DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa House has approved a resolution that would overturn a ban on the use of lead shot when hunting doves.  Backers of the resolution say the Natural Resources Commission overstepped its authority when writing rules governing the hunting of doves. That hunting was legalized by the Legislature last year. The House approved the resolution on a 68-27 vote Thursday, and the issue now goes to the Senate, where approval is likely.  Backers of the ban on lead shot say other animals can eat the lead and that can lead to sickness or death.  Opponents of the ban say lawmakers discussed the issue last year and decided not to ban lead shot. They argue regulators shouldn’t overturn that decision.

Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Kansas City office report Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC, has agreed to pay a $10,150 civil penalty and spend at least $38,729 on a supplemental environmental project for failing to file a risk management plan and implement risk management regulations at its dry-mill ethanol plant in Council Bluffs.  According to an administrative consent agreement and final order filed by EPA Region 7 in Kansas City, Kan., an inspection of the ethanol plant in January 2010 found that the company had not filed a risk management plan for the facility, as required by the federal Clean Air Act. 

Under the Clean Air Act, the Council Bluffs facility was required to file a risk management plan because it had exceeded the 10,000-pound threshold for anhydrous ammonia, an extremely hazardous chemical. Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy was storing approximately 28,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia at the time of the EPA inspection. As part of its settlement with EPA, Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy has agreed to perform a supplemental environmental project, through which it will spend at least $38,729 to purchase emergency response equipment for the Council Bluffs and Lewis Township fire departments. By agreeing to the settlement, the company has certified that the Council Bluffs ethanol plant is now in compliance with federal Risk Management Program regulations.

February 2 (Des Moines, IA) – The average American will spend $196 on Valentine’s Day this year, according to the American Express Spending and Saving Tracker. But one lucky person will be able to wine and dine their sweetheart for free thanks to the Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board and Dine Iowa. Now through noon on February 14, people can register at www.traveliowa.com to win a $50 gift certificate to their favorite Iowa winery, a $50 gift certificate to their favorite Dine Iowa restaurant and an iPad2 pre-loaded with the Iowa Wine and Beer and Dine Iowa apps. 

“Valentine’s Day presents a great opportunity to showcase Iowa’s wine and dining industries. Each is booming here and each creates jobs and enhances the state’s economy,” said Colleen Murphy of the Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board, an initiative of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. “The Iowa Wine & Dine promotion will give one lucky a winner a chance to surprise his or her sweetheart with a gift certificate good at one of more than 80 Iowa wineries and 400 Iowa restaurants, any of which promise to provide a memorable, uniquely Iowa experience.”

The winner will be announced on the Iowa Tourism Office’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IowaTourism) at 2:14 p.m. on February 14. The Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board was created in 1986 to promote the state’s wine and beer making industries. Wine-related tourism generates nearly $30 million in expenditures across the state. To date, Iowa boasts 81 wineries and 25 breweries. Find more information at www.iowawineandbeer.com.

Federal officials have agreed to modify a plan that’s designed to protect children from dangerous jobs on family farms. The U-S Labor Department has been under fire from farm groups because the proposed rules were seen as too restrictive. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says he’s encouraged to see the rules are being reconsidered by labor leaders. Harkin says, “They need to get additional information in, go back to the drawing table and write a better regulation.” The original proposal spelled out that children younger than 16 would be banned from using most power equipment, while those under 18 would be barred from working in locations like grain bins and feed lots. The new version will reportedly contain more exemptions for kids whose parents own or run the farms on which they’re working.

“I hope they’ll reach agreement on a regulation that protects kids but also recognizes family agriculture,” Harkin says. “It’s one thing to say that kids shouldn’t be operating fork lifts or humongous tractors or combines and to say they can’t even drive a garden tractor.” Harkin, a Democrat, says he agrees with those who’ve spoken out against the proposed regulations which would tear down generations of farm family traditions. “There has to be some balance, some rational thinking,” Harkin says. “Some of what they’re proposing, fine, but I talked to Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack about this. He says it would go so far to say kids couldn’t even drive a tractor across the road, well, kids have been driving tractors for years.” Labor department officials say they’ll work with the Ag department and others to make sure the new rules reflect rural communities’ concerns.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)