(Radio Iowa) – Governor Doug Burgum is campaigning in Iowa today after kicking off his long shot campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in his home state of North Dakota. The state produced a million barrels of oil a day in 2022 and Burgum, in the middle of his second term as North Dakota’s governor, says energy policy will be a focus of his campaign. “If we can start selling energy to our friends and allies instead of buying iu from our adversaries, that 180 degree switch is the thing that’s going to help kick start and drive the American economy,” Burgum says.

Burgum argues the U.S. needs to pursue an all-of-the-above energy strategy and he’s criticizing the Biden Administration’s quick shift to promoting electric vehicles. “If you want to get rid of liquid fuels in this country and do everything with a battery, then we’re just going to be trading dependence on OPEC…and then the next 70 years can be dependent on Sinopec and China,” Burgum says. The proposed route Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline that would run through Iowa ends in North Dakota, where the carbon would be permanently stored underground. The federal government is offering an 85 dollar tax credit for every metric ton of carbon that’s captured. Burgum says the subsidy makes sense.

“Internal combustion machine liquid fuels has to be part of this energy transition for decades and decades and the best way to do that if you care about CO2 is to decarbonize the CO2,” Burgum says, “and if you’re going to subsidize wind and solar, then the incentives for CO2 storage make a ton of sense for us to have a strong, truly independent energy in the United States.”

Burgum took office in North Dakota in the midst of protest over the Dakota Access pipeline, which ships crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois. He says the pipeline, which began operating six years ago, helped fuel America as the global market was rocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Burgum says the Biden Administration has weaponized the E-P-A, which is conducting an environmental review of that pipeline, and he says that sends the wrong message.

“We need pipelines. It’s the safest and easiest way to transport any fuel and any liquids in this country. We don’t need them moving on trains. We don’t need those liquids moving down the highways. We need them moving through pipelines and America needs to figure out how to build essential infrastructure or we can just cede our leadership in the world and, again, just get all our batteries from China and get all our oil from the Middle East.”

Burgum, who will be visiting a farm implement dealership in Farley today (Thursday), supports the federal ethanol and biodiesel production mandates. “Absolutely, essentially, completely, totally,” Burgum says. “The Midwest is going to be the epicenter of sustainable aviation fuels for the world and we’re so well positioned with the great agricultural producers across the Midwest combined with the CO2 storage that we have in North Dakota and other places around the United States. So it’s absolutely critical.”

Burgum will also visit the Field of Dream in Dyersville today (Thursday).

(Radio Iowa) – There are now just two Iowa counties without an emerald ash borer infestation. The Iowa Department of Agriculture says the wood-boring beetle has been confirmed for the first time in Plymouth County after a tree service found evidence of the bug in an ash tree in Remsen. Plymouth is the 97th Iowa County to have a confirmed infestation, and that leaves just Emmet and Palo Alto County without the invasive beetle. E-A-B was first discovered in Iowa in Allamakee County in 2010.

The Ag Department says trees typically die within two to four years after becoming infested.

(Radio Iowa) – The Jefferson Highway Association’s annual conference is underway in Mason City. Named after President Thomas Jefferson, the north-south route is one of America’s earliest highways, stretching 23-hundred miles from New Orleans to Winnipeg, though in most of Iowa, it’s known as U-S Highway 65. Visit Mason City executive director Lindsey James says after caravans through Lamoni, Des Moines and Iowa Falls earlier this week, today (Thursday) they’ll take buses north. “They are going to travel a portion of the Jefferson Highway, and they are going to head north up to Minnesota, their final destination being Owatonna,” James says. “They’ll stop at sites along the way and get to see other communities in the region, learn more about the history of each community, as well as the Jefferson Highway in those communities.”

James says association members will spend much of tomorrow (Friday) in seminars at Mason City’s Historic Park Inn Hotel.  “They have a great lineup of speakers,” she says, “talking about historic preservation, marketing for communities along the Jefferson Highway, how to celebrate the history and use history to promote tourism, as well as other things in line with that preservation theme.” On Saturday morning, James says the public is welcome to join association members at the Kinney Pioneer Museum for a special Community Day.

