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Heavy rain causes problems in Dubuque

July 28, 2011 By

Travel has become difficult in Dubuque as many areas of the Key City are underwater after heavy overnight rains. The National Weather Service says that Dubuque has received more than ten inches of rain over the past 24 hours, with much of that rainfall coming in today’s early morning hours.

Street flooding has been reported across the northern sections of the city’s downtown area, especially along West Locust Street and near the Comiskey Park area. City officials are telling residents to be cautious while traveling, since city crews have run out of “Road Closed” barricades to put up on flooded streets. Things are just as bad in rural areas of Dubuque County, where road closures have been reported on U.S. Highways 151, 20, and 52.

There are unofficial reports of up to 13 inches of rainfall in the town of Epworth.

Bu Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Weather

Rolling Hills wind project in Cass County moving along

July 28, 2011 By

MidAmerican Energy gave a tour Wednesday of its new Rolling Hills wind project under construction in southwest Iowa’s Cass County. The project involves the construction of 193 wind turbines generating 444 megawatts of power. Mortenson Construction is of installing the turbines and company vice president, Jerry Grundtner, talked about the progress they’ve made.

He says the roads are almost complete, the foundations are about 50% complete, the turbines about 20% complete, with the completion of the entire project expected by the end of the year. Grundtner says this is one of the biggest projects in North America.

Grundtner says there’s been projects built with cumulative phases bigger than the 444 megawatts, but not one single phase project this big. MidAmerican’s general manager of wind development, Tom Budler, says this project is helping them meet their goal for new wind energy.

He says the two projects they have under construction now total about 593 megawatts of the 1,001 megawatts they’ve been given approval to build by 2012 and they are looking for other opportunities to build more turbines to fill out the number.

Budler says finding the right locations for turbine sites is the problem they face right now. Budler says they are looking for sites all over the state, and the one thing that is hampering them right now is finding sites where they can interconnect to the transmission lines. He says connecting has become very costly and time consuming, so they are looking for areas where they can build and have the ability to connect to transmission lines.

Budler says the other wind projects are under construction in Calhoun, Marshall, and Pocahontas Counties. When the expansion project is completed, MidAmerican Energy will have 1,091 wind turbines in the state of Iowa.

By Nick Johansen, KMA, Sheanandoah

Filed Under: Business Tagged With:

Grassley proposes ban on synthetic drugs

July 28, 2011 By

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to approve legislation today introduced by Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley to crack down on synthetic drugs. The “David Mitchell Rozga Act” is named for an Indianola teenager who committed suicide after using an over-the-counter synthetic marijuana known as K-2.

“We’ve got to keep our drug laws up to date,” Grassley explained, “so this is an effort to bring this up to date and it’s the direct result of the Rozga kid committing suicide 14 months ago in Indianola.” Grassley says the bill will ban the chemicals used to make the drug.

“The original intent of these chemicals was for research only so they’ve been put to other uses. People that have legitimate responsible uses of these items would still be able to get ‘em,” Grassley said. The teenager’s father testified at a hearing in Washington earlier this year.

The Iowa legislature this year joined several other states to make K-2 and similar drugs illegal. The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration passed a temporary ban on the chemicals used to make K-2.

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

Ag Secretary says crop maturity on a good pace

July 28, 2011 By

Corn producers in Iowa have faced several challenges this year – including heavy rains during planting season, Missouri River flooding, wind storms and, most recently, extreme heat. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey says it appears most of the state’s corn crop has prospered.

“When you look at the crop in total, it’s pretty good,” Northey said. “Certainly, our numbers are good in comparison to other states that, in many cases, have even more problems than what we have. At least we got our crop planted in time. Some of those other states were so much later that, when you have inclement weather then after that, that just really put the burden on those crops.”

The U.S.D.A.’s crop report released this week rated Iowa’s corn at 80% good to excellent. Last week’s extended run of days with temperatures in the upper 90s came at the same time corn was pollinating. Northey says it’s not good for corn at that stage to take on that kind of heat, but there was relief in the form of humidity.

“It made it miserable for people and animals, but for the crop, that humidity kept those silks from drying out,” Northey said. “So, we probably got along O.K.” Much of Iowa’s corn crop was placed in the soil about two weeks later than usual because of the wet spring.

Northey says the crop is now close to “normal maturity” so there’s less of risk of damage in the fall from frost. He says other states are at a greater risk because their crop was planted much later.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Weather Tagged With:

Windstorm damage estimate tops $10-million

July 28, 2011 By

Governor Terry Branstad sent a request for a federal disaster declaration Wednesday to the president for Benton, Marshall, Story and Tama counties for the July 10th wind storm. The designation if approved, would provide federal funds for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged public facilities and debris removal.

