BACKYARD FLOCKS
The Le Mars city council today closed the door on a request from a resident to raise poultry in her backyard, but opened the door to further discussion on the issue.
Katie Lochner requested permission to raise her flock at her residence at 820 2nd St SE. The flock of 17 birds includes 13 chickens, two ducks, one goose and a turkey.
The city code prohibits any livestock in the city limits. The city administration recommended denying the request, but recognized that if the council approved, they should consider the size of the flocks to be allowed. Most communities which allow backyard poultry limit the flocks to up to six birds.
The consensus of the council was that a flock the size of Lochner’s is too large to be raised within the city limits. But they also agreed that they might consider approving smaller flocks.
The council by voice vote, denied Lochner’s request. She will have to find a place outside the city limits to take her flock The council also passed a motion to hold a public discussion on whether to amend the ordinance concerning backyard flocks.
COURTROOM HVAC
Plymouth’s County’s Board of Supervisors received information on options to fix a heating issue in the county’s District Courtroom. Since a remodeling of the courtroom, it has been difficult to raise heat in the room. Jordan Metzger with Stone Group Architects presented two options, both having to do with the building’s boiler system, rather than add-ons like forced air or portable heating units. Metzger told the Supervisors that the problem has to do with a miscalculation on the heating system during the courtroom remodeling project. The contractor installed undersized piping in the walls, which constricted the ability to generate additional heat. Metzger’s solution, and the one favored by the Supervisors, would simply remove existing radiant heaters, expand the distribution pipe, and replace the heaters. Both options cost between 26-thousand and 27-thousand dollars. The architect will take the Supervisor’s preference back to the contractor, and await a proposal to the Supervisors.
HINTON MEETING
There will be a special meeting in Hinton next week, to consider upgrades in the city’s water system.
The meeting will be Thursday, June 29th, from 5 to 7 pm. The city began a water study two years ago, and is surveying residents about their preferences. City officials are considering two projects – to drill a new water well, and to build a new water treatment plant. An engineer will present plans at the meeting on June 29, and take questions from the public.
IOWA COURT JUSTICES REMOVAL
A leader in the successful 2010 effort to kick three justices off the Iowa Supreme Court says it may be time for a similar move after the current court deadlocked, preventing a six-week abutilon ban from taking effect in Iowa. Bob Vander Plaats (like “plots”), the president and C-E-O of The Family Leader, campaigned against the retention votes for three Iowa Supreme Court justices who joined the court’s unanimous 2009 opinion legalizing same-sex marriage.
Republican lawmakers passed a so-called fetal heartbeat law in 2018 to ban most abortions in Iowa, but due to court rulings it never took effect. The three justices who kept the blockade in place are not up for a statewide retention vote until 2028. Vander Plaats says there are options before that.
Impeaching an Iowa Supreme Court justice requires a vote in the Iowa House, a trial in the Iowa Senate and then two-thirds of the Senate would have to vote for impeachment. Republicans currently hold the required 34 seats. Last June, both the United States and the Iowa Supreme Courts ruled there was no constitutional right to an abortion and Governor Reynolds asked the state supreme court to reconsider the six week abortion ban she signed in 2018.
A spokeswoman for Iowa’s Justice Not Politics coalition says Vander Plaats is hyping the issue to gain more steam for Republicans heading into the 2024 election. Connie Ryan, who is also executive director of the Iowa Interfaith Alliance, says Iowans support a fair and impartial justice system and just because you disagree with a ruling does not mean the justices aren’t qualified to remain on Iowa’s Supreme Court. All seven members of the Iowa Supreme Court have been appointed by Republican governors.
PIPE ORGAN SHOP
A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled on July 5th in Lake City for a new facility at the site where the Dobson Pipe Organ shop burned to the ground two years ago. John Panning has been with the company since 1984 and took over as president in early 2020.
Dobson Pipe Organ Builders installs organs throughout the country and around the world. Panning says it might have been easier to relocate in a more urban area after the fire, but Panning made the decision to stay in northwest Iowa.
The building was not the only thing destroyed by the fire two years ago. About 20 percent of Dobson’s 99th organ was in the shop when it burned, so crews in Lake City started all over on the instrument, which will be installed in St. James Church in Sydney, Australia.
Dobson’s 100th pipe organ will be installed in the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia — for the school’s centennial celebration in 2024.