“There will be a flag ceremony starting shortly after 10:00 AM and admission is free,” James says. “It’s a great opportunity for local residents to come out and learn more about the Jefferson Highway, about the association, but also see the Kinney Pioneer Museum if you haven’t been there recently, a great opportunity to come out there and join us.” The conference is held in different cities every year and Mason City put in a bid for it initially in 2018 and won the event in 2020, though due to the pandemic, it’s being held there this year instead.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Pottawattamie County Medical Examiner’s Office is celebrating the distinction of being named Iowa Donor Network’s 2023 LEGACI Award Winner for Innovation. LEGACI Awards are given to Iowa Donor Network’s (IDN) partner agencies and/or their dedicated team members for going above and beyond to collaborate with IDN on meeting its mission of “Working Together to Transform Lives through Organ and Tissue Donation”.

There are six categories under the LEGACI Awards: Leadership, Education, Gratitude, Advocacy, Clinical Excellence, and Innovation. The award for Innovation is given to individuals and/or partner agencies who seek new ways to educate and promote donation, develop, and implement breakthrough best practices, and promote the use of technology to establish/ improve the donation process. “Our team is extremely appreciative of this recognition,” said Pottawattamie County Medical Examiner Dr. Christopher Elliott. “We’re advocates of organ and tissue donation and it’s rewarding to be recognized for promoting an initiative we strongly believe in.”

The Pottawattamie County Medical Examiner’s Office was nominated for its support in piloting technology known as iReferral. iReferral uses an electronic portal in lieu of a phone call to share information with Iowa Donor Network. The Office’s assistance in piloting the program helped Iowa Donor Network learn how other Medical Examiner offices, as well as EMS agencies, might utilize the program to increase the number of patients and families in Iowa who may be offered the opportunity of donation. In 2022, the Pottawattamie County Medical Examiner’s Office made 117 referral calls to Iowa Donor Network, resulting in five donors who went on to give the life saving and life enhancing gifts of tissue. One tissue donor can impact between 50 to 300 individuals.

Photo: Front row from left: PCMEO Investigator Felica Luczek, PCMEO Investigator Kalen Knight, PCMEO Investigator Abby Robinson, PCMEO Chief Investigator/Coordinator Cheri Dahlheim, IDN Partner Relations Coordinator Madelyn Clark, PCMEO Medical Examiner Dr. Christopher Elliott. Second row from left: Board of Supervisors, Tim Wichman, Scott Belt, Brian Shea, Susan Miller, Jeff Jorgensen. (Courtesy Craig Carlsen, Pott. Co. Public Relations)

“Donation is a collaborative effort, and Iowa Donor Network is grateful to the entire Pottawattamie County Medical Examiner team for all they do to promote donation in their community,” said Iowa Donor Network Partner Relations Coordinator Madelyn Clark.

About Iowa Donor Network: Iowa Donor Network (IDN) is a non-profit organization that operates as the primary contact for organ, tissue and eye donation services for the state of Iowa. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have certified IDN to function as the single organ procurement agency in the state. IDN also serves as the tissue recovery agency for the state. To learn more, visit iowadonornetwork.org.

About Pottawattamie County: The purpose of Pottawattamie County government is to provide the highest quality government possible to the citizens of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and other governmental entities in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible. It is also to encourage economic development, enhance our tax base and provide higher quality jobs for our citizens. For more information, visit PottCounty-ia.gov.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four recent arrests. Three arrests took place on Tuesday (June 6):

• 41-year-old Jennifer Lee Kell, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 1:50-p.m. on Highway 34 at Ingrum Ave., for Driving While Barred (Bond $2,000).
• 33-year-old Tyler Eldon Buckner, of Emerson, was arrested at around 11:15-p.m. Tuesday, for being a Felon in Control of A Firearm. (Bond $5,000).
• and, 61-year-old Jeffery Richard Pape, of Emerson, was arrested at around 5:20-p.m., Tuesday, on a warrant for Contempt of Court. (No bond)

On Saturday (June 3), 39-year-old Kevin Douglas Wendt, of Pacific Junction, was arrested in Mills County at around 7:25-p.m., on a warrant for Violation of Probation. (Bond $1,000)

(Radio Iowa) – Keokuk is getting a two-million dollar federal grant to clean up an abandoned industrial site, with plans in the works to redevelop the land. The former Elkem-Carbide plant has been vacant for more than 16 years and is contaminated with a variety of toxins. As the 80-acre site gets sanitized, Keokuk Mayor Kathie Mahoney says the city will look to attract businesses there. “It’s going to cleanup a brownfield area that we’ve needed to get cleaned up,” Mahoney says, “and it’s going to put some hope and promise in the city of Keokuk for a better, cleaner place.”

