(Radio Iowa) – Officials in a northern Iowa county are evaluating last week’s federal court ruling that permanently blocks Shelby and Story County ordinances that would have restricted where hazardous liquid pipelines may be located. Kossuth County Supervisor Carter Nath, of Lu Verne, represents the area where Summit’s proposed carbon capture pipeline would pass and he says the ruling wasn’t a surprise.

“There was already a preliminary ruling on that. It was just making it a permanent ruling,” Nath says. “In my mind, it really didn’t change things. Maybe in the court of law, it’s just more finalized. “A federal judge ruled the ordinances in Story and Shelby County could have made it impossible for Summit Carbon Solutions to build a carbon pipeline even if the Iowa Utilities Board grants the company a permit.

Kossuth County Supervisors have drafted an ordinance that’s similar to Shelby County’s. It has not gone into effect, but has made it most of the way through the approval process. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss the ordinance this (Tuesday) morning at its meeting in Algona.

(Radio Iowa) – A veteran central Iowa beekeeper will offer a free, online course in beekeeping starting next month for Iowa youth between the ages of 13 and 16. Julia McGuire heads the Des Moines Backyard Beekeepers and she has ten hives in Madison County. McGuire says the live course in Beekeeping 1-0-1 will start January 30th, teaching all about these important pollinators and how to care for them.

“We’ll cover basic bee biology, and it goes through site location for your beehive, the confluence of the beehive,” McGuire says, “and then we spend a lot of time learning how to work the bees once they arrive in April.” McGuire has kept bees since 2011 and has taught beekeeping for 11 years. The course will run every Tuesday for six weeks.

“There’s also a couple opportunities where we will go and meet in person, so we can work with bees all together,” McGuire says, “so I think a lot of the success in beekeeping is that hands-on work that you might get with a mentor.” For many, beekeeping is a hobby, but McGuire says it can also become a profitable business. She sells honey from her hives, but says there’s another important component to beekeeping — saving swarms.

“I get a lot of swarm calls every April and May from people who have a swarm of bees, or bees actually living and have been in the side of their house or whatever for years,” McGuire says. “I get a lot of phone calls like that. There’s just more demand than there is supply of people who can go get those.” She estimates it may cost around 500-dollars to start a basic hive. In addition to the free Beekeeping 101 course, there’s a youth bee camp planned for May of 2024.

The deadline to sign up for the course is December 31st at: https://forms.gle/h3Lh2zvkwRgwNZnY7

(Radio Iowa) Governor Kim Reynolds has said her goal is to get rid of the state income tax by the end of her current term — which would be December of 2026. A bill that cleared an Iowa Senate committee last spring suggested elimination of the state income tax could be accomplished in the next decade. Republican Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

“The Senate Republican goal has always been to eliminate the income tax in a responsible and thoughtful manner,” Dawson says. “and that is the pathway that we are going down this next session.” Dawson says he’s looking forward to seeing the tax plan Governor Reynolds is set to unveil in January. Under current law, the state’s personal income tax will become a flat three-point-nine percent by 2026 — but Republican leaders say the state is still taking in far more tax dollars than needed to run the government.

Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum says the focus of tax cutting should be on helping working families and elderly Iowans.  “Not on the wealthy and the big corporations who have quite frankly benefited from this series of tax cuts we’ve seen in recent years,” Jochum says.

Jochum and Dawson made their comments at a forum sponsored by the Iowa Taxpayers Association. The 2024 Iowa legislative session begins Monday, January 8th.

(Radio Iowa) – Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum says Democrats are developing a plan of targeted income tax cuts, like raising the Earned Income Tax Credit for low and moderate income workers, as an alternative to the G-O-P goal of getting rid of the state’s income tax.

“If there’s going to be any changes in the tax system, number one you don’t eliminate the income tax system because it is a more fair system,” Jochum says, “based on the ability to pay.” Governor Kim Reynolds and Republican lawmakers say their ultimate goal is complete elimination of the state income tax. Reynolds approved income tax rate reductions in 2018 and, in 2022, the governor signed a bill that is making deeper cuts in tax rates for individuals and corporations. It will eventually shrink the individual income tax rate to just under four percent by 2026.

“We have been waiting almost six years as working class or middle class Iowans to see any result of even the tax cuts that happened six years ago,” Jochum says. Jochum points to a Department of Revenue analysis which found that if the state income tax is eliminated, the state sales tax would have to be raised to 14 percent to maintain critical state services.

“The sales tax is a regressive tax,” Jochum says. “Regardless of how much money you earn, you’re going to pay 14% on the dollar for everything you purchase and so it’s going to be the working poor, the middle class who are really going to take it in the shorts on this one if that’s the path they follow.”

Republicans in the Senate say eliminating the state income tax will make Iowa more competitive with states like South Dakota, Florida, Texas and Tennessee that do not have a state income tax. A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll conducted last March found 56 percent of Iowans favor gradually reducing the state income tax rate until it is eliminated.

(Boone, Iowa) – Two pickups collided northwest of Boone, Monday evening, resulting in the death of a man from Boone. The Iowa State Patrol says the crash happened at around 7:05-p.m. at the intersection of Kale Road and 170th Street. The report said a 1996 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 74-year-old Larry Young, of Boone, was southbound on Kale Road, and failed to stop at the intersection with 170th. A 2021 Chevy pickup driven by 62-year-old Kenneth Lendt, of Ogden, was westbound on 170th when Young’s vehicle entered the westbound lanes and the vehicles collided.

