Le Mars Hosts Historical Program on Marcus; Speaker Grassley Expects Governor to Sign Pipeline Bill; ISU President to Retire; Ag Economy Racked by Tariff Concerns
History of Marcus in Local Program
Marcus will be the focus of the monthly meeting of the Northwest Iowa Genealogical Society at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17, in the Plymouth County Historical Museum in Le Mars.
Marcus was founded in 1871 and incorporated in 1882 in northern Cherokee County just south of O’Brien County.
Named for railroad tycoon John Insley Blair’s son, Marcus, the community is home to four historic churches.
The program will draw on images and descriptions of those items as well as information contained in two volumes on the town’s evolution.
Speaker Grassley says his expectation is the governor will sign pipeline bill
Groups representing corn growers and the ethanol industry are urging Governor Kim Reynolds to veto a bill that would put new restrictions on carbon pipelines. House Speaker Pat Grassley says House Republicans. who’ve passed several pipeline-related bills over the past few years, are extremely happy the Senate finally passed one this week. Grassley says he believes Governor Kim Reynolds will sign the bill.
Grassley, as House speaker, is required to sign each bill that passes the House. In a rare move, Grassley held bill signing ceremony with fellow House Republicans on Wednesday night. *
Grassley made his comments during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and the Iowa Corn Growers Association say the bill will effectively ban carbon pipelines in Iowa.
Kelly Nieuwenhuis, a farmer from Primghar who’s a past president of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, was at the Capitol this week to lobby against the bill.
About three miles of Summit’s pipeline route goes through Nieuwenhuis’s property. Nearly three years ago he signed a contract giving the company access to that section of his land.
Governor Reynolds has until mid-June to sign – or veto — all the bills that passed the legislature.
Iowa State University President to Retire
Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen announced today she plans to retire in January 2026.
Wintersteen became the first woman and second ISU alum to be president of the university in 2017. Wintersteen said in a statement: “I am fortunate to have served Iowa State University in many roles over the past 46 years, and it’s been a fascinating journey. I am truly proud of Iowa State’s extraordinary faculty and staff for their remarkable performance these past years.”
The Board of Regents will discuss hiring a search committee to find a replacement for Wintersteen during a virtual meeting Monday.
Tariff Concerns Affect Ag Economy
The ag economy has yet to be much affected by the threat of tariffs on commodities. That’s according Creighton University Professor of Economics Ernie Goss and the latest Rural Mainstreet Index.
Overall, Goss says, the index sank below the 50.0 growth reading in April, according to the monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy.
Goss says the ag economy is slightly down because of the price of commodities, and that is being affected by supply and demand.
Goss says, initially, bankers thought the 2025 farm income would be up from 2024. However, uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s tariff negotiations has had an effect on those numbers, and the outcome is still up in the air.
Goss says the outcome of the tariff deal won’t be known until the end of the current 90 day cooling off period announced by President Trump.
The Rural Mainstreet Index is a monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy.
