SUMMIT LISTS LANDOWNERS
Summit Carbon Solutions today is providing state regulators with lists of landowners along its proposed pipeline who have not agreed to voluntary easements. Justin Kirchoff, president of Summit Ag Investors, says hundreds of people HAVE signed contracts to let the carbon pipeline run through their property.
Summit submitted an application to the Iowa Utilities Board for a pipeline permit earlier this year. State regulations require disclosure of which parcels along the route are not yet secured voluntarily.
Kirchoff says people understandably have questions about carbon capture and the pipeline itself.
The Dakota Access pipeline, which cuts diagonally through Iowa, was first proposed nearly a decade ago. In 2017, it began shipping crude oil from North Dakota to a terminal in Illinois.
Kirchoff says Summit has obtained voluntary easements from about a third of landowners in five states. The pipeline’s Iowa segment is to connect with a dozen ethanol plants in the state, to lower the carbon footprint of the fuel that’s produced. These connections include Plymouth Energy in Merrill, Siouxland Energy Cooperative near Sioux Center, and Little Sioux Corn Processors near Marcus.
Plymouth County’s county board of supervisors is among several who have urged state officials to reject eminent domain requests connected to carbon pipelines. The eminent domain process would let the company seize land from property owners who haven’t signed voluntary easements. Summit and two other companies have proposed building carbon pipelines through Iowa.
CAASA PICNIC
A community picnic is planned for early this evening in downtown Le Mars to benefit CAASA. Iowa BBQ is serving from 5 to 6-30 pm. Wet Nose Rescue will be on hand with animals needing foster care and/or adoption. There will be yard games with law enforcement officers, and Le Mars Fire Rescue will be on hand with some of their equipment. The event is free to the public, and takes place from 5 to 6-30 PM at the Oleson Cultural Event Center. CAASA is a non-profit organization providing services for victims of sexual violence in Plymouth and 18 other Iowa counties.
FOOD AND FARM INDEX
The latest Iowa Farm Bureau Food and Farm index survey is showing the concerns people have with food prices. The Farm Bureau’s Zach Bader says prices were listed at the top of the list of concerns for the first time in nine years of the survey for a couple of items… meat and dairy.
Bader says 79 percent of those in the survey done with Harriss Polls, say they are concerned about the impact of government regulations on the prices.
Bader says they didn’t ask for specifics on the regulation side.
Bader says the survey found that among Iowans who are the primary grocery shopper in their household, 96 percent eat meat at least weekly, and 94 percent consume meat daily, or at least weekly.
IOWA DROUGHT MONITOR
All of Plymouth county, and adjacent parts of Sioux, O’Brien, Cherokee and Woodbury counties, are in extreme drought. Most of the rest of Northwest Iowa includes abnormally dry, moderate drought and severe drought.
Iowa DNR says drought expanded in Iowa after another dry month. Iowa’s July precipitation was 3.75 inches, 1.51 inches below normal for the month.
An area of extreme drought returned to Iowa for the first time since August 2021, and drought conditions were deteriorating as the month ended. Streamflow, groundwater and soil moisture conditions are below normal in parts of Iowa.
ACCELERATE SIOUXLAND
A signup deadline is nearing for a regional leadership development program planned by Northwestern College’s Center for Innovation and Leadership. It’s called Accelerate Siouxland, and it is intended to make participants aware of the many resources available in Siouxland, and to encourage connections between Siouxland leaders. Accelerate Siouxland will meet monthly, from September through April. Participants will study source materials, and hear speakers representing various organizations from throughout Siouxland. The signup deadline is Monday, August 8. Registration will be taken online at nwciowa.edu/innovation and leadership…
ROAD REPAIRS
The Iowa Department of Transportation will temporarily close part of Iowa Highway 3 next week. On Tuesday, August 9, as part of a bridge project, emergency shoulder repairs must be made at the site on Iowa 3 west of county Road K22. Traffic will be detoured around the site on nearby county roads. Highway 3 should be reopened later that day.
SMALL TOWN DEATHS
The investigation continues into the deaths of four people in the northeast Nebraska town of Laurel on Thursday. The Nebraska State Patrol says authorities believe shots were fired in the two homes that were set on fire in the early morning. One person was found dead in one of the houses, and three bodies were discovered in the other home. State officials are urging residents stay vigilant while the suspect remains at large.
TAX FREE WEEKEND
Back-to-school shoppers will get a bit of a break when the annual tax free weekend starts today. This is Iowa Department of Revenue spokesman, John Fuller.
Fuller says you can purchase clothing and shoes tax-free.
Fuller says he is often asked if the sales tax holiday includes online sales.
He expects a lot of Iowans to take advantage of the event.
Iowa’s tax free weekend ends at 11:59 p-m this Saturday.
ABORTION VOTE
Iowa Democrats say this week’s Kansas vote to uphold abortion rights shows that the same thing could happen here. Iowa House Democratic leader Jennifer Konfrst says the vote shows that “Midwesterners believe in reproductive choice.” A court ruled in 2019 that the Kansas Constitution guarantees the right to an abortion. Tuesday, 59-percent of Kansas voters opposed changing their state constitution. There is a similar situation in Iowa based on a 2018 state Supreme Court ruling.
