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Online grocery delivery service expands into Iowa

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Residents in eight communities in two Iowa metro areas can now order groceries online and have them delivered to their doors.

Instacart operations manager Megan Zigler says they recently launched service in the Council Bluffs-Omaha area as well as in the Quad Cities.

“Instacart is a service that delivers groceries and everyday essentials same day, often in as little as one hour,” Zigler says. “We connect customer orders with shoppers in the area who will pick up and deliver those groceries from the favorite local stores.”

The service works with a host of local grocery stores in addition to, in some cities, drug stores and pet stores. It’s not a sign we’re getting too lazy, Zigler says, but more an indication that many of us are too busy and could use one less chore.

“People are just more and more crunched for time. This gives people hours back in the week,” Zigler says. “It also alleviates a lot of frustrations that come with navigating parking lots and cashier lanes. We take on that burden for our customers.”

While there’s growing concern about “porch pirates” stealing our packages dropped off by FedEx or UPS, Zigler says Instacart customers can choose the hour they want their groceries delivered, up to a week in advance.

“If you prefer to be home when your groceries arrive, we can arrange for that very easily,” Zigler says. “Typically, our customers are home when deliveries are made since there are often chilled or frozen items, but certainly, customers have the option to make a note to their shopper that they can simply leave the items in a porch or on the front stoop.”

It’s also a big benefit, she says, for people who have mobility or transportation issues. The minimum order is $10 and for orders of $35 or more, the delivery fee is $5.99 plus 5% of the total order. There are also monthly and annual memberships for unlimited free deliveries.

Instacart now covers the following Iowa cities: Bettendorf, Carter Lake, Council Bluffs, Crescent, Davenport, Eldridge, Le Claire and Pleasant Valley.

 

 

Dubuque mayor hears from top Facebook official during conference

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Ray Buol

At least two Iowa mayors are at the U.S. Conference of Mayors which will conclude its three-day run in Boston today.

Mayor Roy Buol of Dubuque says one of the weekend’s keynote speakers was Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who announced a plan to train one-million people and small business owners in social media use nationwide by the year 2020.

“Social media is here to stay and keeps expanding,” Mayor Buol says. “There’s got to be some regulation on truth and fact and they’re certainly working toward that. On the privacy issue, I think Facebook is front and center on trying to address that and make sure people’s information is not shared when they don’t want it shared.” Buol says he’s inspired at these meetings by other mayors who talk about redeveloping and revitalizing downtowns, especially when the community is involved in the planning process.

“I was told by a previous mayor that no one would ever live downtown in Dubuque,” Buol says, “and you know today, it’s a vibrant hub again of our community with 8,000 people employed there.” Buol is in his 13th year as Dubuque’s mayor and he served for a decade on the city council before becoming mayor. After many successes in Dubuque over the 23 years he’s been in office, Buol says he sometimes finds himself in more of a teacher role than that of a learner at the conference, as other mayors want to know his secrets.

“Dubuque has done a lot of great redevelopment,” Buol says. “They’re interested in how we did it and how we made it affordable to do. I talk to them about the different grant opportunities that we’ve availed ourselves of.” Over the years, Buol says Dubuque and its partners have landed more than 550-million dollars in grants for a host of redevelopment projects. Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie is also attending the Boston conference.

 

Facebook CEO testifies for several hours before Grassley and other Senators

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Senator Chuck Grassley.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, chair of the Judiciary Committee, led a hearing Tuesday that featured testimony from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The online social network is at the center of a data scandal in which Cambridge Analytica gained access to personal information of 87-million Facebook users. In his opening statement, Grassley raised the possibility of legislation to protect consumers.

“Our policy towards data privacy and security must keep pace with these changes,” Grassley said. “Data privacy should be tethered to consumer needs and expectations.” Grassley also called on Facebook and the operators of other social networks to do more to protect users’ privacy.

“The tech industry has an obligation to respond to widespread and growing concerns over data privacy and security and to restore the public trust. The status quo no longer works,” Grassley said. Later in the hearing, Grassley questioned Zuckerberg directly.

“Why doesn’t Facebook disclose to its users all the ways that data might be used by Facebook and other third parties? And what is Facebook’s responsibility to inform users about that information?” Zuckerberg responded, “Mr. Chairman, I believe it’s important to tell people exactly how the information that they share on Facebook is going to be used.” Zuckerberg said his company and others in the tech industry have “found it challenging” to draft privacy policies that are easy for users to understand.

“And if you make it long and spell out all the detail, then you’re probably going to reduce the percent of people who read it and make it accessible to them,” Zuckerberg said. “So, one of the things that we’ve struggled with over time is to make something that is as simple as possible so people can understand it, as well as giving them controls in line in the product in the context of when they’re trying to actually use them, taking into account that we don’t expect that most people will want to go through and read a full legal document.”

Zuckerberg, who faced nearly five hours of questioning, called legislation that would require Facebook to automatically let users “opt out” of having their data collected or shared “the right principle,” but added “the details matter.”

