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North Dakota will hold hearing on pipeline ordinances this month
A hearing to discuss whether utility regulators in North Dakota should overrule county ordinances that limit the placement of a carbon dioxide pipeline is set for Dec. 21. The North Dakota Public Service Commission is in the process of reconsidering an application by Summit Carbon Solutions, which seeks to build a five-state pipeline system to […]
Fatal deer disease outbreak this year could be second-worst
An outbreak in Iowa this year of a disease that causes deer to bleed internally and often results in death is poised to be the second-worst since the first known outbreak occurred 11 years ago, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Epizootic hemorrhagic disease is caused by a virus that is spread by […]
Northeast Iowa cheese producer fined for wastewater violations
A large cheese producer in far northeast Iowa has repeatedly failed for years to properly treat its wastewater that flows into creeks that feed the Turkey River, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Prairie Farms Dairy near Luana recently agreed to pay a $10,000 fine for the ongoing violations and to upgrade its […]
Animal waste hauler fined again for illegal field spreading
A southwest Iowa company that transports and disposes of partially digested food from the stomachs of slaughtered animals was recently fined again for improperly spreading the material on fields, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Feedlot Service Company of Neola and its owner, Fred Roane, agreed this month to pay a $7,000 fine […]
Crop harvest is ‘virtually complete’ in Iowa
Nearly all of Iowa’s corn and soybean fields have been harvested, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s final crop update about the state this year. “Corn harvested for grain is virtually complete with farmers in the southern part of the state still running a few combines,” the USDA said in its Monday report. The […]
Iowa’s bird flu death toll this fall has surpassed last year
Another massive flock of egg-laying hens in Iowa was recently found to be infected by a very transmissible and deadly version of avian flu, which has pushed the total number of affected birds this fall beyond last year’s casualties for the same time period. The recent detection of avian influenza was in a flock of […]
State’s corn harvest is almost done, except in south-central Iowa
This year’s corn and soybean harvests are virtually complete in nearly every area of the state, with one exception: south-central Iowa. “Farmers in south central Iowa still have over 10 percent of their corn for grain crop remaining to be harvested,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on Monday. That region of the state is […]
Wolf asks to withdraw Illinois pipeline request and refile
Wolf Carbon Solutions moved to withdraw its carbon dioxide pipeline permit application in Illinois on Monday to address concerns identified by state regulators. “This voluntary action does not impact our commitment to the project and its stakeholders, or the ongoing regulatory processes, including with the Iowa Utilities Board and Army Corps of Engineers,” said Dean […]
Northwest Iowa tree thief found guilty of 51 charges
A 41-year-old rural Rolfe man is guilty of felony theft and 50 timber violations for taking dozens of trees from public property, a jury recently decided. Jason Levant Ferguson’s criminal tree-theft case went to trial last week in Pocahontas County. He had been accused of taking about 150 trees from a wildlife management area northeast […]
Final arguments for Summit pipeline permit are due in January
Hundreds of pages of written briefs that argue for and against a hazardous liquid pipeline permit for Summit Carbon Solutions in Iowa are due before the end of the year, with written replies to those arguments due Jan. 19, the Iowa Utilities Board recently ordered. The three-member board will thereafter decide whether to issue or […]
Trump says he was ‘great’ for Iowa, asks for big caucus win
FORT DODGE — Former President Donald Trump rallied supporters on Saturday and asked them to repay his kindnesses to Iowa of keeping it the first state in the Republican presidential nomination process and of paying farmers billions of dollars during trade disputes with China in his first term. He mentioned the payments to farmers several […]
‘Extreme’ drought expands in southern Iowa
A wide area of extreme drought stretched farther into southern Iowa this past week amid an overall lack of rainfall across the state, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Varying degrees of drought are affecting about 83% of the state, and extreme drought — the second-to-worst classification issued by the Drought Monitor — expanded in […]