Weather Followers Miss Elwynn Taylor’s Friday Radio Presence

Recent changes in programming at Iowa Public Radio have disappointed many central Iowa farmers who love to listen to Elwynn Taylor.

Taylor is an Iowa State University Extension Climatologist who, for decades on WOI public radio in Iowa, shared a unique perspective on the weather. Taylor is much more than a weather man; he's an agricultural meteorologist, and he's become a fixture for farmers and other radio listeners who've come to rely on his insights into the many ways that weather relates to Iowa agriculture.Taylor's regular appearances started long ago on WOI Public Radio in central Iowa. But as the separate public radio stations in the state were merged recently to become Iowa Public Radio, it didn't take long before some programming changes were made. Taylor's regular guest appearance at noon on Friday has been eliminated.

He's not completely gone from public radio in Iowa. Taylor will continue to appear regularly on the noon-hour talk show "Talk@12" along with other regular guests. But already hundreds of farmers and other radio listeners have contacted Iowa Public Radio to ask for more Elwynn Taylor.

In an interview with Iowa Independent, Iowa Public Radio executive director Cindy Browne explained that three hours of talk shows per day have been reduced to two hours.There simply wasn't as much time available for segments like Taylor's.

"Part of the reason for moving from three hours of talk shows per day to two is that our staff were very overstretched, and were not satisfied that they were able to produce a consistent quality," said Browne. "So what we're trying to do is to maintain all of the most popular features of the programs that were airing before, but in a one-hour format. Of course, things shake out a little bit differently. That said, we're constantly reviewing how the shows are doing and also what we're hearing from the listeners.

"One of the great things about radio programs is you can change them," said Browne. "You don't have to lock into something and feel as though you have to make a commitment for a lifetime. You can go in and tweak as you go along, and continue refining it, based on lots of different factors including listener feedback. We're here to serve listeners, so that's a very important component."

Browne said that the Iowa Public Radio talk show team just held a meeting Thursday, where the format of the show was reviewed and discussed. "Of course, part of the conversation involved how is it working out with Elwynn? How is he feeling about it and how is the audience feeling about it? What do we need to think about?" said Browne. "And we're in constant communication with him, and will continue to be brainstorming ways for him to participate in the program."

Iowa Independent visited with Taylor in a telephone interview Wednesday. He said he's grateful to public radio in Iowa for giving him the opportunity to provide a public service for so long. Taylor has been on the radio for more than 25 years, which, he said, "is a long time for a radio or television program by any standard. We owe a real vote of thanks to them for maintaining it for this long, which they did. I'm very grateful to them.

"It's been a lot of good years, and I felt that we did a worthwhile thing, to make the message available about awareness of the weather and educational efforts on how it impacts our lives and economy," said Taylor.

He shared how he got started in his unique field. "I don't know if it's unique, but there weren't and aren't a whole lot of us around. I was the first Extension climatologist," he said. The first Iowa State University Extension Climatologist? "No, the first," he said. "In the world."

The position at ISU Extension became a model for others around the country, and now there are similar climatologist positions in 30 states.

He started appearing on WOI in 1981, as a regular guest for 15 minutes every day. He said that was the format for many years, until once when severe weather hit while he was on the air. Tornadoes and hail were wreaking havoc around the state, and he stayed on air for hours covering the situation. Listeners liked the coverage so much, he was asked to start doing an extended segment every Friday, which continued until this year.

He's seen a lot of wild Iowa weather in those years, always providing plenty to think about how weather related to Iowa's important agricultural economy. Droughts and floods are of course the most memorable, but he said one particular year sticks out in his mind as being unforgettable. "The most memorable, I think, for everyone was the drought of 1988. That was the year that my name was on the front page of the Des Moines Register more than was the governor's name," he laughed.

So what's in store for Iowa weather this year? We could be in for some major weather issues, he said. "There's nothing to stop it from being extreme," said Taylor, noting that it could be either much too wet or much too dry. "We've experienced that some already. Warm times, cold times, wet times, dry times. And there's nothing to stop it from continuing to do that."

"When you have an El Nino, that stops extremes," he explained. "Right now we're sort of in the opposite, called La Nina. And La Nina, I look at it from this point, it's like the absence of policemen. An El Nino sort of polices things, bringing them closer to normal as far as temperature is concerned. La Nina, however, is sort of like you've fired the police force in the city. It doesn't cause crime, but there's nothing standing in its way either."