(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig reports the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has awarded nearly $250,000 in grants to help 13 Iowa farmers, businesses and non-profits increase or diversify their agricultural product offerings. Among the grant recipients, was Brun Ko Farm, owned and managed by Emily and Nathan Paulsen. The farm, located near Exira, is being awarded $15,000 toward a total project cost of $30,000, to increase vegetable production by increasing washing and storage capacity.

Naig said “Iowa agriculture is the envy of the world as our farmers continue to lead the way in producing healthy, high-quality, affordable food. It is essential that consumers have access to the Iowa-grown products they know and love. The Choose Iowa grant program makes this possible through value-added projects that help Iowans grow their businesses and access new markets. I am proud to invest in these projects that continue to position Iowa as a top place to grow, today and in the future.”

To view the entire list of Choose Iowa Marketing and Promotion grant recipients, click HERE.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has endorsed a temporary measure in response to landowner complaints about proposed carbon pipelines. Under the proposal, developers wouldn’t be able to apply for eminent domain authority to seize property for the carbon pipelines before February 1st of next year. Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, says it’s about ensuring the negotiation process between the pipeline companies and landowners is fair.

“This is a moratorium on the ability to schedule a hearing where condemnation authority can be granted,” Kaufman says. “…It sends a message that we’re watching. It sends a message that we have expectations of how you treat landowners.” Representative Steven Hansen, a Democrat from Sioux City, says this doesn’t respond to landowners who have no desire to have the pipelines on their properties.

“We could have addressed this head on and I don’t think we are,” Hansen says. “I think people were under the impression that we were going to deal with this, this year.” House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights says this should be the start of the legislature’s hard conversation about these kind of projects. “Land owner rights, public good definition, what kind of pipelines we want, what are the environment implications — all of the issues around this are critically important,” Konfrst says, “and we need to talk about them.”

Representative Kaufmann says current regulations are too vague. “Comprehensive eminent domain reform, which entails decisions and parameters set around the Iowa Utilities Board has been a priority of mine since I started here,” Kaufmann says. “…The IUB’s job is to follow what we prescribe and I’m open to changing that prescription and making it better.” Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat from Sioux City, says legislators should examine proposals now that would protect landowners.

“This is pushing the issue to next year specifically to, from my vantage point, avoid the politics and the passions that will come out on this issue prior to an election,” Hall says. On a voice vote, the House attached the temporary moratorium to a far larger budget bill that now goes to the Senate for consideration.