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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Des Moines, Iowa) – Official with Summit Carbon Solutions today (Monday) argued that the main components of two county ordinances in Iowa that sought to limit the placement of carbon dioxide pipelines are entirely overridden by the authority of state and federal regulators. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the company reasserted those arguments in a recent brief in federal court — its response to the appeals by Shelby and Story counties of a judge’s rulings late last year that agreed with Summit. An injunction prevents the counties from enforcing the ordinances.
The filings of written arguments by both sides of the case set the stage for oral arguments before a panel of Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals judges. The oral arguments are not yet scheduled. The judges are expected to issue a decision sometime next year.
Summit seeks to build a 2,500-mile pipeline system in five states to transport captured carbon dioxide from ethanol producers to North Dakota, where the greenhouse gas would be pumped into the ground. It received preliminary approval in Iowa last month.
The work is incentivized by generous federal tax credits with the goal of slowing climate change. But many opponents of the project worry about the safety of people and animals near the pipeline that might be suffocated if it ruptures. The county ordinances create minimum separation distances — or setbacks — between the pipelines and populated places, such as cities, homes and livestock buildings.
The federal judge who ruled against the first county ordinances said, in part, they were so restrictive that they might make it impossible for a carbon dioxide pipeline to be built at all. A handful of ordinances that were adopted by other counties — most of which are also the target of pending lawsuits by Summit — were increasingly less restrictive. The most recent one was approved in April by Dickinson County, which has not been sued. Summit has declined to comment on the matter.
Chief Judge Stephanie Rose, of the federal Southern District of Iowa, said the Shelby and Story ordinances’ placement requirements are overruled by state regulators — the Iowa Utilities Commission — and that their safety-related provisions are the jurisdiction of federal regulators — the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
Rose went further and decided that the counties’ placement requirements are also a safety feature and are overridden by PHMSA, but the agency itself has contradicted the judge. However, Summit argues Rose was correct about the relationship of setbacks and safety, and its attorneys point to an early version of Story’s ordinance: “Story County started down this path solely out of concern for pipeline safety,” attorney Ryan Koopmans wrote in the recent appeal brief. “The county’s first ordinance, No. 306, focused only on setbacks because there are ‘risks in the event of a spill or rupture.’”
Summit further says county ordinance provisions that obviously pertain to safety — such as requirements to disclose certain information to local emergency officials to aid their potential response to a breach — is also PHMSA’s jurisdiction.As for determining the pipeline routes, Summit argues state law gives the Iowa Utilities Commission absolute authority: “It does not matter whether Summit or any other pipeline company could somehow thread the needle through the counties’ heavily restrictive setbacks, or whether the counties would grant variances and let the pipeline pass through anyway (and they clearly will not),” Koopmans wrote.
The American Petroleum Institute, which lobbies for the nation’s oil and natural gas industries, and the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association also recently filed a brief in support of Summit’s positions. They said pipelines are vital to the U.S. economy, are the safest way to transport energy products, and that the ordinances would have “far-reaching ramifications and unintended consequences.”
The ultimate effect of the court action on the pending lawsuits against other counties is not yet clear. They have been paused until the Shelby and Story appeals conclude. PHMSA is in the process of revamping its safety standards for carbon dioxide pipelines, and the counties have said the current rules are not adequate to protect the public. They argue that there is room for some measure of local control of the issue.
(Red Oak, Iowa) — Police in Red Oak arrested a man early this (Monday) afternoon, on an Assault charge. 38-year-old Anthony Charles Wasson, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 200 block of E. Nuckols Street a little after 1-p.m. Wasson was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond.
(Radio Iowa) – An eastern Iowa museum that’s dedicated to preserving the German immigrant experience for future generations is getting a new accolade. The German American Heritage Center and Museum in Davenport will be named this week as the newest site in the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, which covers a large portion of northeast Iowa. Jori Wade-Booth is spokeswoman for Silos and Smokestacks.