The chief of the State Emergency Management Division’s Readiness Bureau, Joyce Flinn, says their assessments put the damage amount in the at $10.5-million. Flinn says that includes damage to public buildings and other damage.

Flinn says the assessments include the utility restoration and debris removal costs as well. The storm began in central Iowa and the winds gradually picked up speed and did the most damage in the four counties in the disaster request.

Flinn says Benton County had the most damage in the assessments, about $7.4 million, with the town of Vinton having the highest damage totals after taking a direct hit from the winds. Tama County had the second highest damage totals at $1.9-million.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Party insiders say volunteers key to Straw Poll win

July 28, 2011 By

The upcoming Iowa Republican Party Straw Poll will test the organizational skills of the Iowa-based staff who have been hired by the candidates. But Doug Gross, a long-time Iowa GOP insider who ran for governor in 2002, says candidates who do well in the Straw Poll will owe a valuable crew of unpaid Iowa talent.

“I think more important than who they hire is who they attract as their volunteers,” Gross says.

Eric Woolson ran Mike Huckabee’s successful 2008 Iowa Caucus campaign and he’s been hired as a consultant for Tim Pawlenty’s 2012 campaign. Woolson also served as Governor Terry Branstad’s press secretary during the late 1990s and he recalls Branstad always said the best volunteers were the ones who haven’t done it before. 

“By that he meant you may have somebody who’s been a county chair for 15 or 20 years and they may say, ‘Oh, that’s Buffalo Township. We’ll never get more than 20 votes out of Buffalo Township,’” Woolson says. “So you’ve got some new, fresh volunteer who comes in and takes over Buffalo Township and they don’t know they can only get 20 votes — and they get 75 votes.”

Gross says there are a few “super” volunteers in Iowa who are key “gets” for a campaign.

“If you go to these events and you hear somebody doing a war hoop, that’s Joni Scotter and she has a following of volunteers that will go with her anywhere,” Gross says. “Those are the people that you want and you don’t pay Joni. You make Joni believe in you.”

Joni’s enthusiasm is clearly audible whenever she’s at a campaign event. GOP Congressional candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks paid tribute to Scotter during a rally in Cedar Rapids last fall.

“Joni’s beside herself up here,” Miller-Meeks said, as the other GOP candidates on stage laughed and Joni smiled wide and whooped with joy. “If that’s not infectious, I don’t know what is.”

Scotter supported Mitt Romney’s 2008 bid for the White House and when Romney visited the state last fall to campaign for Republican candidates, Scotter was there.

“I was out in the hall and I heard this shriek and I said, ‘Joni Scotter is here,’” Romney told the crowd, who laughed along with Romney and Scotter. “And so I said, ‘I know right where I am.’”

Scotter is the regional director of the Iowa Federation of Republican Women. Texas Governor Rick Perry — a likely candidate — already telephoned Scotter, although she’s not revealing the details of that conversation. She’s met personally with most of the 2012 candidates. Scotter says she’s both flattered and embarassed by the attention, but she’s invaluable to a campaign — willing to make hundreds of phone calls to secure spots for yard signs or boost attendance at party events. However, Scotter has decided she won’t publicly back a 2012 candidate.

Volunteers like Scotter may be even more crucial in the Iowa G-O-P’s Straw Poll on August 13th.  As candidate Ron Paul noted this week, a person who casts a Straw Poll vote next month would wield as much influence as thousands of voters in Primary and Caucus contests. Scotter’s 2008 pick, Mitt Romney, won the 2007 contest with 4518 Straw Poll votes. Mike Huckabee finished second with 2587.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Branstad again rejects tax break for low-income Iowans

July 27, 2011 By

For the second time this year Republican Governor Terry Branstad has rejected a tax cut proposed by Democrats. 

Branstad surprised legislators of both parties the first time he rejected the tax break geared toward low-income Iowans. The tax cut would have been accomplished by increasing the “Earned Income Tax Credit”. It was included in the final compromise package which cleared the legislature in late June.

Today Branstad issued a veto message, saying the proposed change was unacceptable, in part, because it would reduce tax revenue to the state by $28.5 million over the next two years.  Branstad also said he preferred tax breaks that would bring “new business and jobs” to the state — meaning the tax cut he has been seeking for commercial property owners.

Branstad also used his item veto authority to ax another proposal from the legislature that would have banned bonus pay for state employees. Branstad said that would “unduly limit” his authority to “reward exceptional employees.”

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