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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 […]
Chronic wasting disease found in first central Iowa deer
For the first time, a deer with chronic wasting disease was discovered in the interior of Iowa in Greene County, far away from counties where the disease has previously been detected, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The fatal neurological disease affects deer, elk and moose and was first found in far northeast […]
City official: Guard base contaminated Sioux City drinking water
There are small amounts of so-called “forever chemicals” in Sioux City’s treated drinking water, and the likely source of contamination is an Iowa Air National Guard base, said Brad Puetz, utilities director for Sioux City. An analysis of groundwater in the area about three years ago revealed perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — commonly called PFAS […]
Lawmakers seek to salvage summer E15 fuel
Iowa’s two U.S. senators hope to codify a waiver into federal law that would allow gasoline fuels that are 15% ethanol to be sold during the summer. “I hope Congress can act to fix this issue,” U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, said this week. “It makes no sense for a quirk of environmental regulation […]
Regional water plan advances with Urbandale vote
Two of the three major players of a proposed regional water system for the Des Moines metro area are on board. Now, attention turns to West Des Moines. The three trustees of the Urbandale Water Utility voted unanimously Wednesday to be a founding member of the proposed Central Iowa Water Works, contingent upon a palatable […]
Iowa’s COVID infection rate hits all-time high
The rate of new confirmed coronavirus infections in Iowa recently surpassed the state’s previous peak in November 2020, according to newly released state data. On Sunday, the state’s one-week total for COVID-19 cases was nearly 38,000. The previous peak in 2020 was about 34,000. That means an average of more than 5,400 people have been […]
Third carbon pipeline proposed for Iowa
Another out-of-state company has announced a plan to build hundreds of miles of pipeline to transport carbon dioxide from ethanol plants and pump it into the ground. Wolf Carbon Solutions said it has an agreement with Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) to take carbon dioxide from its facilities in Cedar Rapids and Clinton in eastern Iowa and […]
DNR: Ames drinking water has ‘forever chemicals’
Statewide drinking water testing has revealed two more cities with detectable amounts of toxic chemicals that persist indefinitely in the environment, including Ames, the state’s ninth-most-populous city. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is sampling water in dozens of cities to gain a better understanding of the prevalence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — commonly […]
Urbandale poised to vote on water regionalization
The three-member board that oversees the Urbandale Water Utility is set to vote Wednesday on whether to explore its membership of a regional water utility for the Des Moines metro area. The proposal to jointly govern water production has brewed for years but has renewed urgency as the utilities in Des Moines and West Des […]