(Radio Iowa) – The proposed Iowa route for a Texas company’s carbon pipeline has changed and more than 200 people packed a public hearing in Manchester to express their opinions on the project. The Navigator pipeline would ship liquefied carbon dioxide from ethanol plants to storage in Illinois. Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, a vice president for Navigator, says the route was adjusted once Archer-Daniels-Midland decided to pursue its own carbon pipeline.

A dozen POET ethanol plants in Iowa would be connected to the the Navigator pipeline route. Dubuque County Supervisor Ann McDonough says the company has given zero safety information to emergency services in the area.

A man who spoke at the hearing in Manchester said the proposed route would come within a quarter mile of his house and he’s concerned about ruptures.

In 2020, a carbon pipeline rupture in Mississippi prompted the evacuation of a small town, as liquified carbon dioxide can cause nausea, headaches, mental confusion and respiratory issues. Several speakers urged the audience to send written objections to the Iowa Utilities Board, which will review Navigator’s requests to seize property from landowners unwilling to sign voluntary easements for the pipeline. Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions is the third company seeking landowner agreements for a pipeline.

ATLANTIC, IA – Produce in the Park is delighted to offer customers local peaches this week. Market Manager Brigham Hoege says vendor Brun Ko Farm will be selling the Iowa-grown peaches in the downtown City Park, and the market’s guest chef will be handing out samples of peach salsa. Peach salsa is good with chips, but also pairs well with pork (also sold at the park).

This week’s food trucks are Pim’s Thai and Pomodoro Fresh Italian. Pomodoro offers a plain butter noodle option for kids, and will offer that popular dish in adult-sized portions thanks to Produce in the Park customer feedback.

Emily Paulsen of Brun Ko Farm with Iowa peaches

The Atlantic Lions Club will be at the park this week with free putt-putt golf and bags games, and Atlantic Parks and Recreation will set up checkers and chess, in addition to a variety of yard games. Produce in the Park continues to welcome new vendors to the park throughout the season. Within the last few weeks, a vendor selling sourdough bread and produce has joined the market, along with a vendor selling hand-embroidered dishtowels and t-shirts. Check out these new vendors at the park on August 25.

Produce in the Park is a farmers market and community gathering held Thursday evening from 4:30-6:30 PM in the Atlantic City Park through October 13.

Produce in the Park August 25 DETAILS…
Time: 4:30-6:30 PM
Location: Atlantic City Park (10 W. 7th St. Atlantic, IA 50022)
Live Music: Sarah Selders
Food Trucks: Pomodoro Italian and Pim’s Thai
Activities: Putt-putt with Atlantic Lions Club, Yard games and board games with Atlantic Parks and Recreation
Fresh local produce: Peaches, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, eggplant, garlic, and more!
Guest Chef: Peach Salsa
Fresh Produce: Tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, garlic,
Meats: Beef, pork, lamb, chicken
Staples: Honey, farm-fresh eggs, granola
Treats: Kringle, pastries, fresh-squeezed lemonade, popcorn
Crafts and More: Jewelry, candles and melts, bath salts, art prints, plants
Free drawing for farm-fresh eggs (sponsored by the Cass County Local Food Policy Council)

Payment methods accepted: All vendors accept cash. Many accept credit cards, Venmo, and Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Senior and WIC checks. All qualifying food vendors accept SNAP/EBT (also known as food stamps). All fresh produce vendors both accept and distribute Double Up Food Bucks (coupons given for SNAP/EBT purchases of fresh produce).

Produce in the Park August 2022 farmers markets are sponsored by the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission, Cass County Tourism, Cass Health, First Whitney Bank and Trust, the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and Deter Motor Co.
For updates on Produce in the Park, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark) or Instagram (www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/), or visit the Produce in the Park website to sign up
for the e-newsletter at www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com.

For information on vending at the park, contact Market Manager Brigham Hoegh at produceintheparkatlanticiowa@gmail.com or 712-249-5870.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University researchers have developed a way to take 3-D pictures with a robot to study the leaf angles of corn plants. Professor Lie Tang says the leaf angles play an important role in how the plant captures sunlight, but it’s hard for a photographer to get pictures with thousands of plants growing together. “Some of them they can grow more than ten foot tall. And you want to capture the angles from bottom to the top in a very tight space,” Tang says. Tang is a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and says they developed a system with multiple tiers of cameras that are customized to work together.

“We could have binocular vision or stereo vision, just like our human beings who have two eyes. So we can perceive the world in three dimensional space. It’s the same kind of principle, we even have two cameras through something we call the matching between two cameras,” he says. Tang says the cameras on the robot they call “Phenobot Three,” gives them color plus depth to help determine the leaf angles.  There’s a quite a breakthrough piece, to be able to exactly detect the different angles in a very complex imaging situation,” Tang says.

Lie Tang (ISU photo)

Tang says they use A-I or artificial intelligence and deep learning to sort through the data to measure the angles accurately. “So we are training our computer algorithms to understand the different angles to be able to recognize different angles through training. So that has proven to be very successful,” according to Tang. There are various corn hybrids with an upright leaf angle, to assist in the photosynthetic process and improve crop yields, but the I-S-U researchers say the genetics that control this trait are relatively unknown.

It’s hoped the advanced photo system will help them learn more. The research is supported by a two-point-five million-dollar National Science Foundation grant.