(Radio Iowa) -A regional cattle processing plant that’s planned for the Council Bluffs area is expected to benefit from the Biden administration’s just-announced Meat and Poultry Supply Chain Action Plan. Chad Tentinger, founder of Cattlemen’s Heritage, says the massive facility will get a financial boost from the billion dollars earmarked for expanding the footprint of independent processors. Tentinger says they’ll break ground late this spring or early summer. “We are in fundraising right now through various means, talking to a lot of investors at this point,” Tentinger says. “We are 75% done with all blueprints and planning. We have the site under control. We have done grid sampling and boring samples to make sure it’s stable. We’re moving along quite nicely.”

The project is on schedule, he says, to be completed by late 2023 or early 2024. Tentinger says their approach is different because they want to put a face on their product for consumers and give small family farmers a place to sell their high-quality cattle and be rewarded for it. “Our plant will be 400,000 head a year, roughly 1,500 head a day. We will have 750 employees. We will have a $1.1 billion annual impact on the state of Iowa. We are incorporating all of the latest technology into this plant. We will have agent source verification from the ranch to the plate.”

He says they’re still trying to determine if they will sell direct to consumers or online.  “We have a lot of demand for this high quality beef that we’ll be putting through this plant and with that demand, we’re exploring all options,” Tentinger says. “It will be domestic and international. We anticipate a lot of restaurant groups. Cattlemen’s Heritage will be an umbrella that will set the gold standard of quality for meat.”

Tentinger says the goal is build the facility and not be bought up by one of the nation’s four major meatpackers.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says carbon pipelines are private sector projects and she does NOT support direct state investment in any of the pipelines that are proposed. During her Condition of the State address last week, Reynolds called for investment in what she described as carbon capture solutions.

“To sustain and build on our leadership in renewable energy,” Reynolds said. During an interview with Radio Iowa, Reynolds indicated she’s talking about state money for Iowa State University research focused on how Iowa farmers could secure carbon credits for planting crops.

“There’s a lot of interest in capturing carbon and we want to truly understand that,” Reynolds says. “It’s a value add for our farmers. It’s really important, I think, for the industry to not only sustain it, but to build on our leadership and I just think like we have with other renewables — wind, biofuels — we should be leading again and this is an opportunity for us to do that.” For example, I-S-U researchers already are studying something called “biochar” which is added to soils to help store carbon underground.

There are now three proposed pipeline projects to carry liquid carbon through the state, with terminals to pick up stored carbon emissions from Iowa fertilizer and ethanol plants. Reynolds told Radio Iowa it’ll be up to the private sector to make their case with landowners and state regulators. “We always have to be conscientious about taking someone’s land and the impact it has on that. This is underground, so it’s disrupted for a little while, but they can still utilize it, as far as the pipelines, but also, I mean it is extremely important to an industry,” Reynolds says. “I think it is like over 55% of our corn goes to ethanol, so we have figure out a way to balance the two.”

Critics of the pipelines say the projects to capture carbon emissions from ethanol plants are a waste of money as the country moves toward electric vehicles. Environmentalists says liquid carbon is a hazardous material and poses a danger as it’s shipped through pipelines and stored underground.

(SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa 1/14/22) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is encouraging ice anglers and snowmobilers to use caution when going out on the ice after a snowmobile and an ATV broke through the ice on West Okoboji Lake and East Okoboji Lake Thursday night. The individuals were rescued by nearby anglers, and then were treated and released from the local hospital. Greg Harson, district supervisor for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Bureau, said he’s received a number of calls Friday from people planning to come to the Iowa Great Lakes and his message is that the ice quality isn’t as good as it has been in the past and to use caution if they plan to operate a snowmobile or atv on the lakes.

“There are a number of areas to avoid, like the points, ice heaves, the bridges and locations where geese are keeping the water open. The pressure ridges are opening and are hard to see. If we get skim ice then covered with snow, that can create a dangerous situation,” he said. “Geese are keeping a large area open on Spirit Lake out from the pump house, so be really careful if going out on Big Spirit this weekend.”

Harson stressed that there is always risk associated with going on any ice and that no ice is 100 percent safe. He said better quality ice is available away from the areas to avoid and encouraged everyone to check the ice thickness frequently and to bring a throwable floatation cushion, 50 feet of rope and a set of ice picks.

“The new snow is going to make identifying these hazards more challenging, and it’s also going to insulate the ice from the cold temperatures and slow its growth. We all look forward to this time of year to enjoy these lakes, but need to think twice and if it doesn’t look right or feel right, do not go out,” he said.

(Radio Iowa) – The shout of “Go Hawks!” can be heard frequently around Iowa City, but it might be more appropriate to yell, “Go Eagles!” The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is in the midst of its annual bald eagle population survey and D-N-R wildlife biologist Stephanie Shepherd says they’re seeing remarkable numbers in Johnson County — in the heart of the University of Iowa campus. “This is the Iowa River that goes through Iowa City, so around the Iowa City area both north and to the south,” Shepherd says. “Our staff counted over 700 eagles on this stretch of river and in one mile, counted over 400.”