Wade-Booth says, “We have about 100 sites that all include farms, museums, historic sites, businesses and so forth, all tell some part of the story of agriculture.” The facility at the foot of the Centennial Bridge and near the banks of the Mississippi River opened in 2004 in a historic building. It offers visitors an interactive experience to learn about the immigrants’ journey by sea, train and foot, to their final destination — the museum — which was originally a busy hotel for thousands of immigrants in the 1860s.
“The German American Heritage Center and Museum is important because not only does it preserve the heritage of our German-speaking ancestors that came to Iowa,” Wade-Booth says, “but it also tells the important story that German Americans had a huge impact on industry and agriculture in Iowa.” Those thousands of German immigrants played a significant role in helping Iowa to develop as an early ag powerhouse, something the state maintains to this day.
Photo courtesy German American Heritage Center and Museum
“A lot of people think of agriculture inside a box, like there’s tractors and crops and mud on your boots,” Wade-Booth says, “but really it’s the science, technology and math, and it encompasses a whole lot more than just growing corn and soybeans or having animals.” The museum details other elements of agriculture, like how Davenport used to be one of the nation’s top cigar-producing cities, as tobacco was a widely grown crop here more than a century ago. Lumber was also big for Iowa then, as were the state’s many fisheries. Wade-Booth says her organization works in partnership with the National Park Service.
“Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area was designated in 1996 by Congress to tell the story of American agriculture,” she says. “We’re the only heritage area in the country that tells that story. We covers 37 counties in northeast Iowa, basically everything east of I-35 and north of I-80.”
The ribbon-cutting at the museum is scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11 A-M to welcome the facility as a new national heritage area site.
(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa delegates at the Republican National Convention have cast their votes for Donald Trump for president. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann was chosen to kick off the process with a nominating speech.
Kaufmann began his remarks by talking about the Iowa Caucuses, the lead-off contest in the presidential election.
Trump got over half of the votes cast in the Iowa Caucuses, 30 points ahead of his closest competitor. Kaufmann says the vast majority of states seconded Iowa’s choice.
Kaufmann, a former state legislator, became chairman of the Iowa G-O-P 10 years ago. While Kaufmann declared neutrality as the party’s leader in the competitive 2016 and 2024 Iowa Caucus campaigns, he has been a stalwart supporter of Trump’s General Election campaigns.
Kaufmann closed by repeating the themes for each of the four nights of the Republican National Convention.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is a temporary chair of the Republican National Convention. She will preside over the nominating of Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance. Bird is scheduled to speak at the convention tomorrow (Tuesday) night.
(Radio Iowa) – The executive director of the Iowa Regents’ Lakeside Lab says they’re seeing an increase in toxic blue-green algae in the Great Lakes. Mary Skopec says after years of drought, the lakes are filled with high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and contaminated sediment. It’s a combination that causes the algae to grow, especially when things warm up.
“It’s very concerning. The lakes are our drinking water source, and we want to make sure that we don’t pull those toxins into our drinking water. But when people are recreating being exposed to that can be quite, quite damaging to health,” Skopec says. There are more than 70 places, where the shorelines have also collapsed, compounding the problem. Skopec says people can still swim in the Iowa Great Lakes but need to watch out for debris and stay away from water that looks green and murky and occasionally bright blue.
Blue Green Algae on West Lake Okoboji. (photo by Sheila Brummer)
“Obviously don’t want people or pets in that water. We know that dogs can succumb to the toxins within hours.” Skopec says the good news is E. coli testing in almost a dozen spots around the Great Lakes showed levels meeting recreation standards.
(reporting by Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)
Des Moines, IA — After a year-long deployment to the Middle East, 150 Soldiers from the Iowa National Guard’s 831st Engineer Vertical Construction Company (EVCC) are returning home.
Those Soldiers were federally activated in September 2023 to support Operation Spartan Shield under U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), a region encompassing 27 countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. This federal activation was the unit’s first since 2005 when they were deployed in support to war on terrorism. During their deployment, the 831st EVCC completed over 50 construction projects, contributing more than 60,000 hours of troop labor across seven U.S. bases in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, and Kuwait. These projects significantly enhanced the protection and operational capabilities of U.S. Forces in CENTCOM, particularly for Operation Spartan Shield and Operation Inherent Resolve.
