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Ag Secretary Vilsack talks about plan for renewable fuels

May 5, 2009 By

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined the Energy Secretary and administrator of the E.P.A. today to announce plans for moving ahead with the production of renewable fuels. Vilsack, the former governor of Iowa, says the plan will move the bio-fuels industry to the next level beyond corn and soybean-based fuels.

Vilsack says the president has directed them to create a comprehensive biofuel marketing and development program, and to do it in a sustainable way. Vilsack says the idea is to increase the use of renewable fuels and decrease the dependency on foreign oil.

Vilsack says the memorandum in his view reflects the president’s commitment to rural America as he says “it merges and marries together rural economic development with agriculture to create clean jobs and clean opportunity.”

E.P.A. administrator Lisa Jackson says the proposed new renewable energy standard will increase the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into gasoline from nine billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Jackson says corn-based ethanol will be the bridge to new types of renewables, such as cellulosic ethanol, that are produce in more environmentally friendly ways.

Energy Secretary Stephen Chu says the federal government will help develop the new fuels and cleaner methods for making them. Chu says there will be $786-million from the economic recovery fund for the development of advance biofuels and the expansion of commercial biofuel refineries. He says the money will help develop integrated production plants that produce biofuels and heat and power in a commercially viable way.

Vilsack says the president is also directing the Ag Department to implement the programs in the farm bill. Vilsack says the president has instructed the U-S-D-A to get the programs for renewable fuels in the farm bill into action in 30 days. Vilsack says there is over $1.1-billion to help build new biofuel refineries and to help existing refineries convert from fossil fuel power. Vilsack says they also want to help restructure the finances of current biofuel facilities.

Vilsack says the president has asked the Ag Department to use its credit programs to see if they can help those existing plants in economic stress restructure to get through the difficult economic times. Vilsack says they not only want to increase the output of biofuels, but also open up more use of the biofuels.

Vilsack says the president suggests they need to work in concert with the industry to figure out how to better create markets for biofuels, to increase the use of flexible fuel vehicles, to assist those who market and create more consumer interest in renewable fuels and create the needed infrastructure.

Vilsack says all this needs to be done in a sustainable way. Vilsack says the “Biofuels Interagency Working Group” will develop the nation’s first comprehensive biofuels market development program.

 

Filed Under: Agriculture, Environment & Conservation, Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Grassley to talk healthcare with President

May 5, 2009 By

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and another senator are scheduled to meet tomorrow with President Obama at the White House to discuss their latest findings and goals in health care reform. Grassley is the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee which is meeting today to discuss how to make health care more accessible and affordable.

“The health care system is 16% of the economy so reform is really a massive impact,” Grassley says. “Health care decisions need to stay between the patient and the doctors. I’m also working to make sure that rural America isn’t shortchanged in health care reform and left without benefits that people in big states have like Florida.” Grassley says he wants to tackle another issue that has more to do with keeping a symbolic sun shining on the work of government employees.

“I’m introducing today a bill to make it easier for inspectors general who are watchdogs within the federal government to do their jobs,” Grassley says. “I’ve always been a big supporter of I-Gs because they make sure accountability in government is a fact.” He says he wants to make certain there are no roadblocks for those who are to be keeping tabs on the “TARP” spending, which encompasses many billions of dollars in economic stimulus money.

“My bill makes it clear that the Paperwork Reduction Act isn’t intended to slow down the independent audit work of the inspectors general that they do on behalf of the taxpayers,” Grassley says. “It’s a common sense response to some real nonsense.”

With last week’s party switch of Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter from Republican to Democrat, Grassley will become the ranking Republican of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee in 2011. Grassley is to become the first non-lawyer to hold that post. He notes he hopes to “bring a little common sense to the process,” in a congress which he says is already two-thirds controlled by lawyers.

 

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Suspect sought in six rape cases in West Des Moines, Waukee

May 5, 2009 By

Police believe the same person is responsible for six rape cases reported in West Des Moines and Waukee. Authorities in the two Des Moines metro communities say a serial rapist has broken into six homes in the past five months.

Five of the cases occurred in West Des Moines and it’s believed the same man who committed those crimes recently raped a teenage girl in Waukee. All of the attacks have occurred between 1 and 4 in the morning.

The suspect is described as a black male, around six-feet tall with an average to muscular build. In each case, he has entered the home through a front door, patio door or a glass window.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Governor touts passenger rail service

May 5, 2009 By

Changes are coming in the way the State of Iowa manages money for passenger rail service. Governor Chet Culver went to the Freight House in Davenport yesterday to sign a bill into law that redirects state efforts to maintain existing rail lines and build new ones.

"Senate File 151 is about our rail infrastructure and making sure that Iowa stays on the forefront in terms of getting that passenger rail, ultimately, from Chicago to Iowa City and then eventually on to Des Moines," Culver said.