RSV VACCINE TRIAL
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is hosting a clinical trial for a vaccine that promises to protect senior citizens against the respiratory disease known as R-S-V. Dr. Patricia Winokur, executive dean of the U-I Carver College of Medicine, says many of the trial’s participants are grandparents. Winokur says they see it as a way to protect themselves from R-S-V as well as their grandkids. The Centers for Disease Control is expected to meet this week to make recommendations on the usage of the G-S-K and Pfizer vaccines. Both were approved by the Food and Drug Administration for adults 60 and older last month. During the past few winters, the U-S has experienced an unusually high amount of respiratory virus activity driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine could be available as soon as this fall.
PIPELINE HEARING
The Iowa Utilities Board has set the permit hearing schedule for the proposed Summit Carbon carbon dioxide pipeline. The I-U-B says the hearing on the pipeline which is projected to cover 688 miles in Iowa will be August 22nd at the Cardiff Event Center in Fort Dodge. The Board will begin the hearing with testimony of landowners subject to eminent domain, and there will be a video livestream of the entire hearing. The I-U-B has already been collecting evidence from those in favor, or who oppose the proposed pipeline. and will add in the information presented at the hearing before making a final decision. Summit proposes a pipeline through Plymouth County, extending north-south through the middle of the county. The line connects ethanol plants in Nebraska, Merrill, and Sioux Center.
HAWARDEN WOMAN ARRESTED
A Hawarden woman has been arrested by Plymouth County authorities on multiple charges surrounding a motor vehicle accident near Akron. The accident occurred on June 12 on Iowa Highway 12. 34 year old Allison McPherson of Hawarden was arrested and taken to the Plymouth County Jail. She was charged with child endangerment, owi first offense, failure to maintain control, leaving the scene of an injury accident, and driving without a valid license. Akron Fire/ EMS assisted at the scene of the accident.
IOWA DEMOCRATS CAUCUS VOTING
National Democratic Party leaders have found the mail-in participation plan for the 2024 Iowa Caucuses does not comply with national party rules, but Iowa Democrats have more time to tweak their proposal. Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says there are missing pieces in the plan — but that was done intentionally. National Democrats have chosen five other states to hold the first presidential primaries in 2024, but details are still being worked out. Iowa Democrats plan to use mail-in presidential preference cards for their Caucuses, but haven’t said when results of the voting would be announced. National party leaders say that date needs to be nailed down — to comply with the party’s plan that South Carolina Democrats host the first presidential primary in 2024.
WEST NILE
The mosquitoes are biting and state health officials have already confirmed Iowa’s first human case of West Nile virus this year, which is several weeks early. The first day of summer is Wednesday and epidemiologist Elizabeth Schiffman says West Nile cases don’t typically start showing up until mid-summer.
The state’s first case was reported Friday in an older adult, between 61-and-80 years, from northwest Iowa’s Plymouth County. A total of nine Iowans were diagnosed with West Nile virus last year, with no deaths. The peak months for West Nile in Iowa are usually August and September. Schiffman says it’s difficult to predict if we’ll see a lot of cases because of mosquitoes’ short life cycle and their sensitivity to weather conditions.
The experts say Iowans who spend time outdoors should wear insect repellant, and dump out any standing water where mosquitoes might breed. Those infected with West Nile may show no symptoms, or they may have a fever, headache, disorientation and muscle weakness. Learn more at: https://hhs.iowa.gov/cade/disease-information/west-nile-virus
HINSON RED TAPE BILL
Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, is introducing a bill she calls the Red Tape Transparency Act. She says the legislation codifies five deregulatory executive orders, rolling back D-C bureaucracy and increasing transparency. She says her bill will keep unelected Washington bureaucrats from creating costly regulations and subverting the will of the people. Hinson says President Biden’s 400 billion dollar plan to cancel student loan debt is a key example of what this bill would prevent.
MORE EVIDENCE OF DROUGHT
The drought is starting to cause signs of stress on crops. Iowa Sate University Extension field agronomist, Angie Rieck Hinz, sees it in the corn in her north central Iowa area. She says she’s seen leaf rolling in corn because it’s dry and says the soybeans are extremely short this year and a lot of that has to do with the really dry conditions. Hinz says some areas in her region are short four to five inches of soil moisture needed to produce a healthy crop.
