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Utilities Board gives approval to MidAmerican wind energy plan

November 5, 2009 By

The Iowa Utilities Board Thursday voted 3-0 to approve a plan by MidAmerican Energy to build enough wind turbines to generate up to 1,001 megawatts of electricity in the state. NextEra Energy of Florida — which also owns wind turbines in the state — sought to block the proposal, saying it would give MidAmerican a dominant position in wind energy in the state.

Utilities Board lawyer David Lynch, says the board did not agree. Lynch says the board found “the market’s a lot bigger than even this project, there’s a lot more wind out there.”  He says if the wind projects make sense they will happen. Lynch says since it will take a couple years for MidAmerican to get the project built, they will be required to give an update on the market situation so that no problem develops.

Lynch says the board doesn’t feel MidAmerican’s plans will keep others from setting up turbines. “The concern was that if it looked like these guys were gonna take everything that was available, then no one else would play. They would take their wind turbines and go home,” Lynch says. He says the board doesn’t see that as a real concern with the available capacity. Part of the agreement will put a hold on MidAmerican’s electricity rates for at least another three years.

Lynch says MidAmerican has not changed their base electric rates since 1997, and he says in return for various settlements, they have agreed to extend the rate freeze through 2013. Some 400 or so turbines would likely be needed to reach the amount of electricity called for in the plan. Lynch says MidAmerican has various proposals for wind farms in the works, and they would likely be a part of the project. The exact construction time for the project is not known.

Lynch says they have to get things in place by 2001 and he says MidAmerican has said it would like to do things evenly, maybe 300 megawatts one year, 300 the next and so on. But he says if MidAmerican is able to find bargains on wind turbines, they could put all of them in next year.

MidAmerican already produces around 1,350 megawatts of wind power, so Lynch says this would increase their capacity by about 40%. Iowa is the second largest wind energy producer behind Texas.

Filed Under: Business, Environment & Conservation Tagged With:

AARP endorses House health care reform plan

November 5, 2009 By

The AARP has endorsed the health care reform plan Democratic congressional leaders are advancing in the House. A vote on the bill is expected this weekend.

AARP Iowa State Director Bruce Koeppl says the group’s board of directors believes the final package addresses many of the concerns identified by AARP members.

“It’s going to improve pre-Medicare individuals — people who are 50 to 64 year olds. People that have had trouble getting access to coverage because of preexisting conditions, for example, that will be dealt with in this bill and they’ll be able to access insurance,”  Koeppl says. “If you’re on Medicare, it’s going to help with the costs of prescription drugs.” 

AARP lobbies on behalf of “elderly” Americans, age 50 and older.  About 400,000 Iowans are AARP members. Koeppl says there may be some backlash because of AARP’s move to endorse the House Democrats’ plan. 

“We expect that there’ll be people that don’t agree with us, but we think, frankly, there will be people that will agree with us and will understand what we did as they come to grips with understanding the legislation,” Koeppl says. 

According to Koeppl, the Medicare payment reform which is outlined in the House package is crucial for Iowans age 65 and older who are on Medicare.  The doctors, hospitals and others who provide medical care to Medicare patients will be paid based on quality — or the outcome of the treatment, a shift advocates say will benefit rural states like Iowa as the current system gives urban care-givers much higher Medicare payments.

“I think…Iowans are going to be excited about that because it will  level the playing field which will help us with docs, keeping docs in Iowa,” Koeppl says.

According to Keoppl, the health care reform plan that will be considered in the U.S. House this weekend addresses many of the problems that are faced by younger AARP members. Over 50-thousand Iowans who are older than 50 but younger than 65 and not yet part of Medicare are uninsured and many others are underinsured because they can’t get or can’t afford better insurance policies.

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

Republicans question Disney trip for U-I Hospitals staff

November 5, 2009 By

Republican lawmakers are criticizing a trip a group from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics plans to take to The Disney Institute in Orlando, Florida.  Representative Pat Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, says when University of Iowa students are being assessed a tuition surcharge in January — and face a sizable tuition increase next fall — this $130,000 trip makes no sense.

“We could definitely look at cutting something like this out,” Grassley says. 

According to Grassley, leaders of the board that governs the University of Iowa submitted information about the trip to legislators. Administrators, physicians, nurses and medical assistants from the University of Iowa Hospitals are scheduled to visit The Disney Institute which, according to its website, creates a “living laboratory” of Disney’s “brand of business excellence.” 

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Filed Under: Business, Education, Health & Medicine, Politics & Government, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With: , , ,

Republican kicks off campaign for second congressional district seat

November 5, 2009 By

A Republican who lost his 2008 bid to unseat Democrat Senator Tom Harkin is launching another campaign.  Christopher Reed is traveling the second congressional district today, announcing his campaign for a seat in congress — the seat that is currently held by Democrat Dave Loebsack of Mount Vernon.