Lendt’s vehicle then crashed into a power pole and some trees before entering the southbound ditch and coming to rest between two trees. The Patrol says Larry Young died at the scene. Lendt was transported by Boone County EMS to the Boone County Hospital. Both men were wearing their seat belts.

The crash remains under investigation.

(Manilla, Iowa) – A collision between two semi tractor-trailers Monday afternoon west of Manilla, claimed the life of a Carroll County man. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2018 Peterbilt semi driven by 65-year-old Douglas L. Hook, of Carroll, was traveling west on Highway 141 and crossing the intersection with Highway 59. A 2015 Freightliner driven by 23-year-old Hayden H. Leonard, of Millville, MN, was traveling north on Highway 59.

Leonard’s semi struck Hook’s semi in the northbound lane of Highway 59. The crash happened at around 4:43-p.m. Following the collision, the Peterbilt came to rest in the northwest ditch. The Freightliner came to rest west of the intersection on V Avenue. The accident caused the intersection to be blocked for several hours.

The Patrol says Douglas Hook died from his injuries after being transported by Manilla Ambulance to the Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison.

(Creston, Iowa) – A collision late this (Monday) morning in Creston caused $1,500 damage, but no one was hurt. Police in Creston report a 2021 Ford F-250 pickup driven by 21-year-old Alejandro Leroy Lee Davis, of Osceola, was stopped at the intersection of Elm Street at Highway 34, at around 11:34-a.m.

A Semi was turning northbound on Elm Street. To make room for the semi, Davis began backing-up in his lane. A 2020 Toyota RAV4 driven by 70-year-old Jeanne Irene Birt, of Prescott, was behind the pickup.  As Davis’ pickup was in reverse, he didn’t see the SUV and backed into the vehicle, causing minor damage to the SUV. The pickup wasn’t damaged.

No citations were issued.

(Radio Iowa) – Investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fatal house fire Saturday evening in Ottumwa. The City of Ottumwa says two people died in the fire and the other occupants of the home were safely evacuated. Tuesday morning (12/12), authorities identified the victims as 31-year-old Mae Hen and 3-year-old Htoo Kabaw.

It’s unclear what started the fire. The State Fire Marshall was contacted to assist with the investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – What started as a dream for two friends growing up in the Quad Cities is now a reality. Hollywood filmmakers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods welcomed audiences to the grand opening of their movie theater, The Last Picture House, in their hometown of Davenport over the weekend. Woods says they wanted to be able to screen movies that might not otherwise come to the area, and share the experience with locals. “We were always kind of bummed that ‘Parasite,’ one of our favorite films of the year, was impossible to see in the area and we felt like that’s not doing the Quad Cities justice,” Woods says. “So we want to make sure that we’re providing some really excellent brand new films for people to see that they might not catch at the multiplex.”

On Saturday, the theater screened “The Iron Claw” from the independent film studio A-24. This Iowa venue is one of a select few in the country to show that movie before its wide national release later this month. Woods says the summer hits “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” proved the power of going to the movies.  “We’re so excited to be part of a lineage of theatrical exhibition that’s been such an important part of our process as filmmakers,” Wood says. “When we write movies and direct movies, we’re always thinking about the big screen and we’re always thinking about the communal experience of moviegoing.”

Beck and Woods wrote the 2018 horror film “A Quiet Place” and directed the sci-fi thriller “65,” which was released earlier this year.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec. 11, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director in Iowa Theresa Greenfield today announced that the Agency is investing $162,638 in grants to two rural Iowa projects to repair and rehabilitate housing to improve the lives of very low income homeowners in several underserved rural Iowa communities. The funding is through the Housing Preservation Grant program.

“These investments announced today will help some of our rural neighbors—in very low-income households—eliminate safety hazards, which will allow them to remain at home in the midst of old age or disability,” said Director Greenfield. “President Biden, Vice-President Harris, and Secretary Vilsack have led the way in promoting lasting economic and social benefits that uplift our rural underserved communities.”

Today’s projects are part of a larger nation-wide announcement. A list of all investments may be found online here. The investments are part of President Biden’s commitment to advance equity for all, including those who have been historically underserved, marginalized and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.

Iowa recipients of Housing Preservation Grants

–Region XII Council of Governments Inc. received $101,663 grant to help rehabilitate housing that is owned and occupied by very-low income people. This project will make necessary repairs to help eliminate health and safety hazards in homes and will improve the living conditions of 15 homeowners in rural Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, and Sac counties.

–City of New Hampton received a $60,975 grant which will be used to help rehabilitate housing in the city that is owned and occupied by very-low income people. This project will repair furnaces, plumbing, flooring, windows, roofing, siding, and electrical systems. The project will also install or repair accessibility features such as ramps and accessible bathroom fixtures. Once completed, the project will help eliminate health and safety hazards in homes and will improve the living conditions of seven homeowners in New Hampton, in Chickasaw County.

New Web Resources for Rural Communities

USDA Rural Development today also unveiled two new web resources that underscore the agency’s mission to ensure all people have equitable access to federal programs.

A new history webpage traces USDA Rural Development’s evolution from the Great Depression and New Deal to the present, highlighting the many ways the agency supports efforts to create prosperity in rural communities.

A new feature on Rural.gov makes it easier to find federal resources in one place. The Find Programs and Opportunities tool includes hundreds of millions of dollars in financing and technical assistance opportunities that are easy to search, filter and find.