Ribbon cutting for expansion of Iowa Great Lakes Bicycle Trail
Iowa tourism officials estimate there are about 25-hundred miles of paved bicycle trails in the state and a new stretch of trail in northwest Iowa is adding to that tally. The trail runs from Spencer, through rural Clay County and the city of Fostoria and to the Dickinson County line. Clay County Supervisor Barry Anderson was at Monday’s ribbon cutting.
Brian Schmidt was the engineer on both phases of the trail. Phase one started in Spencer and, for the most part, was built within a railroad right of way. He says construction on the second phase was a bit more challenging.
Kathy Fueston (FEW-stun) of Spencer has been pushing to expand the trail system in northwest Iowa to — ultimately — connect to trails that reach Des Moines. Monday night’s event was an emotional moment for her. *
She says the newly-opened trail out of Spencer to the Dickinson County line is safer for bicyclists than city streets and stretches of rural highway.
A proposed four mile segment from Fostoria to Milford and an 11 mile stretch from Sac City to Lake View would complete the Iowa Great Lakes Trail project.
Search firm rep talks with Regents about finding ISU president
The Board of Regents discussed the search for a new Iowa State University president during their meeting Tuesday with a member of the Washington, D-C search firm they have hired. Rod Davis of A-G-B Search discussed a variety of topics, including finding someone outside the academic community.
Davis says if there is a good profile of the candidate for the job, it will guide the search committee in finding the right person.
Davis says the key to a good search is following the plan they set up ahead of time.
A-G-B will be paid a fee equal to 25 percent of the annual base salary contract for the first year of the new president, plus expenses. The Board of Regents has appointed a search committee to work with the search firm. The only other information discussed was that the names of the candidates will be kept confidential until the finalists are named. The search will replace current I-S-U President Wendy Wintersteen, who is retiring.
Grassley to hold hearing over DNA database of bankrupt ’23andMe’
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley will chair a Judiciary Committee hearing today to study the privacy and the potential national security issues surrounding the bankruptcy of “23andMe.”
Many thousands of Iowans are among the 15-million customers of the genetic testing company which filed Chapter 11 in March. Iowa is -not- among the two dozen-plus states that filed suit Monday to block the sale of personal genetic information in the company’s massive database. Grassley says it remains unclear what Iowa customers of 23andMe should do.
There is fear that if the testing revealed a person’s genetic health issues, they could face higher health insurance premiums, or even be rejected for coverage.
Grassley says he’s cosponsoring the Don’t Sell My DNA Act that would protect people’s genetic information. The Senate hearing in Washington is scheduled for 9:15 AM/Central on Wednesday. When 23andMe went public in 2021, its market value rocketed to nearly $6-billion. In the first nine months of this fiscal year, the company reported losses of $174-million.
A University of Iowa legal scholar, and an expert on genetic privacy, says Iowans who used 23andMe should consider deleting all of their data and profiles.