“He votes party-lines 98 percent of the time. That’s not representing Iowans.  That’s representing the Democrat agenda,” Reed says.  “I’m running as an American to represent Americans, as an Iowan to represent Iowans.  I am my own person. I’m running as a conservative, to restore conservative fiscal and social values to Washington.”

Reed says Loebsack and his fellow Democrats in congress and the White House are piling too much debt on future generations.

“My children have never had a job yet, but when they do enter the workforce they’re going to be so in debt and they didn’t have anything to do with it.  It’s not fair. We’re trillions in debt now and they’re trying to pile a health care bill on top of that that’s going to just bury us and break us,” Reed said during a telephone interview with Radio Iowa.  “You have cap-and-trade out there looming on the horizon that’s also going to bury us. It’s going to ruin and destroy Iowa jobs. It’s going to ruin the family farm.”

A video posted on Reed’s campaign website shows Reed surrounded by his wife and three of his children as he holds his youngest — a baby boy – in his arms.  Reed speaks, looking into the camera: “It’s time to return to fiscal sanity, sound economic principles and put our nation back on the path to prosperity.”

Reed asserts in the video that Loebsack makes most decisions based on partisan politics rather than on principles.  ”We need someone who will do what is right for Iowa, not what’s good for Washington,” Reed says. 

 Reed won a competitive, three-way Republican primary last June to secure the Republican Party’s nomination for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat.  Last November, Reed lost to Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat. Harkin had 62.7 percent of the vote; Reed had 37.3 percent.  Reed says he entered that campaign about three months before the primary and learned it’s best to start early — and that’s why he’s announcing his bid for congress today, nine months before the 2010 primary and a year before the next general election.

“I ran a 99-county race last time, almost by myself,” Reed says. “This time I’ve built up a solid team of exceptional volunteers to help me navigate the second district of Iowa. That’s the biggest difference. Instead of trying to do everything myself and try to be everywhere by myself, this time I have a great team behind me to help out.”

Reed kicked off his campaign tour this morning with a stop in Ottumwa.  He’ll be in his hometown of Solon at 1:30 this afternoon and conclude with an event at his campaign headquarters in Cedar Rapids at 3:30.

(This story was updated at 12:24 p.m.)

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

Medical helicopter hits power line in Council Bluffs

November 5, 2009 By

A medical helicopter that just picked up a patient clipped a power line in Council Bluffs last night while lifting off from the scene of an incident. The pilot was able to set the craft down safely with no injuries. Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says the Life Net helicopter was dispatched around 6 P.M. to pick up a man who’d fallen off a ladder and transport him to Creighton University Hospital in Omaha.

The sheriff says the accident happened just as the copter was beginning to take off. Danker says the aircraft swung around and the tail rotor clipped a power line, which caused a loud “pop” and a blue flame. The chopper landed safely on the ground. Sparks from the power line, owned by Mid-American Energy, caused a small brush fire near the scene of the incident. Danker says the victim of the fall ended-up being transported by ambulance to the hospital.

The power line was repaired, but Danker says repairs to the helicopter were delayed until the damage could be assessed. “The company that owns the helicopter sent a mechanic out to examine it,” he says. “I thought they might let it take off last night but they didn’t, they were going to wait to check it further so it’s still sitting there.” The sheriff says the chopper is owned by Air Methods, an Englewood, Colorado-based company, with offices located in Onawa, Iowa.

Contributed by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Mayor learns of election win in the hospital

November 5, 2009 By

Ventura’s mayor-elect learned he won this week’s election — while in the hospital. George Simpson was injured late Tuesday afternoon when he struck a farm tractor east of Corwith, according to the Iowa State Patrol.

The accident report says Simpson was traveling eastbound on County Road B-55 near Deer Avenue at about 5:40 P.M. when his car hit the left rear tire of the tractor parked on the south shoulder with emergency flashers on. Simpson was taken to Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt for treatment.

Simpson says his son who lives in Omaha was the one who told him of the news of his win over Lois Kotz as his son was following election results online. Simpson was treated for his injuries and released.

Contributed by Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Politics & Government

Four more deaths from H1N1 confirmed

November 5, 2009 By

Iowa deaths linked to the H1N1 flu have now hit 11. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported Wednesday that adults in Dubuque, Polk, Mills and Monona County have died from the H1N1 virus. Earlier in the week the health department announced the first confirmed death of a child from the virus.

The health department says all but one of the four people just announced had medical conditions that increased their risk of complications. Department medical director Patricia Quinlisk says people with medical conditions are at the highest risk for the disease, along with children.

One group that so far that doesn’t appear to be having problems with H1N1 is the elderly. Quinlisk says it seems the elderly, or people over 60 have some type of immunity that is making them less likely to get ill than children. Quinlisk says they expect to receive more H1N1vaccine soon and the highest risk groups will be the first to get vaccinated.

Until the vaccine arrives, she says you can help prevent the spread of the disease with proper hand washing, covering your coughs, and staying home if you are ill. For more information about H1N1 influenza, visit www.idph.state.ia.us/h1n1. You may also call the toll-free Influenza Hotline at 1-800-447-1985.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine
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