 

Grassley confirms Facebook CEO will attend Senate hearing

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The CEO of Facebook has agreed to testify before a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Iowa’s Chuck Grassley.

Senator Grassley had announced last week that he planned to hold a Judiciary Committee hearing on data privacy in the wake of the revelation that data from some 50 million Facebook participants may’ve been misused by a research firm. Grassley said he had invited Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to attend the hearing — an now has confirmed that Zuckerberg will be there. It will be a joint hearing with the Senate Commerce Committee next Tuesday.

Grassley said in a statement that “users deserve to know how their information is shared and secured. This hearing will explore approaches to privacy that satisfy consumer expectations while encouraging innovation.”

 

The sky isn’t falling, but a large chunk of space junk may be headed for Iowa

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Credit: European Space Agency

An empty Chinese space station is expected to fall back to earth as soon as today and it’s possible pieces of it that survive the fiery reentry may fall on Iowa.

Allison Jaynes, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Iowa, says Tiangong I will likely come down between now and Monday and there’s a wide path of possible landing spots, including us.

“Most of North America, most of the latitudes where people are living are in the path,” Jaynes says, “but that doesn’t mean that you’re going to get hit by any of these pieces because, of course, that chance is extremely small.”

There are many unknowns as to when and where the space station will fall, but Jaynes notes, since 71-percent of the Earth’s surface is water, the odds are better than seven in ten it won’t hit land.

Prof. Allison Jaynes (UI photo)

“We’re not sure exactly where in its orbit it’s going to start to reenter but the more important thing to look for is if you’re going to be in the path of visibility to see the piece when it comes through the atmosphere,” Jaynes says. “It will glow. You’ll likely be able to see it, even during the day, if you’re in the right spot on the world.”

Launched in 2011, Tiangong — which means “Heavenly Palace” in Chinese — is roughly the size of a school bus and weighs about nine-and-a-half tons. It’s 34-feet long and is filled with all sorts of equipment, large oxygen tanks, two beds and some exercise gear, as well as two large solar arrays or wings.

“Most of it will burn up. You might end up with fist-sized chunks coming in to land somewhere on earth,” Jaynes says. “This is one of the biggest things that has reentered the atmosphere so we don’t have a whole lot of data points on this, but from what we know, most of it does get burned up.”

So how should Iowans be conducting themselves over the next few days? Should we be wearing helmets if we dare to go outside?

Jaynes says, “You have many thousands of times better chance of winning the lottery in the next few days than you do getting hit by anything coming from space.”

The American space station, Skylab, fell in 1979. It was much larger than Tiangong — Skylab was 85 tons or about nine-times heavier — and some large pieces did strike land in Australia. A small town there famously tried to charge NASA a fine of $400 for littering.

 

Bill would cut taxes for Iowa ‘telecos’ by $30 million a year

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Republicans on a state senate committee have advanced a plan that would save Iowa-based telecommunications companies nearly $30 million in property taxes each year.

The plan changes the way land lines, telephone poles and other property owned by cable and phone companies is taxed.

Republican Senator Randy Feenstra of Hull said the current, centralized system for property tax assessments is “archaic.”

“When you have a lot of telecommunications companies that don’t have any physical presence in our state and they don’t pay any taxes and yet you have small, telecommunications companies that are in our communities and they pay significant (property) tax,” Feenstra said, “we’ve just got to figure out some parity.”

Democrats like Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames say now is not the time to reduce the amount of property taxes cities and counties may collect.

“I mean, our local governments are already struggling,” Quirmbach said, “and I think it’s really unfair to them.”

The Iowa Association of Counties and the Iowa League of Cities are registered as undecided on the bill, however. Supporting the bill are CenturyLink, the state’s rural telephone cooperatives, the city-run telecommunications utilities and the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.

Senate votes for audit, appraisal of troubled state-owned telecom network

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Senators this week backed away from a proposal to sell the state-owned fiber optics network. Instead, the senate voted for an audit of the Iowa Communications Network, to see what parts could be sold.

Republican Senator Randy Feenstra of Hull said he initially thought selling the network was the right move.

“I think many of us, including myself, came to realize that the ICN has a lot of valuable assets and provides significant services to our state,” Feenstra said, “including to the National Guard, E911 and to our schools and hospitals.”

Legislators have talked about getting the state out of the telecommunications business ever since the Iowa Communications Network was created 30 years ago. However, a recent state audit revealed the network’s now-fired manager hired unqualified cronies and gave them huge raises. He also went on a vacation to Belize at state expense and intended to sell state-owned equipment on EBay. That has prompted renewed discussion among legislators about the ICN’s future.

“We’ve got a complete rat’s nest at the ICN and it’s time to clean the rat’s nest out of the barn and I’m ready to do it,” said Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines.

The bill that passed the senate would direct the state auditor to conduct a “comprehensive” audit of ICN operations.

“I think we’re just scratching the surface of what’s going on at the ICN and if this were a business, it’d be bankrupt,” McCoy said.