The federal economic stimulus package includes about $8 billion for passenger rail nationwide and the borrowing plan Culver convinced state legislators to embrace sets aside $3 million in state money for passenger rail. An Amtrak link between Davenport and Chicago is estimated to cost $23 million. Experts say it would cost another $32.5 million to extend that passenger rail service to Iowa City.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

Another Cedar Rapids cop assaulted; 19th assault on CRPD officer this year

May 5, 2009 By

Another Cedar Rapids cop was injured last night when she was trying to break up a fight among four women and fell down some steps. Last night’s incident was the 19th assault on a Cedar Rapids police officer this year.

Two young men from Cedar Rapids accused of assaulting another policeman this past weekend accuse the cops of being "too aggressive." A Cedar Rapids policeman is recovering at home after being punched and kicked by party-goers celebrating a man’s 50th birthday.

Four young men were arrested. Two of them talked with KCRG Television about the incident which started at 3:30 Saturday morning when the next-door neighbor complained about noise from the party. Police checked the party, retreated a few blocks, and the neighbor called police again to complain the party-goers were now pounding on doors and yelling at them.

Party-goer Kenneth Reed, who is 20 years old, suggests police manhandled him.

"They had me handcuffed in my house, but drug me out by my feet," Reed says.

When police first arrived, they asked to enter the party house, but no one would open the door. Twenty-one-year-old Parker Anderson, another one of the men who was arrested, complains about the cops, too.

"They didn’t show us a warrant. They didn’t read us our rights — nothing," Anderson claims. "Like, they didn’t follow procedure at all."

Sergeant Cristy Hamblin, a spokeswoman for the Cedar Rapids Police Department, says the whole incident could have been avoided if the party-goers had let police in the house when cops first arrived.

"They could have gone on doing whatever they were doing in the house but, instead, they didn’t think through all the consequences through and they spent the night in jail," Hamblin says.

Reed says he never thought his dad’s 50th birthday would turn out this way.

"I did get a couple, like, knees in the back that I didn’t really deserve, like, you know what I’m saying?" Reed says. "I was being really cooperative except for not letting them in my house without a warrant."

Hamblin, the spokeswoman for the Cedar Rapids Police Department, suggests all of this could have been avoided if party-goers had been cooperative rather than combative.

"When you assault an officer, it’s really almost that you’re assaulting the public as well because that’s who we’re representing," she says.

A Cedar Rapids policeman who was assaulted in March is still in the hospital, recovering slowly from his severe injuries. The 16-year-old accused of that assault is appearing in court this morning and a judge will decide whether he’ll stand trial as an adult or a juvenile.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Morningside softball has week off before NAIA championships

May 5, 2009 By

The Morningside softball team will be off for more than a week before heading to Decatur, Alabama and an appearance in the NAIA softball championships. The Mustangs earned the trip by winning the Great Plains Conference regular season championship.

Morningside coach Jessica Jones-Sitzmann says they need to work on finals and then get refocused. She says the down time is good to allow some players to recover from injuries. Jones-Sitzman says it has been a busy time just getting ready to make the trip.

She says they are now finalizing everything and will leave Monday, and don’t play until Thursday. This is the first year that the NAIA eliminated regional play and Jones-Sitzmann says her team is thrilled to make the trip. Waldorf will also play in the national tournament after winning the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament. 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Iowa tops in sign ups for donating organs

May 5, 2009 By

Iowa is now number-one in the country in terms of the percentage of people who sign up to donate their organs when they die to benefit others who need transplants. Paul Sodders, spokesman for the Iowa Donor Network, says the numbers were released a few days ago, putting Iowa on top.

"We have around 66-percent of all adults marking ‘Yes’ to donation on their driver’s license or identification card," Sodders says. "That’s more than any other state in the country, so we’re really, really proud of our efforts in Iowa and proud of how giving Iowans are."

Last year, more than 50 Iowans who died had their organs recovered to benefit others, while more than 450 had tissue recovered. Sodders says it’s important to check that box when you get your license renewed.

"We have a great partnership with the Department of Transportation and when people get their license they’re asked the question about donation which is just so crucial to the process," Sodder says. "We also think it’s just the giving nature of Iowans and we know through our donation numbers that we’re one of the best in the nation."

There are more than 550 people on the waiting list for organ transplants in Iowa at the moment, with more than 450 of them needing kidneys. He says those numbers have grown in recent years.

"We attribute that to several things," Sodders says. "People who need a kidney transplant are actually doing better on dialysis. Dialysis treatments are better and can sustain those patients longer. We also have a new lung program in Iowa so we’ve added some patients to our waiting list with a number of patients who are awaiting a lung transplant at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics."

A recent study found the number of deceased and living organ donors nationwide fell in 2008, but Sodders says Iowa has seen relatively steady increases since 2000, with a 5% rise since then in the number of live donors and a 20% rise in the number of deceased donors. For more information, visit the   Iowa Donor Network’s website .   

 

Filed Under: Health & Medicine
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