Opponents of Eminent Domain Seeking Protection from Iowa Lawmakers
(Des Moines, IA) — Several landowners testified at a hearing on an eminent domain bill at the State Capitol Tuesday. They asked lawmakers to protect their land from companies that want to build carbon dioxide pipelines in Iowa. Dan Tronchetti of Paton says he and his wife have been farmers for more than 40 years and now pipeline company Summit Carbon is telling them they don’t have property rights — and they might as well sign a voluntary easement. A Senate panel advanced a bill that would take away the Iowa Utilities Board’s ability to grant eminent domain rights to private companies. But the senators who moved it forward said the bill will need changes.
Residents Concerned About Proposed Wind Farm
(Undated) — MidAmerican Energy is proposing a wind farm of around 100 wind turbines in Mills and Pottawattamie counties as part of their effort to achieve a 100 percent renewable energy supply. But some residents in the path of the wind farm are concerned about how it will alter their community. Treynor farmer Corey Vorthmann says he believes the sound and light that wind turbines produce would be disruptive to residents. Charity Duey lives in Silver City and says the uncertainty of how the wind turbines may impact everything from the quality of life to migratory birds concerns her. Almost 800 people have joined a Facebook group dedicated to stopping the project. MidAmerican is in the process of gauging landowners’ interest and hopes to complete the project in 2024.
Ukraine Native Monitors Developments from Iowa
(Ames, IA) — An Iowa State University employee who is a native of Ukraine is monitoring closely the developments in her homeland. Shalika (SHALL-uh-kuh) Khindurangala (HIN-duh-rong-uh-luh K is silent ) works in the College of Business and says after a lot of discussions she got her mother, father, and brother to come to Iowa for a visit. Khindurangala says she monitors a lot of different news coming from Ukraine — and calls it informational warfare with a lot of fearmongering and a lot of deliberate, intentional articles designed to make sure that people are in constant fear. She says Russia needs to understand they can’t dictate what Ukraine does anymore as they are an independent country with their own agenda.
Voting Underway for Iowa’s Best Burger
(Undated) — Whether you like them cooked medium rare and loaded with bacon, cheese and the rest of the fixings or simply with ketchup and a pickle, the search is on to find Iowa’s Best Burger for 2022. Kylie Peterson is spokeswoman for the Iowa Beef Industry Council. She says they’re looking for a burger that is a “100% pure beef patty and served on a bun or bread product. Spices can be used, along with any “combination of condiments and toppings.” Bambino’s in Ossian won last year’s Best Burger in Iowa. To nominate a restaurant, visit I-A-Beef-Dot-org.
Legislative Committee Approves Emergency Rules On Paraeducators
(Des Moines, IA) — A legislative committee has approved emergency rules that will let Iowa school districts continue to use paraeducators as substitute teachers. The action was necessary because the governor’s public health emergency proclamation is set to expire at midnight. The same committee is also proposing legislation directing schools to make a good faith effort to find substitute teachers and ending the policy when the current school year is over.
Grassley Pushes For Passage Of EAGLES Act For School Safety
(Washington, DC) — U-S Senator Chuck Grassley is pushing for passage of his bill called the EAGLES Act. The Iowa Republican says the measure would expand the role of the U-S Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center to identify and manage threats from teenagers before they result in more tragic shootings. Seventeen people were killed at a Parkland, Florida high school four years ago today (Tuesday). Under his bill, Grassley says trained professionals would work to identify and manage threats at the high school level before they happen. He says the bill has wide bipartisan support in the U-S Senate.
Fort Dodge Police Investigate Shots That Hit Home Early Tuesday, Narrowly Missed 2
(Fort Dodge, IA) — Fort Dodge police say a bullet fired into a home early Tuesday morning narrowly missed a sleeping eight-year-old child and the child’s mother. No injuries were reported and no names have been released. K-C-C-I T-V reports dispatchers received several calls about multiple gunshots being fired at about 2:15 a-m. The home was hit several times. A Fort Dodge Police news release says there’s no indication the home was targeted. It calls the shooting a “senseless act of gun violence.”
Dubuque Public Schools Applying to Open Permanent Online School Option
(Dubuque, IA) — The Dubuque School Board has voted to apply to offer a permanent online school option. K-C-R-G T-V reports that state Accreditation would be needed. The application would be open to students in the sixth grade and up. The district will devote six full-time and eight part-time staff members to the effort. Cedar Rapids and Iowa City schools have taken similar steps in an effort to make their online school a permanent option.
