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State watches for groundwater contamination from Eldora fuel leak
State officials are working to determine whether groundwater contamination occurred when an unattended fuel station in Eldora leaked an estimated 7,500 gallons of gasoline into the ground last week. Workers excavated concrete and soil throughout the weekend at the Fast Stop on the east side of town that is operated by agricultural cooperative AgVantage Farm […]
State water grant gives boost to Field of Dreams
Dyersville will plumb drinking water and sewer service to its Field of Dreams attraction this year with the help of $11 million of the state’s new Water Infrastructure Fund, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday. The eastern Iowa site of the 1989 film has long been a tourist attraction but has gained renewed interest in recent […]
Polk County buys newfangled cover crop tractor for upstream farmers
A central Iowa partnership has emerged to encourage the use of cover crops in farm fields in the watersheds of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers in an effort to boost the quality of the metro’s major sources of drinking water. Polk County will buy a $600,000 tractor that is tall enough to straddle rows […]
West Des Moines green lights regional water talks
A proposed regional utility to govern the Des Moines metro area’s water supply got a third nod of approval Wednesday from West Des Moines. The five trustees of West Des Moines Water Works voted unanimously to start negotiations in earnest with utilities in Des Moines and Urbandale to form Central Iowa Water Works, which could […]
COVID deaths rise as infections plateau
State health officials reported 184 new deaths of people who were infected by the coronavirus on Wednesday, the most for a one-week period during the latest COVID-19 surge. That report came amid an apparent wane in the virus’ spread in Iowa. The most recent state data show weekly infection rates peaked about two weeks ago […]
Governor’s bill would make E15 dominant fuel in state
A new proposal by Gov. Kim Reynolds would require at least half of all gasoline pumps in the state to dispense fuel that contains 15% ethanol — a blend commonly called E15 — by 2026. The governor’s bill was filed Monday in the Iowa House. It is a modified version of a similar proposal last […]
CDC: State’s COVID death rate could near previous peak
The rate at which Iowans die from COVID-19 might approach the state’s previous peak by the middle of February, according to projections by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The previous peak rate was about 425 deaths per week in late 2020, according to state data. CDC projections, which are based on a […]
Two Davenport men fined thousands for illegal tire hauling
The state of Iowa has fined two Davenport men $10,000 apiece, accusing them of illegal tire hauling and abandoning thousands of junk tires on multiple properties. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources imposed the fines against David Omar Mercado and Tim Peters this month after attempting to get their tire-hauling efforts into state compliance for […]
Judge upholds retooled ‘ag gag’ law
A 2020 Iowa law that provides stiffer penalties for trespassing at livestock facilities does not infringe the First Amendment rights of animal-rights activists, a state district judge ruled this week. The law was adopted in the wake of successful legal challenges to previous so-called “ag gag” laws to dissuade activists from filming livestock operations. It […]
Nearly 80% of Iowa’s January COVID-19 surge has been omicron
Infections caused by the omicron variant of the coronavirus have rapidly overtaken those of other variants and accounted for about 79% of samples analyzed by the State Hygienic Laboratory in the first two weeks of this month. The state’s infection rate has reached an all-time high for the pandemic. During a recent one-week period, there […]
Iowa’s Tim Gannon returns to federal ag department
A former Democratic candidate for Iowa secretary of agriculture has been appointed chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Production and Conservation division, which oversees federal crop insurance and loans for farmers, among other programs. Tim Gannon, 45, of Des Moines, held two positions in the federal agriculture department during President Barack […]
Prosecutor dismisses charges on eve of ‘ag gag’ trial
An assistant Wright County attorney moved Tuesday to dismiss the criminal charges against an animal-rights activist accused of trespassing at a Dows hog confinement, placing recording devices inside the facility and stealing a piglet in May 2020. The request came two days before a trial was set to begin for Matthew A. Johnson, 35, of […]