In recognition of their exceptional service, the unit received numerous awards: 7 Meritorious Service Medals, 87 Army Commendation Medals, and 65 Army Achievement Medals, alongside many coins for excellence. 
A welcome home ceremony is scheduled for July 19, 2024, at the Des Moines Airbase, located at 3100 McKinley Ave, Building 100, Main Hangar, Des Moines, IA. They will arrive at 3:35 PM with the ceremony to commence shortly after arrival. Iowa National Guard senior leadership, distinguished guests, family, and friends will be in attendance to honor the returning soldiers.
(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – A single-vehicle accident late Sunday morning in Pottawattamie County, claimed the life of a man from Nebraska. According to the Iowa State Patrol, 21-year-old Andrew Grutel, of Omaha, was driving a 2000 Chevy truck eastbound on Interstate 80 near mile marker 9, at around 11:22-a.m.
The vehicle abruptly left the road and rolled over. Grutel – who was not wearing a seat belt -was ejected during the crash. He was transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. 
The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department.
(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Department reports four arrests last week, include the arrest of two Cass County men. Sheriff Jeff Vandewater says 64-year-old Joseph Anthony Frontado, of Atlantic, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol on July 7th, for OWI/2nd offense. His arrest took place at around 8:55-a.m. on Highway 92 near 270th Street. Frontado has a BAC of .139%, which is well above the .08% legal limit to drive. He was released later that same day on a $2,000 cash or surety bond.
29-year-old Kyle Lynn Wilson, of Griswold, was arrested in Adair on July 8th, for Theft in the 2nd Degree, with regard to trailer that was reported stolen out of Guthrie Center, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The drug charge was the result of a search by a K9 Unit alerting to the odor of narcotics coming from the vehicle. A probable cause search resulted in a marijuana grinder being located in the back seat. Wilson was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $5,000 cash or surety bond.
On July 12th, 39-year-old Luke Daniel Hommes, of Fontanelle, was arrested in Adair, on an Adair County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd or subsequent offense. Hommes was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $10,000 cash-only bond. And, on July 13th, Police in Stuart arrested 53-year-old Skeet Weston Miller, of Menlo, for Public Intoxication, and 2nd Degree Harassment. Miller was on parole at the time of his arrest. He was released later in the day on his Own Recognizance.
(Sidney, Iowa) – The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office has released a report on arrests occurring during the first two-weeks of July. Those arrested include:
• On 07/03/2024, Jamishia Laron Misirlija, age 43 of Lawrence, KS, was arrested for Violation of Probation. She is being held without bond pending a District Court appearance; Jessica Lee Jurey, age 45 of Hamburg, for Assault-Simple and Criminal Mischief 5th Degree. She was released on $600 bond; Jules Lee Daniel Gould, age 30 of Essex, was arrested for Contempt-Violation of a No Contact Order. He is being held on a $300 bond; Alexandra Dawn Lasley, age 43 of Essex, was arrested for Possessing a Controlled Substance-1,2,3rd and Viol No Contact Order-Domestic. She is being held on a $5,000 cash/surety bond.
• On 07/04/2024, Fremont County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Lee Alfred Miles, age 48 of Tabor, for Failure to Appear/Contempt Ct. He was released on $300 bond; Paul Lowell Otten, age 63 of Riverton, was arrested for Possessing a Controlled Substance-1,2,3rd, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Driving While Barred. He was released on $2,000 bond; Eustine Tanyaradzwa Choto, age 33 of Randolph, was arrested for OWI-1st Offense and Interference with Official Act. She was released on $1,000 bond.
• On 07/07/2024, deputies arrested Leslie Ann Davison, age 57 of Shenandoah, for Possessing a Controlled Substance-2nd. She is being held on a $2,000 cash/surety bond.
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