The site will be divided into six sections. Four will be developed for business and industry. The city will rent one parcel to Alliant Energy for a solar field. The sixth section, due to its topography, will be developed into a nature and recreation area.

(Radio Iowa) – Another lawsuit is being filed following the partial collapse of a downtown Davenport apartment building that killed three tenants. Lexus and Quanishia Berry were in their apartment on May 28th when their part of the six-story building dropped to the ground. Lexus was able to escape, but her wife was trapped for nearly eight hours, and only got out of the rubble after part of one leg was amputated. Lexus Berry spoke at a news conference on Wednesday. “All that we want is just accountability to be able to have closure and to know why this happened and to be able to move forward with our lives,” Berry says. “We definitely, most importantly, want you guys to know that we are not victims to the situation. We are survivors.”

Steven Hart is the attorney for the women and says he asked them what they wanted. “And what they said is, ‘We’ve been quiet too long. We’ve been pushed down too long. We’ve been taken advantage of too long. And it struck us as we fell four floors into a pile of rubble that it’s time for someone to be held accountable,'” Hart says.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday names building owner Andrew Wold, several L-L-Cs connected to him, as well as his property management company, engineering firm and contractors. It also names the City of Davenport and the building’s prior owner. The Berrys’ lawsuit is the second to be filed in connection with the incident.

(Washington, D-C) – The expected El Nino has emerged, according to scientists at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. In the monthly outlook released today, forecasters issued an El Nino Advisory, noting that El Nino conditions are present and are expected to gradually strengthen into the winter.

El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon marked by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator, which occurs on average every 2-7 years. El Nino’s impacts on the climate extend far beyond the Pacific Ocean.

​”Depending on its strength, El Nino can cause a range of impacts, such as increasing the risk of heavy rainfall and droughts in certain locations around the world,” said Michelle L’Heureux, climate scientist at the Climate Prediction Center. “Climate change can exacerbate or mitigate certain impacts related to El Nino. For example, El Nino could lead to new records for temperatures, particularly in areas that already experience above-average temperatures during El Nino.”

El Nino’s influence on the U.S. is weak during the summer and more pronounced starting in the late fall through spring. By winter, there is an 84% chance of greater than a moderate strength El Nino, and a 56% chance of a strong El Nino developing. Typically, moderate to strong El Nino conditions during the fall and winter result in wetter-than-average conditions from southern California to along the Gulf Coast and drier-than-average conditions in the Pacific Northwest and Ohio Valley. El Nino winters also bring better chances for warmer-than-average temperatures across the northern tier of the country.

A single El Nino event will not result in all of these impacts, but El Nino increases the odds of them occurring.

The anticipated persistence of El Nino also contributed to the 2023 Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Hurricane Outlooks issued by NOAA last month. El Nino conditions usually help to suppress Atlantic Hurricane activity, while the presence of El Nino typically favors strong hurricane activity in the central and eastern Pacific Basins.

The Climate Prediction Center’s seasonal temperature and precipitation outlooks will continue to take into account current and forecasted El Nino conditions. These seasonal outlooks are updated monthly, with the next update on June 15. The Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook will be updated in early August.

Scientists have been forecasting the development of El Nino for the last few months and issued the first El Nino Watch on April 13.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Department reports the arrest on Wednesday, of 38-year-old Jacob Jones, from Glenwood. Jones was taken into custody for Driving While Barred. He posted a $2,000 bond, and was released.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Union County Sheriff’s Office report the operator of a motorcycle was transported to the hospital following a collision Wednesday evening on Highway 34. Authorities say 20-year-old Hunter L. Walter, of Creston, was operating a 2016 Kawasaki motorcycle eastbound on Highway 34, when the machine collided with the rear of a 2009 Chevy Cobalt, driven by 25-year-old Fulton S. Abraham, of Murray. Following the collision that happened at around 6:15-p.m., Wednesday, the cycle ended-up in the south ditch.

Hunter Walter was ejected from the motorcycle and slid on the road before coming to rest. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital in Creston. An accident investigation revealed the motorcycle left a long skid mark prior to hitting the car. No citations were issued.

Damage from the crash amounted to $2,000 for the car and $5,000 to the motorcycle.