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DNR News – Iowa snowmobilers are no longer required to purchase and display an annual trail user permit, according to a new law that went into effect July 1, 2024. The law folded the trail user permit into the annual snowmobile registration fee, which will now be $30 plus administration fees. The previous price for each type was $15.
Registration and permit fees for snowmobiles are placed in a dedicated account for snowmobile programs in Iowa, including the Iowa Snowmobile Trail Grant Program, which is administered through the Iowa State Snowmobile Association. The grant program supports snowmobile trail development and grooming; equipment purchases and maintenance; and trail signage in cooperation with snowmobile clubs all across Iowa. 
Snowmobilers who own a new machine or have not yet entered the snowmobile into the state registration system need to go to the County Recorder’s office in their county of residence to start the registration process. To renew an existing registration, visit the County Recorder or go online to www.gooutdoorsiowa.com.
Nonresident snowmobilers will still need to purchase and display the trail user permit, which are available at any County Recorder’s Office, through retailers that sell hunting and fishing licenses, or online at www.gooutdoorsiowa.com.
Learn more about Iowa’s snowmobile programs at: www.iowadnr.gov/snowmobiles.
Cass County: Corn $4.00 Beans $10.74
Adair County: Corn $3.97 Beans $10.77
Adams County: Corn $3.97 Beans $10.73
Audubon County: Corn $3.99 Beans $10.76
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.03 Beans $10.74
Guthrie County: Corn $4.02 Beans $10.78
Montgomery County: Corn $4.02 Beans $10.76
Shelby County: Corn $4.03 Beans $10.74
Oats: $2.63 (same in all counties)
(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)
(Radio Iowa) – Alliant Energy is seeking a construction permit for a project in northern Kossuth County that would add a battery storage system to the Golden Plains Wind Farm. Alliant Project Manager Justin Foss says the system would be between Lakota and Buffalo Center. “We are trying to urgently respond to rapidly growing demand on our system and the overall power grid a whole,” Foss says. The Iowa Utilities Commission approved the battery storage project this fall and Alliant is now seeking a local permit. If approved, construction would begin early next year.
The Golden Plains Wind Farm went online in March of 2020. Its 82 wind turbines are located in northern Kossuth and Winnebago Counties, producing around 200 Megawatts of electricity. That’s enough to power an average of 73,000 homes each year.
DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and attorneys general from 24 additional states are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a stay on California emissions reporting laws. The states allege, in the amici curiae filed, the California laws would impose an “illegal greenhouse gas disclosure policy” and would cause “nightmarish compliance costs and liability on companies across the country.”
In 2023, California enacted laws that require businesses of a certain size to submit greenhouse gas emissions reports and reports on the measures the business planned to adopt to reduce their climate-related financial risk. The brief from the states said California is “trying to be the national regulator of American greenhouse gas emissions—but for many reasons it may not do so.”
The State of Iowa and several other states that also signed onto Bird’s brief, have already sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a similar law that sought to impose emissions reporting standards. That case is still being litigated, but the attorneys general allege the California law seeks to step in and do the same thing the states objected to at the federal level.
The brief said the California law, which would impact businesses outside of the state with revenues above a certain level, requires businesses to express a “certain viewpoint on the highly controversial issue area of climate change.” It said even if a business believes the climate-related “doomsday scenarios” are unlikely, it has to submit reports about how it plans to respond to the effects of a changing climate. The brief alleges the California laws are illegal because they compel speech from these companies on a topic they may want to avoid speaking on.
It also alleges the laws would impose “irreparable economic harm on other states.” The brief estimates out-of-state businesses would incur “millions” in auditing and reporting costs for emissions that are outside of California’s borders. Businesses with more than $1 billion in annual revenue that do business in California are required by the law to disclose “comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions” along their supply chains. Business with $500 million in annual revenue that do business in the state will have to supply biennial climate-related financial risk reports that are publicly available.
California’s enacted Senate Bill 261 says climate change is affecting California communities and economy with wildfires, sea level rise, extreme droughts and extreme weather events. According to the California statute, mandatory disclosures set by law will help to “ensure a sustainable, resilient, and prosperous future” for the state.
