa were making use of that. And I think what you saw was them saying, the pilot has worked, let’s make that nationwide, and so to provide biosecurity audits to commercial poultry producers,” he says. “And then actually, U.S.D.A. has indicated they will pay some cost share on improvements to facilities that may, in fact, help to improve that biosecurity.”

Naig says the use of vaccines has some issues that would have to be worked through. “Different sectors of the industry view it differently, but certainly for egg producers, vaccine makes all kinds of sense. There’s still research and development that’s needed. There’s strategies that need to be developed, trade negotiations that need to occur. So it’s not a silver bullet, and it’s not an easy answer,” Naig says.

Naig says the bird flu has taken a large toll on Iowa poultry producers. “There is some compensation paid to producers, but it’s nothing like the losses that they’re experiencing. And so that is challenging. Of course then consumers are seeing the impact as well in terms of reduced availability while demand is high. And so that’s crunching as consumers as well,” he says.

He says the impact producers goes well beyond the monetary impact. “It’s quite a stressful event to go through. It’s emotionally draining. It’s very challenging. These folks, they get up every day and care for animals, to have to see them sick and disposed of is very troubling. So our hearts go out to them,” Naig says. Naig says Ag Secretary Brook Rollins has pledged $500 million to support on-farm biosecurity assessments and cost-share funding, which will help farmers make necessary infrastructure improvements. The plan also commits $400 million to update indemnity tables to ensure farmers are receiving fair market rates for birds that have to be destroyed.

Red Flag Warning Today

DES MOINES — A Red Flag Warning is in effect for our area today.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines issued the warning for much of central and southern Iowa. It is in effect from 12pm-6pm.

The forecast calls for west to northwest winds of 25-35mph, with gusts of 40-50mph, as well as humidity as low as 25 percent. Any fires that develop in these conditions will likely spread rapidly, and outdoor burning is therefore not recommended.

No. 4 Warhawks Nab State Berth

MARSHALLTOWN – Six North Mahaska Warhawks scored seven points or more Wednesday night to earn a spot on the Class 2A girl’s state basketball tournament. The fourth-ranked Warhawks held off Hudson 48-39 to advance and will face Central Lyon in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 4.

The teams traded leads throughout the first quarter and the first three-fourths of the second. Hudson held a 10-9 edge after the first eight minutes. NM was ahead 15-14 when Warhawk senior Kayla Readshaw drilled a 3-pointer with 2 minutes 56 seconds to play in the half. They would never relinquish the lead.

North Mahaska saw leads of 8-10 points diminish to two but never gave in to the Hudson onslaught. 

“It was another big team win for us,” said NM coach L.E. Moore is taking his fifth NM team to state. “We had to change some things up when our shots weren’t falling but the girls stayed after it.”

Hudson scored the first two baskets then Warhawk senior Regan Grewe drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner and on the next position duplicated the effort from the right. Readshaw’s first triple put NM up 9-4. The Pirates came back to take the lead and the teams swapped scores until Readshaw hit her second three.

North Mahaska had trouble with Hudson star Madison Willand, who finished the game with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Ansley Trunck scored 11 for the Pirates.

North Mahaska scored from inside and outside in the contest and secured the victory with free throws down the stretch. NM hit nine 3-pointers from four different players and spread the scoring across the lineup.

Grewe led the scoring with 11 and Breckyn Schilling added 10. Nataliya Linder, Readshaw and Aly Steil each scored eight, and Sydney Andersen put in seven.

North Mahaska forced 19 Hudson turnovers, eight coming on steals. Steil, who had a solid floor game, accounted for four and Readshaw snagged three. Schilling, Grewe and Linder each blocked a shot. The Warhawks outrebounded Hudson 31-21 with Andersen and Linder leading the way with nine and eight respectively.

“Aly played a heck of a game,” said Moore. “She kept the ball alive and allowed us to keep working.”

Steil was quick to give her teammates the credit for the win.

“My teammates kept moving and getting a position for me to get them the ball,” said Steil. “My folks got me into basketball when I was little and I had some good teachers in handling the ball. We are hard to beat when we play together.”

North Mahaska enters the state tournament as the number four seed and a record of 22-2. Central Lyon, from Northwest Iowa, is the fifth seed with a mark of 19-4. The teams will meet at Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday, playing the last game of the session at 8:30 p.m. The winner will advance to the 2A semifinal against either top seed Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (24-0) or Treynor (21-3).

