SURFACING PROJECTS
The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved a contract for micro-surfacing some 11.6 miles of county roads near Le Mars and Remsen. 8.6 miles of L12 north and south of Remsen,and 3 miles of C38, between US 75 and K49 will be resurfaced by a St Paul, Minnesota firm, at a cost of 618-thousand dollars, or 53-thousand dollars per mile. The project will begin on August 1, and will take about two weeks.
NEW ENERGY TAXES
The Iowa Department of Revenue has notified Plymouth County, and all other counties in the state, that as of July 1, certain fuel taxes must be adjusted. Taxes for #-15 and Alcohol will go up one half cent per gallon, the biodiesel tax will go down a quarter cent per gallon. For the first time, a tax on electricity for fueling electric vehicles will go into effect. The new tax is 2.6 cents per kilowatt/hour
FETAL HEARTBEAT BILL
A special legislative session is underway today at the state Capitol. Republican lawmakers plan to pass a bill to ban abortions after fetal activity can be detected. The bill has exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities as well as cases of rape or incest. Bob Vander Plaats is president and C-E-O of The Family Leader, a Christian conservative group that has registered in support of the so-called heartbeat law.
Governor Kim Reynolds said her faith leads her to protect life when she signed the signed the Fetal Heartbeat Act in 2018.
Some Iowa doctors say the bill is a functional ban on abortion. Dr. Emily Boevers is an O-B-G-Y-N at the hospital in Waverly.
Dr. Francesca Turner, an O-B G-Y-N in Des Moines, says the bill could delay care.
A public hearing on the bill took place this morning. Republican legislative leaders plan to set time limits on debate, so the bill is likely to pass before midnight.
HOME INTRUDER
A Sioux City man was arrested last Friday in a case of a home intruder. The Plymouth County Sheriffs Office was called to a residence in the 18-thousand block of Talbot Road After an investigation, 55 year old William Worden of Sioux City was arrested and charged with 2nd degree criminal mischief, and possession of a controlled substance, both Class D felonies. He was also charged with trespass causing damage over 300 dollars.
NEW FAIR SITE
While the Sioux County Youth Fair is underway this week, the county Fair Board is looking ahead to developing a new location for next year’s fair. Craig De Haan, Chair of the Sioux County Fair Board, says they have a new location, but are thinking about possible expansion beyond the fair.
The site is the former Sioux Center Municipal Airport. De Haan says the runway, and other infrastructure, can be utilized when developing the site.
They want to build new facilities, but can make use of buildings now on the airport site, including the hangars.
DeHaan says the fair board has bigger goals beyond establishing a new fairgrounds.
Work on the new site will begin immediately after the fair concludes.
Some site preparation is already underway
The fair board will soon start a major fundraising campaign. They have a goal of 20 million dollars to fully develop the site.
KING THREATENS PIPELINE SUIT
Former Iowa Congressman Steve King says he’s in talks with three law firms about filing a lawsuit to try to block construction of carbon pipelines. King filed paperwork this (Monday) morning with the Iowa Utilities Board to be on record as an opponent of the projects.
King says he’s aware law firms are already representing landowners and county officials opposed to the pipelines in state court, but King says the focus should be overturning a 2005 U-S Supreme Court decision. That ruling said private property can be claimed for a private economic development project through the government’s eminent domain process.
One of the carbon pipeline developers is Bruce Rastetter who contributed to Republican Randy Feenstra’s successful 2020 bid to unseat King after King was rebuked by G-O-P leaders for published remarks about white supremacy. Rastetter’s Summit Carbon Capture Pipeline, along with two other developers, may qualify for up to 100 billion in federal tax credits over the next decade.
On Saturday, King met in Fort Dodge with over 150 people from Iowa, Nebraska and the Dakotas who are opposed to the carbon pipelines and he says some of them indicated they would be willing to join a class action lawsuit against the carbon pipeline developers. In 2005, King successfully sued in state court to require Iowa officials print election materials in the English language only. That ruling was recenty overturned, but may be appealed by the secretary of state. In 2012, King threatened a lawsuit over an Obama Administration policy for undocumented immigrants, but never filed one.
TRUMP CRITICIZES REYNOLDS
Former President Donald Trump says he’s not inviting Governor Kim Reynolds to his campaign events after a newspaper report suggested there’s tension between Trump and Reynolds. Trump posted a statement on his Truth Social platform after a New York Times story indicated his campaign is frustrated with Governor Reynolds for appearing alongside Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida and in Iowa. Trump says on Truth Social that he opened up the governor’s position for Reynolds when he appointed former Governor Terry Branstad to be U-S Ambassador to China and he endorsed her when she fell behind in her 2018 race for governor. Trump says he’s not inviting her to his events now that she plans to remain neutral in the presidential race. Reynolds has said she’ll appear with any G-O-P presidential candidate who invites her and she spoke at Trump’s first campaign event in Iowa this year.
