Des Moines Register: Part or all of 13 Iowa counties are in extreme drought territory, a national report indicated Thursday. All together, 23 counties in west-central Iowa, including Polk, Dallas and Madison in metro Des Moines, are experiencing extreme or severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which is updated weekly. The deepening drought is cutting the area’s corn yields and threatening to curb the soybean harvest; burning up pastures and lawns; and requiring some livestock producers to truck water to animals in cases where ponds and creeks are drying up.