Private company rockets toward the moon in the latest rush of lunar landing attempts

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private company launched another lunar lander Wednesday, aiming to get closer to the moon’s south pole this time with a drone that will hop into a jet-black crater that never sees the sun.

Intuitive Machines’ lander, named Athena, caught a lift with SpaceX from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It’s taking a fast track to the moon — with a landing on March 6 — while hoping to avoid the fate of its predecessor, which tipped over at touchdown.

Never before have so many spacecraft angled for the moon’s surface all at once. Last month, U.S. and Japanese companies shared a rocket and separately launched landers toward Earth’s sidekick. Texas-based Firefly Aerospace should get there first this weekend after a big head start.

The two U.S. landers are carrying tens of millions of dollars’ worth of experiments for NASA as it prepares to return astronauts to the moon.

“It’s an amazing time. There’s so much energy,” NASA’s science mission chief Nicky Fox told The Associated Press a few hours ahead of the launch.

This isn’t Intuitive Machines’ first lunar rodeo. Last year, the Texas company made the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years. But an instrument that gauges distance did not work and the lander came down too hard and broke a leg, tipping onto its side.

Intuitive Machines said it has fixed the issue and dozens of others. A sideways landing like last time would prevent the drone and a pair of rovers from moving out. NASA’s drill also needs an upright landing to pierce beneath the lunar surface to gather soil samples for analysis.

“Certainly, we will be better this time than we were last time. But you never know what could happen,” said Trent Martin, senior vice president of space systems.

It’s an extraordinarily elite club. Only five countries have pulled off a lunar landing over the decades: Russia, the U.S., China, India and Japan. The moon is littered with wreckage from many past failures.

The 15-foot (4.7-meter) Athena will target a landing 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the lunar south pole. Just a quarter-mile (400 meters) away is a permanently shadowed crater — the ultimate destination for the drone named Grace.

Named after the late computer programming pioneer Grace Hopper, the 3-foot (1-meter) drone will make three increasingly higher and longer test hops across the lunar surface using hydrazine fueled-thrusters for flight and cameras and lasers for navigation.

If those excursions go well, it will hop into the nearby pitch-black crater, an estimated 65 feet (20 meters) deep. Science instruments from Hungary and Germany will take measurements at the bottom while hunting for frozen water.

It will be the first up-close peek inside one of the many shadowed craters dotting both the north and south poles. Scientists suspect these craters are packed with tons of ice. If so, this ice could be transformed by future explorers into water to drink, air to breathe and even rocket fuel.

NASA is paying $62 million to Intuitive Machines to get its drill and other experiments to the moon. The company, in turn, sold space on the lander to others. It also opened up the Falcon rocket to ride-sharing.

Tagalongs included NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer satellite, which will fly separately to the moon over the next several months before entering lunar orbit to map the distribution of water below. Also catching a ride was a private spacecraft that will chase after an asteroid for a flyby, a precursor to asteroid mining.

Weekly Fuel Report

DES MOINES — The price of regular unleaded gasoline fell 5 cents, averaging $2.96 across Iowa according to AAA.

Crude Oil Summary

  • The price of global crude oil fell this week on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) by $3.93 per barrel over last week, currently priced at $68.92.
  • Brent crude oil fell by $3.79 and is currently priced at $72.88.
  • One year ago, WTI crude sold for $78.53 and Brent crude was $84.01.

Motor Fuels

  • As of Wednesday, the price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $2.96 across Iowa according to AAA.
    • Prices fell 5 cents from last week’s price and are down 3 cents from a year ago.
    • The national average on Wednesday was $3.13, down 3 cents from last week’s price.
  • Retail diesel prices in Iowa fell 2 cents this week with a statewide average of $3.44.
    • One year ago, diesel prices averaged $3.81 in Iowa.
    • The current Iowa diesel price is 24 cents lower than the national average of $3.68.
  • Wholesale ethanol held steady and is currently priced at $2.16.
  • The current Des Moines Terminal/Rack Prices are $2.03 for U87-E10, $2.20 for Unleaded 87 (clear), $2.31 for ULSD#2, $2.55 for ULSD#1, and $1.93 per gallon for E-70 prices.

Heating Fuels

  • Natural gas prices were down $.21 at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $3.99 MMbtu.
  • Propane prices averaged $1.69 per gallon in Iowa.
  • Home heating oil prices had a statewide average of $3.02 per gallon.

Tips for saving energy on the road or at home are available at energy.gov and fueleconomy.gov.

Ottumwa Woman Arrested Following Alleged Assault in Restaurant Parking Lot

OTTUMWA – An Ottumwa woman is facing charges after allegedly assaulting multiple people at a local restaurant on Tuesday night.