The bill passed unanimously, but not before Democrats objected to having State Auditor Mary Mosiman involved in the evaluation. Mosiman is a non-voting member of the network’s board and admits she and the rest of the board had trusted the now-fired manager. Republicans like Feenstra say it was Mosiman’s office that identified the $380,000 worth of misspending after a tip from whistleblowers in the agency.

“So I think they know more than anybody what’s going on in the ICN currrently, so I think they are the best ones to do the audit,” Feenstra said. “And if they don’t feel comfortable, they can definitely get a third party to do it.”

The bill also calls for hiring a private firm to appraise the assets of the Iowa Communications Network.

Senate proposes $40,000 fine for spoofing an Iowan with an Iowa area code

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Dennis Guth

All 50 members of the Iowa Senate have voted for legislation that would penalize people caught “spoofing” in Iowa.

“We all receive the calls where it looks like a local number, just to find out its a telemarketer or some other unwanted call,” Senator Dennis Guth of Klemme said during senate debate today.

The use of fake caller ID numbers has exploded, even though it is against federal law. The bill that has cleared the Senate makes spoofing a crime if an Iowa area code is used and the person receiving the call is within the state’s borders. Those found guilty of such spoofing would be fined $40,000 per call.

This proposal now goes to the Iowa House for review.

Take a virtual reality tour of future Mississippi River bridge (video)

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A new bridge over the Mississippi River is not expected to be ready for traffic until 2021, but motorists can take a virtual tour of the structure right now. The virtual reality simulation designed at Iowa State University allows Iowans to see the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge between Davenport and Moline, Illinois as it will look when it’s completed.

Nir Keren, an associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at ISU, says it’s a good way to keep people excited about the project. “Creating this early enough, so the public can look at this and see how it will be relative to where they live, relative to the community and shopping centers, relative to where the highway is, gives them a better sense of where things are,” Keren said.

The simulation involves a headset or computer screen to allow users to see the bridge from any angle they choose. “And be on top of the bridge, where – unless you’re a construction person – you’ll never be able to be at,” Keren said.

The current I-74 bridge was built in the 1930s. The new bridge will feature white arches, six lanes in each direction, a bicycle and walking path, and an observation deck.

Nir Keren

According to Keren, the virtual reality project will help developers recognize potential problems with the bridge long before it’s fully built. “When you do that in the design stage, it can save a tremendous amount of money in comparison to identifying (problems) after the bridge has been created,” Keren said. “Because usually then, there is only little you can do to in order to mitigate some of the issues associated with the limited visibility.”

The simulation also allows users to “dive” into the Mississippi River and learn about the federally protected mussels that had to be moved prior to the bridge construction work. “The virtual reality allows the public to go under the water, see the mussels and interact with them, and see the bridge the way it will look from the bottom of the Mississippi River,” Keren said.

The team at the ISU Virtual Reality Applications Center took about six months to design the simulation. The virtual reality program is currently on display at the Moline (Illinois) Public Library.

Bill would stop charges to consumers seeking a freeze on their credit

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Brad Zaun

A bill that has cleared the Iowa Senate was inspired by he security breach at a credit reporting agency that exposed millions in the U.S., Canada and Britain to identity theft. Senator Brad Zaun’s bill would forbid the agencies from charging consumers a fee to freeze their credit in hopes of preventing scammers from taking out loans with the stolen information.

“It’s time that we stand up to these credit reporting agencies,” Zaun said, “and I think this is a step in the right direction.”

Equifax temporarily waived fees when its security breach was made public, but it generally costs $10 to put a freeze on your own credit report and $12 to get it lifted. Hackers stole names, birthdates and Social Security numbers in May and June of last year, but Equifax didn’t disclose the theft until September.

“I personally find responsible Equifax for not having the safeguards in place,” Zaun said. “I can say, in full disclosure, that my information was breached.”

Similar bills have been introduced in other states. A bill in Oregon’s legislature would go further and require a credit reporting agency to notify consumers within 45 days of any breach of their personal information. Zaun’s bill banning agencies like Equifax from charging consumers a fee to freeze their credit cleared the Iowa Senate this week by a unanimous vote.

“This is a very important issue,” Zaun said. “With the internet the way it is today, we’re really vulnerable.”

Senator Herman Quirmbach revealed he is a recent victim of identity theft.

“I was notified a couple of weeks ago by the Social Security Administration that somebody had filed for my benefits,” Quirmbach said. “…Fortunately, their security was better than Equifax’s and they did catch this and the claim was denied, but since then I have been through a lot of hassle trying to shut off a lot of other vulnerabilities.”

Zaun said both he and his wife have run into similar problems trying to clean up their credit record after a security breach.

“I, for one, have tried to correct some of the mistakes on my credit report and it sounds as if I might be a little bit biased, but it takes an act of congress or an act of God to change something on your credit reports,” Zaun said.

More than a million Iowans were affected by the Equifax security breach. Attorney General Tom Miller urged Iowans to check their credit reports and freeze their credit as protection from imposters.