RAIL CROSSING IMPROVEMENTS
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa announced that two northwest Iowa railroad crossings will receive funds for needed improvements.
The City of Merrill will receive $540,000 to evaluate the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and a BNSF rail line. The goal of this project is to determine a highway-rail grade separation. This is one of the few points in Iowa where a rail crossing and a U.S. 4-lane highway intersect.
Clay County will receive $3,280,000 to remove an unsafe Canadian Pacific Kansas City at-grade crossing and construct a high-level grade separation.
The awards will be administered through the Department of Transportation’s Railroad Crossing Elimination program, which is part of the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which Grassley supported.
TRAVEL IOWA GRANTS
Travel Iowa has announced tourism grants of up to 10-thousand dollars each, for four northwest Iowa communities.
The Sioux City Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau has already announced that they received 10-thousand dollars for their Wheel the World – Explore Siouxland initiative. This will enhance tourism opportunities and accessibility in the Siouxland region.
The city of Sioux Center was granted 93-hundred dollars to develop a Visit Sioux Center website.
The O’Brien County Economic Development Corporation will receive 34-hundred dollars to explore agritourism in the county from a blogger’s hands-on perspective
The Spencer Chamber of Commerce Foundation will receive 96-hundred dollars to fund Capture Clay County, a visual media and promotional initiative.
IOWA DROUGHT REVERSED IN 2024
The latest Water Summary update from the U.S.D.A. shows drought conditions improved in Iowa last year. Above-average rainfall in 2024 relieved much of Iowa of three years of drought. A statewide average of 37.87 inches of precipitation fell, 1.32 inches above normal. December marked the eighth straight month of above-average rainfall for the year.
There are still dry areas of the state. Southwest Sioux County, and the western half of Plymouth county are in D2, or severe drought, the driest area of the state. Most of southern Iowa has no dry conditions.
EXPERTS STUNNED BY SUDDEN JUMP IN IOWA GAS PRICES
There’s a wide disparity in gasoline prices across Iowa right now, and depending on where you fill your tank, it may cost 50-cents more a gallon. Even the experts are flummoxed by what’s happening. Brian Ortner, spokesman for Triple-A-Iowa, says they closely monitor gas prices daily, and he sees no explanation for the sudden jump to over three-dollars a gallon in parts of the state. Gas prices in northeast Iowa are significantly higher than in southwest Iowa, and Ortner says it’s baffling. He says nothing stands out to explain the significant increase on prices, as crude oil prices are steady and wintertime means reduced demand and lower costs. The average price for a gallon of gas in Allamakee County in far northeast Iowa is three-11, while in southwest Iowa’s Fremont County, the price is only two-66.
THIS MONTH, THE PLANETS WILL ALIGN OVER IOWA
Iowans who bundle up to brave the evening chill will be able to see a relatively rare event in the January night sky, what some are calling the Parade of Planets. Allison Jaynes, a physics and astronomy professor at the University of Iowa, says Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all shifting into near-alignment, and two more planets — Uranus and Neptune — will join the celestial conga line later this month.
While you can’t believe everything you read on the internet, Jaynes says it’s true the six planets will be appearing in the same region of the sky, but they will not be in a tight, straight line.
Budding backyard astronomers can quickly orient themselves among the stars above with the help of a few key websites or free applications for their smartphones.
From solar and lunar eclipses to the Star of Bethlehem, rare celestial events over the centuries have been interpreted various ways, both as signs of good fortune or impending peril. It should be noted that this Parade of Planets will be best viewed the same week a new administration takes over the White House.