According to court records, the Ottumwa Police Department reported that officers were dispatched to the Culver’s on Venture Avenue to respond to an assault in progress. Authorities say that 23-year-old Adelein Dykstra-Morrison of Ottumwa assaulted at least one person in the parking lot of the business.

Additionally, Dykstra-Morrison allegedly went inside the restaurant and lunged over a counter to grab an employee, and then proceeded to punch them in the back of the head. Police say the victim had raised bumps in the back of her head from the alleged assault.

Court records also show that Dykstra-Morrison allegedly began running around the restaurant while screaming at other customers, even throwing herself on top of an occupied table and overturning it.

Dykstra-Morrison was eventually arrested and charged with 3 misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct, interference with official acts, and assault causing bodily injury. She is currently being held in the Wapello County Jail without bond.

North Mahaska Rallies Past Montezuma to Advance to Substate

GRINNELL – Beating any team three times in a season is a difficult task. Mix in your rival and a substate final berth on the line and you can expect a lot of emotion and excitement. North Mahaska rallied from a 12-point deficit in the third quarter and held Montezuma to just three baskets in the fourth to advance to the substate final with a 66-57 win.

North Mahaska (21-3) will now face sixth-ranked Gladbrook-Reinbeck (21-3) in Marshalltown Saturday, with the winner advancing to the state tournament.

The game opened with North Mahaska’s Asher DeBoef hitting a 3-pointer nine seconds into the game then it was nearly five and a half minutes before they would score again. Meanwhile, Montezuma scored 11 unanswered points. By the end of the period the Braves led 21-14. Each team hit three treys in the second quarter as Montezuma retained the seven-point margin at halftime.

“They are a very quality opponent,” said NM senior Gabe Hora. “At the beginning of the game we did not start out well but we were able to claw back and then we were ahead we were able to stay ahead with our defense.”

Midway through the third period Montezuma had powered their lead to 44-32. At 3 minute 10 second mark DeBoef hit a 3-pointer and Gabe Hora added another to close the gap. Montezuma’s Kohen Holland got an offensive rebound and outback as the quarter came to an end for a 46-38 lead.

Montezuma’s Brady Boulton, who scored a game-high 30 points, hit a basket off a steal to start the final period. Hora answered with a trey to close the gap and Holland hit another jumper. Holland hit another basket and free throw with 5:13 to play for a 53-44 lead. Hora then hit two 3-pointers in a span of 30 seconds and Lucas Nunnikhoven added one from the corner to tie the game at 53-53.

With 3:23 to play, a foul was whistled on Montezuma and the scorer’s table said it was the fifth foul sending Hora to the line for two shots he his one for a 54-53 lead. With 2:49 there was a stoppage of play on a turnover and the officials went to the scorer’s bench where it was discovered there were only four team fouls on Monte and the point was taken away.

“Kind of a weird situation,” said Warhawk coach Kevin Kelderman. “They gave Montezuma two team fouls on their fourth team foul, so we shot free throws when it was really their fourth team foul. According to the rules if there has not been a stoppage of play other than when its finally stopped and  talked about, they can go back and take points off the board. That’s the rule but why don’t we get the ball then? We had possession and they took away our possession.”

A minute later DeBoef grabs a rebound and puts it up and is fouled. He completed the traditional 3-point play to put NM up 56-53 and forcing a Montezuma timeout.

“I told them we had to keep our composure and get stops,” said Kelderman. “I keep it simple. If they don’t score, we are going to win. We talked a little bit about what we were going to do with Brady by blitzing him and double team him a little bit more. The rebounds were huge. Holland is such a good rebounder we had to try to keep him off the boards.”

North Mahaska forced Montezuma to foul and the Warhawks hit 11-of-15 in the final period. Meanwhile the defense kept the Braves from scoring for four and a half minutes. In the final 4:14 Montezuma managed a pair of baskets and two free throws.

“It was a great ballgame,” said Kelderman. “Obviously the kids played a big fourth quarter defensively and offensively. We put up a lot of points in the fourth quarter but we also played a heck of a defensive quarter. Put those two things together and good things are going to happen.

DeBoef finished the night as the leading scorer for the Warhawks with 19 points and nine rebounds. Lucas Nunnikhoven added 14 and Hora added 12 with six rebounds and six assists. Adrain Smith added eight points and seven rebounds while Trenton DeBruin scored seven with six rebounds and blocked a shot.