The Mississippi River has traditionally hosted Iowa’s highest eagle numbers — both resident and wintering — but in recent years, the Iowa and Des Moines rivers have hosted even more. The new figures represent a stunning recovery when one considers eagles had nearly vanished from the landscape a matter of 50 years ago. The recovery has been gradual, but steady. “In Iowa, in the late ’90s, we were talking about a hundred nests across the state,” Shepherd says. “Now, it’s easily up to 500 and that’s probably a conservative estimate.” All indications point to 2022 being an exceptionally good year for eagles wintering in Iowa, though Shepherd says this may be about as large as the state’s eagle numbers will grow.

“Populations tend to grow to a certain level and then when they’ve filled in all of the appropriate habitat, they will level off a little bit,” Shepherd says. “That’s one of the things that this winter survey gives us. We are starting to see a little bit of a leveling off of the population, which is not a bad thing.” Many Iowans enjoy spending time outside during the winter with a pair of binoculars, hoping to spot a few eagles in flight. While some of this week’s temperatures were well above normal, the recent very cold weather created a lot of ice, which shifts how the big birds hunt and gather.

“Those really cold temperatures froze up a lot of the water and that tends to concentrate eagles,” Shepherd says. “So, what you’re looking for is basically areas along any of our major rivers that have openings, below dams, or anywhere else where there’s a big chunk of open water, you’ll probably find eagles.” During three routes of the survey, more than 1,500 eagles were reported on the lower stretch of the Des Moines River. Keokuk is holding its annual Bald Eagle Appreciation Days this coming weekend, while eagle-watching events were held in Clinton and Davenport last weekend.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Omaha-based Sapp Bros., Incorporated, Wednesday, announced that the company has acquired Atlantic-based propane servicer, Pelgas. Company officials said the deal officially closed on December 30th.

In a news release, Sapp Bros. CEO Andrew Richard said “Sapp Bros. is excited to be a part of this community and welcome the Pelgas employees to our team! The core of our propane mission is great customer service by safely, efficiently and thoughtfully providing propane to your homes, businesses and farms.”

Richard say also, “Lord willing, we intend to keep doing business the way we have for the last 5 decades to keep our customers happy and hopefully gain new customers for many years to come in this area.” Todd Pellett, owner of Pelgas, in Atlantic, said “We are pleased to join such a well-respected member of the energy industry,” and “I am confident this change will enhance the customer experience, while retaining the family inspired service Pelgas customers are accustomed to and appreciate.”

Sapp Bros., Inc says it will honor all existing Pelgas contracts and service will continue with as little disruption as possible. For more information, customers can call (712) 243-9595 or (402) 895-2202.

AMES, Iowa – Jan. 12, 2022 – The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved $984,213 in total funding for four statewide Iowa’s Transportation Alternatives Program projects, including $120,000 for Weiss Family Safe Routes to Schools Trail, in Denison.

The TAPs program supports projects such as trails, Safe Routes to School, National Scenic Byways, and the preservation or rehabilitation of historic transportation facilities. The majority of Iowa’s Transportation Alternatives program funding is distributed to Iowa’s metropolitan planning organizations and regional planning affiliations for the selection of local projects.

The Commission awards Transportation Alternatives projects annually that are statewide in nature. Funding is available to cities, counties, school districts, or other eligible organizations through an annual application-based program.

w/Kate Olson.

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(Radio Iowa) – A key lawmaker is drafting a plan to require that a large percentage of landowners agree to a carbon pipeline project before state regulators could approve seizure of the remaining property through eminent domain. Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton is chairman of the House State Government Committee. “I’m pro-landowner,” Kaufmann says. “I’m pro you deciding what to do with your farm or your business or your home unless you’re doing something stupid like commixing a crime or not paying your taxes and the process has worked so far, but someday it’s not.”

In 2006, the Iowa legislature overrode Governor Vilsack’s veto of a law that has limited the authority of local governments to seize private property for economic development projects. Kaufmann says current state law requires transmission lines and pipelines that ship electricity or products through the state to sign up a majority of landowners before the Iowa Utilities Board can grant eminent domain to seize the rest. “Dakota Access went through. They had like 95% willing participants, so our eminent domain laws aren’t stoppping these things,” Kaufmann says. “They’re holding companies accountable to the landowner.”

But Kaufmann says the two proposed pipelines aren’t just pass through operations like Dakota Access. Each would transport carbon emissions from Iowa ethanol plants, so he says the current law must be changed so it applies to pipelines with terminals inside the state’s borders. “The current code does not make you reach a certain agreeable percentage before you could ask for it, so feasibly you could do a pipeline with 10% landowner approval and ask for eminent domain,” Kaufmann says. “Now I’m not insinuating that the current Utilities Board would grant it, but the fact that it’s permissible to ask is a problem for me.”

Kaufmann says he’s currently aiming to force pipelines to have contracts with around 75 percent of landowners before state regulators could grant permission to get the rest of the property through eminent domain. Kaufman says he’s researching pipeline-related laws in other states and discussing the issue with stakeholders in the two proposed carbon pipelines that would cut through Iowa.