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Bill advances to restrict Senate oversight of governor’s appointments
A bill approved by the Iowa Senate last week that would end the chamber’s automatic oversight of appointments to 29 boards and commissions had a small, silver lining for some Democrats: It had the potential to open more governors’ appointments to oversight if a majority of the Senate voted to do so. No more. An […]
Board dismisses complaint over deleted cellphone texts
For the second time in less than a year, the Iowa Public Information Board dismissed open records complaints filed by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch’s deputy editor, despite finding merit in his claims against state offices. At issue Thursday was Kauffman’s request 10 months ago for work-related text messages from the cellphone of Beth Townsend, […]
Pandemic effects linger for Iowa businesses
It’s been two years since Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered the closure of many businesses near the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Although the state-mandated restrictions are long gone, the effects of the disruption linger. The beginning was pocked with the uncertainty of intermittent closures, limited hours of operation and social-distancing requirements that effectively limited the […]
Bill switcheroo would delay eminent domain for pipelines
In an 11th-hour gambit to give more bargaining power to landowners in the path of proposed carbon pipelines, Republicans in the Iowa House on Wednesday converted a cosmetology bill into a one-year moratorium on the use of eminent domain for the pipelines. “The reason we are addressing eminent domain today is because landowners who are […]
Northwest Iowa dairy farm leaked manure for days
Workers at a Sioux County dairy farm noticed that manure water was overflowing from a barn and into a storm drain on Friday but did nothing to prevent the leak because they were unaware it would flow into a nearby creek, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. An undetermined amount of manure escaped […]
Fall, winter COVID surge had one-third of state deaths
More than 3,000 people infected by the coronavirus have died in Iowa since last fall, when cases began to rise and were capped by the omicron variant’s peak in January. That total accounts for about a third of the state’s deaths, which happened after vaccines were widely available. It’s unclear when the full count of […]
Mobile home park bill advances in House
A bill that would lengthen the amount of notice given to mobile home park residents of evictions and rent increases from 60 to 90 days was advanced by an Iowa House committee Tuesday despite objections that it doesn’t include other provisions to further protect those residents. House File 2441 was previously approved by a different […]
Central City water has ‘forever chemicals’ near danger threshold
A small eastern Iowa town has concentrations of toxic chemicals in its drinking water that exceed safety thresholds in other states and that are the highest so far identified by a new state surveillance program. The treated water of Central City, a town of about 1,300 north of Cedar Rapids, has perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances […]
Bird flu detected in flock of 918,000 Iowa hens
A large commercial flock of egg-laying chickens in southwest Iowa is the third to be infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The Taylor County flock has 918,873 birds, said Chloe Carson, a spokesperson for the department. Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation Friday for […]
Firefighter fined for Dow City house that burned
A western Iowa firefighter and his father have agreed to pay a $3,000 fine for an illegal fire that burned the remains of a demolished house in Dow City, according to a recent Iowa Department of Natural Resources order. Ray Ohl, a volunteer firefighter and former police officer for other towns in the area, was […]
Rural broadband is a farm bill focus
The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the need for federal assistance to develop high-speed internet connectivity in all parts of the country, members of a U.S. House subcommittee agreed this week as they reviewed provisions that are likely to be included in the next farm bill. “I represent a largely rural district in north-central, northeast Florida, and […]
Iowa’s senators promote biofuels to replace Russian oil
Iowa’s two U.S. senators are touting fuel made from crops — especially ethanol — as a means to replace oil imported from Russia and to cut soaring fuel prices that have reached all-time highs. “It’s very clear that biofuels provide a quick and easy solution for lowering prices at the pump,” U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley […]