United Group Insurance

Iowa early News Headlines: Monday, May 1st 2017

News

May 1st, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Scaffolding will soon envelop the Iowa Capitol dome as workers continue a $10 million renovation project that won’t be finished for at least a year. Crews began repairs to the 131-year-old building in April but their work will become more evident this week as scaffolding goes up around the dome windows, edging up over lower parts of the Capitol’s gold-plating. The work is needed to fix internal cracks and exterior weathering.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A longtime fixture in Dubuque will leave the Mississippi River for the Ohio as the Spirit of Dubuque paddleboat departs for Cincinnati. Owner Walt Webster tells the Telegraph Herald the dual-paddlewheel boat was expected to leave for its new home in Cincinnati this week. Webster says Dubuque River Rides employed about 25 workers during summer months including employees who work at Ice Harbor Galley, a restaurant he and his wife opened in 2004.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s largest utility is in the midst of a $3.6 billion investment in wind power and intends to keep spending on the towers with a goal of producing 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources. The Des Moines Register reports that MidAmerican Energy plans to build 1,000 more turbines over the next couple of years on top of the more than 2,000 it already has around the state. The utility’s share of its energy that comes from renewable sources will jump from 55 percent to nearly 90 percent.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Some Iowa City Community School District students snagged an interesting find on a recent nature field trip: a rare Central newt. Chad Swope, who leads the annual field trips, told the Press-Citizen that herpetologists confirmed the small salamander as a Central newt _ a threatened species not native to Johnson County. Fifth-grader Brody Hiscock found the newt in his next as he scooped up turtles, frogs and snails.