Opponents of a controversial oil pipeline being built across the heart of the U-S are making several stops in Iowa this week, warning residents the next version of the pipeline could be cutting through the Hawkeye State. Randy Thompson, a farmer from central Nebraska, says his greatest fear is the widespread environmental damage that would come if TransCanada’s Keystone X-L pipeline ever ruptures. “That’s one of my major concerns,” Thompson says. “I’m also very concerned about the fact we have a foreign corporation coming in here and stripping us of our individual property rights. We have a company coming into America and taking land that belongs to American landowners for their own personal gain and use and that’s not right.” He says landowners are being compensated but “it amounts to a little bit of nothing.”

Thompson raises corn and cattle in central Nebraska’s Merrick County, which he says was in the pipeline’s original path, until TransCanada bowed to pressure and moved the proposed route away from environmentally-sensitive areas. Those include the Ogallala Aquifer and the Nebraska Sandhills. A Hollywood actress was arrested last week during a protest of the pipeline’s southern leg in east Texas. Thompson says he knows the elderly Texas landowner who was taken into custody along with Daryl Hannah. “Eleanor Fairchild, she’s 78 years old and she got arrested on her own ranch for criminal trespass,” Thompson says. “That’s because of an eminent domain court ruling that granted the rights to TransCanada. She went out there and got in front of the construction equipment, they had her arrested and taken off to jail.”

TransCanada’s permit was denied by President Obama in January and the company has reapplied to build, though the pipeline’s future remains in limbo. The seven-billion-dollar project would carry crude 17-hundred miles from the oil fields of western Canada to the refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Supporters say the pipeline would create thousands of construction jobs while the oil it would provide would help reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign petroleum. Thompson says that’s a “ridiculous” argument.”If you listen to the political rhetoric surrounding Keystone XL, you would think it has some kind of a magical power,” Thompson says. “Politicians say these few thousand temporary jobs somehow will solve America’s unemployment problem and somehow this oil that’s flowing across our nation and then on overseas, that’s supposed to be solving our country’s energy problems.”

Thompson is convinced the oil would be sold on the world market, lining the pockets of big oil execs and having no beneficial impact on domestic pump prices. He says Iowans need to be aware and be on guard. “There’s trillions of barrels of this stuff up in Canada and the oil companies desperately want to get it down to where they can ship it overseas,” Thompson says. “They’re looking for easy passage. It’s not to say that sometime in the future, they might look to Iowa.” Thompson is being joined on the Iowa trek by a minister, a Native American leader, an Iowa legislator and representatives from at least three environmental groups. Oglala Lakota Vice President Tom Poor Bear from Pine Ridge, Nebraska, claims the pipeline will violate the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty and jeopardize the safety of the water supply for the Oglala Lakota Nation. The group has stops planned today (Wednesday) in Des Moines and Ames, and on Thursday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Davenport.

(Radio Iowa)

Republican Congressman Steve King was a bit more aggressive last night (Tuesday) in the fifth face-to-face debate with Democratic challenger Christie Vilsack. In their first debate, King said he was “surprised” by Vilsack, who had opened that meeting by saying King was guilty of “a lot of talk and no action” in congress. King closed last night’s session with this rap against Vilsack. “I looked at one of the ads of Mrs. Vilsack’s on the way here, through the text of it, and when I drew a line through everything that was a question, or everything that was untrue, the only thing left was: ‘I’m Christie Vilsack and I approved this message,'” King said. “You deserve better than that.”

About half an hour earlier, Vilsack suggested King had failed to vote for bills that provided money earmarked for expanding Highway 20 and Highway 29, key projects for northern Iowa. “I think that he is one person here and a different person in Washington,” Vilsack said. “And I don’t think that’s the kind of person you want representing you, someone who is disingenuous.” The two covered some of the same ground they’ve debated in their four previous meetings, discussing the Farm Bill, immigration and gun rights. Last night’s debate was sponsored by The Sioux City Journal and the A-B-C T-V affiliates in Sioux City and Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa)

Childcare providers in Cass and area counties have an opportunity to learn strategies and practical skills to provide an allergen-safe and healthy environment, for children in their care. ” Just a Bite: Managing Food Allergies in Childcare,” is a training program sponsored by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. The training helps providers identify common food allergens for children, understand allergen food labeling laws as well as recognize and treat the signs and symptoms of food allergies. The program will be held October 30th, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, at the ISU Extension and Outreach Office in Atlantic. The program will be conducted by ISU Extension Nutrition & Health Program Specialist Barb Fuller.

According to ISU Extension, the prevalence of food allergies among children is rising. Officials say they have increased 18% in the last 10 years. Food allergies are more common among children, affecting 6-8% of children under age 4 whereas 4% of the adult population has food allergies. The highest incidence of food allergies occurs among children under the age of 3. Almost 1 in 5 of children in that age group have food allergies.

According to Fuller, “The prevalence of food allergies in this age group, can create life-threatening situations if a childcare provider is unaware of the management and treatment of food allergies.” She says “It often takes just a bite of the allergen to cause a reaction.” Fuller adds that “There are eight major food allergens that account for 90% of all food allergy reactions. Food allergies can be easily prevented and treated by knowing some basic principles.” Those principles will be the subject of the October 25th meeting in Atlantic. Call Rebecca at 712-243-1132 for more information or to register by October 25th.