Bird said in a news release Monday about the amici curiae that “California needs to stay in California.” The attorneys’ brief is in support of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America’s suit against the chair of the California Air Resources Board. The parties involved requested, Nov. 10, an emergency injunction prohibiting the enforcement of the California laws, which are set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
(Radio Iowa) – The Emmet County Board of Supervisors will consider hiring another attorney to review a proposed settlement that would resolve the lawsuit over a wind farm in the northwest Iowa county. Late last year the Emmet County Board of Adjustment denied a permit for Chicago-based Invenergy’s proposed Red Rock Energy Wind Center. The company sued Emmet County rather than refile for a permit under a new ordinance that requires greater distances between wind turbines and homes.
David Fauch, an attorney who represents Emmet County Concerned Citizens, is urging the board not to settle with the company and let the case go to trial. “What happened behind closed doors is clear from the settlement agreement. There were monetary threats made by Invenergy and Red Rock against this county, millions of dollars we are told and then a settlement agreement was entered into.
That settlement agreement is wildly one sided,” Fauch said. “…A bully has come in and the other side has simply folded…What you are buying yourselves is not peace. What you are buying yourselves is a mess.” Fauch spoke during a public hearing late last week.
Eric Updegraff, the attorney who’s been representing Emmet County officials in negotiations, also spoke. He’s warning that state law generally favors the free use of property and conditional use permit applications like the one for the wind farm likely need to meet just one and not all of the standards outlined in state law. “If there’s any ambiguity or uncertainty in your ordinance, then it will be construed against restrictions on land use,” Updegraff said.
The Emmet County Board of Supervisors will convene this (Tuesday) morning and their agenda calls for considering hiring an additional attorney to review the proposed settlement with developers of the Red Rock Energy Center. A previous draft of the agenda had indicated the supervisors were likely to vote on whether to approve the settlement.
Cass County: Corn $4.02 Beans $10.70
Adair County: Corn $3.99 Beans $10.73
Adams County: Corn $3.99 Beans $10.69
Audubon County: Corn $4.01 Beans $10.72
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.70
Guthrie County: Corn $4.04 Beans $10.74
Montgomery County: Corn $4.04 Beans $10.72
Shelby County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.70
Oats: $2.63 (same in all counties)
(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)
Cass County: Corn $4.02 Beans $10.70
Adair County: Corn $3.99 Beans $10.73
Adams County: Corn $3.99 Beans $10.69
Audubon County: Corn $4.01 Beans $10.72
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.70
Guthrie County: Corn $4.04 Beans $10.74
Montgomery County: Corn $4.04 Beans $10.72
Shelby County: Corn $4.05 Beans $10.70
Oats: $2.63 (same in all counties)
(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)
(Radio Iowa) – A world-renown photographer and cinematographer who merges art and science through visual stories will make his first-ever stop in Iowa this week to share his out-of-this-world slide show called Earth After Dark. As part of the National Geographic Explorer Series, Babak Tafreshi says he strives to create a visual portal to the universe that can reconnecting the general public to the night sky and the natural world around us — and above us. “We are disconnected due to light pollution and a busy lifestyle today and a majority of humanity, especially in the developed world, are living under an artificial sky,” Tafreshi says. “Our Milky Way, for example, is no longer visible.”
From meteor showers to lightning bugs that emerge at dusk on neighborhood streets, he says our eyes open a little wider when we see the stunning photos and videos that display the abundant life in the darkness. “Life at Night is about nocturnal animals, their natural behavior,” the Iranian-American says, “and how light pollution is impacting and changing biodiversity, from fireflies to sea turtles to pets and migratory birds.” Tafreshi, a National Geographic contributor since 2012, created The World At Night program in 2007 with the message of “One People, One Sky” and he directing its team of photographers in some 30 countries. He’s bringing his fascinating visual program to the Des Moines Civic Center on Tuesday night.
Photo by Babak Tafreshi
“It starts with astronomy and the space wonders, zooming from the earth to the universe,” Tafreshi says. “Many of these documentary-style photographs at night are from variety of landmarks and World Heritage sites around the world. And then we merge into the impact of light pollution and the conservation story on animals at nighttime.” Tafreshi says he’s spent his career documenting wildlife, humanity, and the cosmos — from dark national parks to bright urban areas — with the belief that people everywhere can connect through the shared experience of simply looking up.
(Ames, Iowa; An Iowa Capital Dispatch report) – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen, Friday, celebrated the expansion of bioindustrial manufacturing in Iowa as they joined executives of BioMADE at the ISU BioCentury Research Farm, with a groundbreaking ceremony. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the event celebrated the kickoff of the $40 million project to bring BioMADE, a Manufacturing Innovation Institute backed by the U.S. Department of Defense, to the ISU facility. The Iowa facility was funded using $10 million from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, $10 million from ISU and $20 million from BioMADE, in addition to receiving support from the U.S. Department of Defense.