Kelderman said it was the first half rebounding from DeBruin that kept the Warhawks in the game.

“Trenton was huge in the first half, especially just keeping us in it,” said Kelderman. “They were taking it to us in the first half and he came in and grabbed some key rebounds.”

Kelderman said the big shots are a major part of this team’s personality.

“It’s contagious,” said Kelderman. “I say hitting is contagious in baseball and shooting is contagious in basketball. Once Gabe hit one, then Lucas hit one in the corner, but Gabe hitting those shots was huge. We moved Jack up and said go be a screener and see if we could get him some looks.”

Hora said, “Because we needed a spark on offense I was trying to get us back into the game. I kind of got into a zone and my teammates got me the basketball and let it fly.”

Holland scored 19 points and 13 rebounds. 

Facing Gladbrook-Reinbeck will be a tall challenge for the Warhawks.

“They are highly ranked and you are going to face good teams at this point,” said Kelderman. “I think they are pretty strong inside. So, it could be kind of a battle of different styles. They are pretty big. It’s going to be a test for us.”

British musicians release a silent album to protest plans to let AI use their work

LONDON (AP) — A new album called “Is This What We Want?” features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians — and the sound of silence.

With contributions from British artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control.

The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out.

Critics of the idea fear that will make it harder for artists to retain control of their work and will undermine Britain’s creative industries. Elton John and Paul McCartney are among those who have spoken out against the plan.

The protest album features “almost silence,” said composer and AI developer Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album. The 12 tracks consist of recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, “to symbolize what we expect will happen if the government’s proposals go through.”

“It’s a mix of artists that everyone’s heard of and, you know, and many musicians who are not household names,” he told The Associated Press. “And I think that’s really important because this issue is going to affect all of us.”

The titles of the 12 tracks spell out: “The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies.”

Profits will be donated to the musicians’ charity Help Musicians.

“The government’s proposal would hand the life’s work of the country’s musicians to AI companies, for free, letting those companies exploit musicians’ work to outcompete them,” Newton-Rex said.

“It is a plan that would not only be disastrous for musicians, but that is totally unnecessary,” he said. “The U.K. can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus.”

Britain’s center-left Labour Party government says it wants to make the U.K. a world leader in AI. In December, it announced a consultation into how copyright law can “enable creators and right holders to exercise control over, and seek remuneration for, the use of their works for AI training” while also ensuring “AI developers have easy access to a broad range of high-quality creative content.” The consultation closes on Tuesday.

Publishers, artists’ organizations and media companies, including The Associated Press, have banded together as the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to oppose weakening copyright protections.

Several U.K. newspapers ran wraparounds over their front pages on Tuesday, criticizing the government consultation and saying: “Let’s protect the creative industries — it’s only fair.”

The British government said in a statement that it was “consulting on a new approach that protects the interests of both AI developers and right holders and delivers a solution which allows both to thrive.” It added that “no decisions have been taken.”

Eager paddlers encouraged to wait for warmer water temperatures

DES MOINES — The weather is starting to feel like spring, but water temperatures are still dangerously cold.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recommends that paddlers wait for consistent warm weather to allow the water temperatures to rise slowly. It could be several weeks before water temperatures are ideal and safe as water and air temperatures continue to change.

“Air temperatures are warmer than normal this year, but the water is still dangerously cold,” said Todd Robertson, Iowa DNR River Programs Water Trails coordinator. “We have not had enough consistently warm days to raise water temperatures adequately. Cold water shock and hypothermia can set in quickly if you fall into the water at current temperatures.”

Safety Tips for Paddling in Cold Water Conditions

  • Always wear a life jacket. Not only does the life jacket help keep your head above water, it helps to keep your organs warmer.
  • Check your canoe or kayak and gear for any needed repairs or maintenance after being stored for several months.
  • Don’t paddle alone, especially in cold water, use a buddy system. Go with a small group of paddlers and know which paddler has the most experience.
  • Let a friend or loved one know where you are going and when you are expected to return. It will be easier to find you if you need help.
  • Dress for the water temperature, not the air temperature. Plan as if you were to be in the water at some point.  A wetsuit or drysuit is a must. Dress in layers so you can peel a layer off if you get overheated.
  • Bring along a dry bag with extra clothing to change into should you get wet. Get out of wet, cold clothing as soon as possible. Having the right gear and understanding the stages of hypothermia is crucial for remaining safe.
  • Stay away from strainers, wood/branch piles that can pull a paddler under. These are usually found on outside river bends where the current is going and are deadly hazards that must be avoided.

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