COURTHOUSE HEAT
The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors reached agreement with their architect on plans to mitigate a heating issue in the county district court room. After a renovation project in the courtroom was completed two years ago, it was discovered in the winter months that the heating unit could not bring the room temperature higher than 68 degrees. The architect found that circulation pipes to the radiant heat units were too narrow for provide adequate heat. Tuesday, the Supervisors met by telephone with architect Jordan Metzger of Stone Group Architect. The agreed to the fix, and to covering the costs. The county will cover the cost of construction materials, some 4-thousand dollars; the architect and contractor will cover the installation costs.
The repairs will be made in January.
CONSIGNMENT SALE
Plymouth County received a report on a recent consignment sale of county equipment. The consignment was part of a state equipment sale through Stabe Consignment. The county sold eight items, including two tractors, a dump truck, and a pickup truck. All the items were sold. After commission, the total to the county was 12-thousand, three hundred dollars.
NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLAR SEMIFINALIST
Gehlen Catholic High School has been notified that one of the members of this year’s Senior class has been named a semifinalist in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. Braden Bollin is among the highest-scoring students in Iowa. Bollin will advance to attain Finalist standing. Usually, 95% of semifinalists attain Finalist standing. Nationwide, Half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship. Some 16-thousand semifinalists represent less than one percent of US High School Seniors. Over 1.3 million students across the nation entered the scholarship competition by taking a standardized exam.
WATER QUALITY SUIT
13 environmental groups have sued the Environmental Protection Agency in federal court. They say EPA has failed to regulate factory farm pollution under the Clean Water Act. Last month, EPA denied a petition asking them to issue rules to overhaul its factory farm regulations. The agency instead decided to form a study group to make recommendations. At that point, the groups, including Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, sued. They say EPA will delay action for at least another two years. The petitioners are represented by Food and Water Watch and Earthrise Law Center.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FIELD DAY
Emergency management agencies from 16 northwest Iowa counties meet tomorrow in Cherokee for a Field Day. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and staff from Homeland Security and Emergency Management will also attend. The Governor will sign a proclamation during National Preparedness Month, recognizing the work of emergency management agencies across the state. The emergency managers will also showcase their programs, capabilities, and their interrelationships.
US HOUSE DISCUSSES BIDEN IMPEACHMENT
All four members of Iowa’s U-S House delegation are expressing support for an impeachment inquiry of President Biden. Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra of Hull says Biden is corrupt and must be held accountable. He says the President lied about his involvement in his son’s business dealings. Whistleblower testimony indicates the Biden administration secured a sweetheart deal and preferential treatment for Hunter Biden in his tax evasion case. He says it is evident that further investigation is warranted. Earlier Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said allegations of corruption and abuse of power warrant further investigation and he’s directed House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
SUMMIT HEARING
A vice president for Summit Carbon Solutions says rejected requests to build tge company’s carbon pipeline in North and South Dakota should not impact its pursuit of a construction permit in Iowa. Micah (MIKE-uh) Rorie (ROHR-ee) is in charge of land acquisition for the company and he testified this (Tuesday) morning at an Iowa Utilities Board hearing in Fort Dodge.
John Murray, an attorney for property owners who don’t want the pipeline on their land, quizzed Rorie about Monday’s permit South Dakota’s permit denial.
Murray, an attorney from Storm Lake, also asked Rorie about last month’s denial of a permit to extend Summit’s pipeline through NORTH Dakota, where the company plans to store its liquid carbon underground.
Rorie says over 12-hundred Iowa landowners have voluntarily signed easements that give Summit access to over 33-hundred parcels of land along its proposed route through Iowa. The company is asking the Iowa Utilities Board for eminent domain authority to force 469 Iowa landowners who object to the project to sign property easements.
GRASSLEY DISCUSSES BOOKS BANS
Book bans are the subject of a hearing before the U-S Senate Judiciary Committee this (Tuesday) morning and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he sees it all as being about parental rights. The Iowa legislature passed a bill this past session that became law which requires Iowa schools to remove most books that depict sex acts from classrooms and school libraries. Grassley refused to offer an opinion on the state law.
Grassley, the ranking Republican on the committee, says the hearing is called: “Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature.”
The new state law has left some school administrators uncertain how to proceed on certain books. Some school boards have started issuing lists of books they’re pulling from shelves, while others have requested instruction from state education leaders. Grassley says the law should be clear about what books are inappropriate for certain ages.
The new state law will take effect in January. Some nationally-known authors have criticized Iowa’s legislature for the law as their books are among those being banned in some schools.
NURSE MIDWIFERY PROGRAM AT U OF IOWA
The University of Iowa is launching a program to train nurse-midwives as a way of helping to address the shortage of maternal health care providers in the state. Professor Lastascia (la-STAH-see-ah) Coleman, at the U-I Hospitals and Clinics, says nurse-midwives can provide health care in many areas, not just pregnancy and birth. She says midwives can provide primary care, regular gynecologic care, and “care throughout the lifespan.” Coleman says the program has four clinics, two of which are located in rural areas in Muscatine and Washington. The application cycle for next year starts in mid-December and ends in February. The program admits four students every fall. To qualify, students must have a bachelor’s degree and be a registered nurse. After the five-semester program, students will obtain a master’s degree in midwifery (mid-WIFF-er-ee), which will allow them to take the necessary board exam.