The site, which measures 15,000 square feet, will be a pilot-scale biomanufacturing plant in Boone, designed to support the development and research of bioindustrial products to bring them to commercial and defense markets. The project includes plans to expand the ISU’s fermentation facilities, with 5,000 and 10,000-liter industrial fermenters, as well as lab space and downstream processing capabilities, for businesses to use to test products before deciding whether to move ahead with investing in their own manufacturing facilities for a product. Reynolds said that nearly a year prior to the event ISU and BioMADE leaders visited her office to showcase their vision for the project. “It was a bold, practical plan to bring together Iowa’s strengths in agriculture, research and manufacturing to build something truly transformative — and what an incredible moment it is to see all of that take shape today,” Reynolds said. “Today’s milestone is a reflection of the power of partnerships and the potential that it creates when government, industry and academia work side by side.”
Participating in a groundbreaking ceremony for BioMADE from left, are BioMADE Chief Manufacturing Officer Jack Starr, BioMADE CEO Douglas Friedman, Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen. BioMADE is expanding facilities at the ISU BioCentury Research Farm in Boone. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Reynolds said Iowa and ISU in particular are a great fit for the project, as the university is already a leader on biomanufacturing, production and research, saying “the type of expertise and infrastructure that’s needed already exists” for BioMADE’s goals at the ISU BioCentury Research Farm. “This new pilot (and) scaled-up facility helps complete Iowa’s biomanufacturing ecosystem,” Reynolds said. “It will take the discoveries from the lab and scale them into real world applications, accelerating American research and development, creating great new jobs and ensuring that breakthroughs developed in this country are made in this country.” BioMADE CEO Douglas Friedman said that alongside the Iowa facility, the organization has also launched similar pilot projects in California and Minnesota with different production capacities and equipment, filling “a critical gap” in pilot and demonstration infrastructure, allowing for businesses to experiment with different products and materials throughout the country.
Wintersteen said much of the work already being done by researchers and faculty at the ISU facility is already focused on “identifying and fulfilling the critical gaps” in bringing products to market in bioindustrial fields, and that there will be opportunities for collaboration between the university and BioMADE. “It will also serve as a hub for hands-on training and workforce development, preparing the next generation of bio-processing engineers and scientists,” Wintersteen said. “So we’re excited about what’s going to happen here, and the faculty that will be working here, and their efforts and efforts of many others that will produce key breakthroughs in bio-manufacturing.”
Friedman also said these pilot projects are crucial for “leading the way to more bio-based products being manufactured right here in America.” In Iowa, there will be a specific focus on food-grade capabilities — “ingredients like prebiotics, probiotics, sweeteners, flavors,” he said. “We’ll be able to tie into the robust biomanufacturing ecosystem that is already present here in Iowa,” Friedman said. He also praised state government and ISU leaders for allowing the project to move forward quickly, “at a speed that makes sense in this era of global competition.” The facility is scheduled to open in 2027.
(Lewis, IA) – The Cass County Conservation Board has announced a Bat House Workshop will take place this coming Saturday, Nov. 22nd, at Outdoor Educational Classroom near Massena. The workshop begins at 11-a.m. The Board suggests a donation of $15 per bat house. All ages are welcome to attend and participate, but children must be accompanied by an adult. During the Bat House Workshop, you”ll learn all about Iowa’s bats, and build a small bat house or purchase a kit. Please pre-register by Monday, November 17th, by calling 712-769-2372 or email lkanning@casscoia.us !
A constructed bat house (Cass County Conservation Dept. photo)
The Cass County Conservation Board is also holding a Nature Journaling Workshop next Saturday, at the Outdoor Educational Classroom in Massena. The Journaling Workshop begins at 1-p.m., and is free of charge. All ages are welcome, and again children must be accompanied by an adult. Learn all about nature journaling and techniques we can use. You will also make and take a journal home with you!
Find the Outdoor Educational Classroom by taking Highway 148 south of Massena, Turn Left on Tucson Road and follow it East for about two miles before turning right into the parking lot.
Please pre-register for one or both programs by November 17th. The CCCB hopes you will join Conservation Staff for the educational activities.
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