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Tama County veterans honored with new Gladbrook memorial

May 29, 2006 By

A two-year project to honor Tama County veterans will culminate with the formal dedication of a memorial today (Monday).

Jolene Denbow. spokesperson for the community group, says the All-Veterans Memorial in Gladbrook’s been in the making for more than two years and she says they’ve compiled more than 650 memorial bricks and nine flags to fly. Denbow calls it “an awesome sight.”

Denbow says the memorial was designed to include all Tama County Veterans, representing veterans from the community’s “past, present, and future.” Most of the bricks carry a soldier’s name, rank, and place of service. Denbow says the bricks are displayed on eight large concrete tables for easy viewing. For its creation, the bricks in the display were alphabetized but from now on bricks will be added by date of service.

The Gladbrook community raised nearly $80,000 for the project and people donated time and materials — from concrete to trees, and a howitzer cannon. The official dedication begins at 11 A-M today (Monday), just east of the intersection of T-47 and Highway 96.

Filed Under: Military

New tax break for utilities that use soy-based product

May 29, 2006 By

Governor Tom Vilsack will sign a bill into law Tuesday that creates a tax credit electric utilities that use a soy-based fluid to lubricate their transformers. The fluid is one of several soybean-based lubricants created at the University of Northern Iowa Ag-Based Lubricants Center in Waverly.

Lou Honary oversees the center that now produces over 30 products. He says there are greases for cotton picker spindles, greases for marine use and greases for food machinery in packing plants and cereal companies. Honary says the soy grease used on food machinery is safer. If the food comes into incidental contact with the grease, there’s not a problem because the grease has been approved by the F-D-A.

Honary says the soy greases are also being by farmers. Honary says the vegetable-based products handle heat better and don’t break down as quickly if farm equipment gets heavy use. He says the soy grease lets farmers use something they’ve helped create and reduces our dependency on foreign oil. The farm grease recently hit store shelves in a chain of tractor supply stores.

Filed Under: Business

New biodiesel plant in the works in NE IA

May 29, 2006 By

A new biodiesel plant is being planned for northeastern Iowa. Western Dubuque Biodiesel intends to build a plant that will produce 30-million gallons of biodiesel per year.

George Davis, a board member and treasurer for Western Dubuque Biodiesel, says they plan to raise nearly 20 million dollars in private investments to finance the plant operations. “Based on other projects…we’re confident we’re going to raise the money and we’re looking forward to starting our plant construction,” Davis says.

The plant will convert vegetable oil, primarily soy-oil, to biodiesel. Davis says one of the reasons Iowa makes a great location for such a plant is that it will be processing soybean oil. According to Davis, there are more soybean crushing facilities in Iowa than in any other state. The plant will send its biodiesel to facilities, such as a new distribution center in Dubuque, to be mixed with diesel fuel for distribution.

Only Iowa residents will be allowed to become shareholders in the plant and they must make a minimum investment of at least $25,000. “All of the people (who) invest will be owners,” Davis says. “They will have a right to vote in shareholder meetings and own a piece of the company.”

Potential investors may attend one of two meetings On Tuesday, June 6th at 11 in the morning and seven at night in Farley at The Palace. Thirty people are expected to be on the payrolll once the plant is operating at full capacity.

Filed Under: Agriculture

New PBS show to be in Iowa, on look-out for stories

May 29, 2006 By

A crew from the new PBS show “Farmers’ Almanac TV” will be in Iowa this summer to cover one big event and they’re looking for more ideas of things to see while here.

Tom Wheeler, manager of the Iowa Film Office, says the producers want local flavor with national appeal. Wheeler says they’re open to any variety of suggestions. The crew will be in Iowa on July 1 through 8 to cover the Special Olympics National Games in Ames and want to maximize their time here. He says the PBS folks have said top consideration will be given to stories with the potential to entertain, educate and inspire — which opens the door to many possibilities.

Wheeler says they’re open to all ideas to pick up as much footage as possible for future shows. Suggested categories include: animals, arts and crafts, food, traditional lifestyles, gardening, health/medicine, history/nostalgia, tips and hints, recreation, science/technology, travel and weather. Wheeler says the crew will initially be shooting in Ames but will not be limited to staying in central Iowa. From the Quad Cities to Sioux City, he says they’re not concerned about gas prices and they’ll drive wherever they need to in Iowa for the best stories.

Related web sites:
PBS show Farmers’ Almanac TV
Iowa Film Office

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

Crime-fighting southwest Iowa mayor

May 29, 2006 By

The southwest Iowa mayor who was injured in a fit of road rage on Friday evening caught someone breaking into city hall on Saturday morning.

Don Sanney, mayor of the town of Lewis, says he got a call at about 5:30 Saturday morning from a resident who heard alarms going off at City Hall. “By the time I got down there, the one kid was still around there. I called 911 and the law was about five minutes out,” Sanney says. “They finally got there, talked to him.”

On Friday afternoon, Sanney had jumped in his car to chase down a pick-up truck that left the scene of an accident on the highway that runs through town. “I turned the block quicker than he did and went over ’cause I knew about where he was going. He came up the street and I just pulled out and tried to get him stopped. He went around me and slid to a stop. I pulled up there,” Sanney says. “By that time he was at my door. We got into a ltitle confrontation over it. He was spitting in my face and everything. Anyway, well, he just hauled off and started hitting me through the window.”

Sanney was treated and released from a local hospital. Sanney describes it as “a little check-up.” Sanney’s nose had been bloodied and there was blood around his ear, which Sanney says doctors determined was coming from a surface wound and not from his inner ear.

According to Sanney, this isn’t the first time the 19-year-old who’s under arrest for the assault has caused trouble around town. “Last winter he hit the steps in front of my house — the same guy,” Sanney says. Sanney isn’t confident the 19-year-old, who has not been identified by authorities, will spend much time for this latest fracas. “Haul him in, turn him loose,” is Sanney’s prediction.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Galt man found after drowning in Wright County lake

May 29, 2006 By

The body of a Wright County man was recovered this weekend — three days after he went missing in a north central Iowa lake.

Twenty-seven-year-old Miguel Angel Barrios of Galt was one of four people in a small fishing boat that capsized Wednesday evening on Morris Lake in Wright County. The other three were able to swim to shore but Barrios disappeared in the water. His body was recovered on Saturday morning.

Authorities say no one on the boat was wearing a life jacket, and there were no life jackets on board.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Vilsack: Israelis highlight water supply concerns

May 29, 2006 By

Governor Tom Vilsack says his visit to Israel earlier this month highlighted a terrorist threat that he’d not thought much about.

“I did have an opportunity to visit with experts in terms of water issues,” Vilsack says. “So much of the emphasis on water is on the water that we drink. So little is, in terms of terrorist activities, is put on the water that is consumed by livestock and is used for irrigation purposes.”

Vilsack says he hadn’t thought much about the different water sources that could be subject to a terror strike. But Vilsack says the Israelis have. “When you live in a country surrounded by countries that don’t necessarily get along with you, you think about all contingencies, as you should, and that’s part of what we should be thinking about in the United States,” Vilsack says. “The rules of warfare have changed.”

Vilsack says terrorists now strike at “innocents” and U.S. policymakers must change their mindset and make different preparations such as attempting to protect the entire water supply, not just drinking water for humans.

About 75 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water in the oceans, lakes, rivers and wetlands, plus there are underground acquifers. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, about 408 billion gallons of water are withdrawn from sources like lakes and acquifers and used in the U.S. every day to generate electricity, irrigate crops or provide drinking water to humans. Vilsack spent about a week in Israel.

Filed Under: Politics & Government
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