(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has released a handbook to help law enforcement and local officials better respond to animal welfare complaints. IDALS will host an informative webinar on the handbook Wednesday, May 28, to give an overview of the tool, which provides agency-specific, and species-specific, guidelines. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the department’s animal health staff developed the handbook so that partners across the state have the tools to respond with IDALS to animal welfare complaints.

Mindi Callison, of the animal advocacy group Bailing Out Benji, called the guidebook “a phenomenal resource.” Callison said while the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a thick handbook, it’s geared towards licensees and inspectors. Callison said the plain language of IDALS handbook will make it easier for law enforcement to step in without having to look through and interpret Iowa code.

Officials who might respond to an animal welfare call have different roles. The USDA and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, control the licensing, inspection and outreach for any groups transporting, researching, exhibiting or dealing animals. The agency works to ensure these individuals meet standards set by the Animal Welfare Act.

Local law enforcement, including animal control groups, and county attorneys may also be involved in animal welfare cases to respond to calls, determine the course of action and build animal abuse cases when applicable.  The handbook outlines how law enforcement should respond to and investigate an animal welfare complaint, which Callison said is an “immediate resource” that will allow authorities to respond to calls sooner.

The handbook advises local authorities to plan in advance, by identifying facilities that could house animals in the event they need to be relocated, and building relationships with local partners and veterinarians. It also encourages communities to build a response plan in the event of animal welfare complaints, to “ensure a collaborative approach to safeguarding animal welfare.” The handbook also serves as a quick reference guide for Iowa code related to animal welfare, including statutes on livestock, the mistreatment of animals, animals in commercial establishments and rescuing animals.

For several years, Iowa has placed high on the list of states with the highest number of puppy mill violations. Part of the issue, which Callison’s organization Bailing Out Benji has highlighted, is that federally licensed facilities do not have to follow the same standards as state licensed facilities. Callison said the handbook helps to clarify the role each agency plays, regardless of where a facility is licensed, which she said “will provide some clarity.”

Legislators proposed a fix to this “loophole” as Callison called it, but the bill did not advance before the close of Iowa’s legislative session. Bailing Out Benji is based in Iowa but works to expose animal cruelty situations across the country. Callison said she has not seen similar handbooks in other states but hopes the IDALS move will inspire other states to create similar guides.

Those interested in attending the webinar on the handbook can register online.

BOONE, Iowa [KCCI] – A Boone family is recovering after a fire destroyed their barn and killed six show lambs over the weekend. The fire reportedly started on the west end of the barn and quickly spread to the entire building. The cause of the fire, which took place Saturday afternoon, was still under investigation.

Heath Oakes – who owns the barn – said he suspects a pile of manure may have self-combusted and ignited old corn stalks. The flames were fanned by strong winds. The flames spread across the field and down to the road, but firefighters managed to prevent damage to a neighbor’s field.

Oakes tried to save the lambs, but the flames were too intense. Despite the loss of livestock, Oakes expressed relief that his family was unharmed.

The family still has a few lambs in a nearby barn. They have set up a GoFundMe to assist with rebuilding efforts.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature has voted to create a Major Events and Tourism Fund using four million dollars in taxes paid by people in Iowa who legally bet on sports. David Adelman, a lobbyist for Iowa Tourism Industry Partners, says Iowa venues need state grants to support bids for major events. “Kind of dream projects would be things like the PGA Championship, the Pan-Am Wrestling Championship, NCAA Track and Field, the New Balance High School Boys Basketball Tournament, the National Sheriffs Association convention and the Religious Conference Management Association,” Adelman says.

About a thousand people attended that last group’s convention this past January. Last week, two-hundred thousand people were at the P-G-A Championship in South Carolina. Landing these types of events are beneficial to businesses outside the main venue. “Huge opportunities to bring people in to shop, eat at the restaurants, stay at hotels, things of that nature,” Adelman said. Bidding for big events, like major concerts, has become commonplace given the potential economic boost.

Kansas City, for example, got a 50 million dollar jolt in the local economy when Taylor Swift performed at Arrowhead Stadium. The just-concluded Iowa legislature has also voted to continue a yearly appropriation that supports regional sports authority districts in Iowa. “Last year, amateur sports brought in $23 million in state and local taxes,” Adelman says. “This is a competitive grant program that was established in 2007.”

There are 10 sports authority districts in Iowa and the 750-thousand dollars worth of grants next year will go to Convention and Visitors Bureaus in those areas.

(Radio Iowa) – A ceremonial groundbreaking today in Boone for a plant that will produce Daisy Brand sour cream and cottage cheese. The 676 MILLION dollar project will eventually employ over 250 people. Ben Sokolsky is president of the family-owned company.  “It is our most ambitious project yet,” Sokolsky said. Milk for the plant will come exclusively from Marshall Ridge Farms in nearby State Center, one of the largest dairy farms in Iowa. It will add seven-thousand cows to its milking operation by the time the Daisy plant in Boone opens in late 2028 or early 2029.

“Without milk, none of this would be possible,” Sokolsky said, “so that’s pretty important.” Sokolsky spoke at a luncheon in Boone today (Tuesday). Dan Culhane, president and C-E-O of the Ames Regional Alliance, was the host. “While economic development occurs every day in our communities, it doesn’t always come together to this magnitude,” Culhane said. “And so that’s what we’re really celebrating today.” Boone Mayor Elijah Stines says it’s a transformative project.

“One that will not only reshape the economic landscape of Boone, but the entire region,” Stines said. “…The future of Daisy Brands, the City of Boone and the State of Iowa is all brighter because of this investment.” Governor Kim Reynolds says many groups and individuals get credit for making the deal with Daisy possible — including local leaders, state agencies and the private sector. “This nearly $700 million investment isn’t just a number. It represents real opportunity. It means hundreds of new jobs, it means an expanded tax base, it means new momentum for local businesses, schools and family farms,” Reynolds says.

Ceremonial groundbreaking for Daisy Brand plant in Boone with Gov. Reynolds in center and Daisy Brand president Ben Sokolsky to the left of Reynolds. (RI photo)

“It simulates construction with plans for housing and hospitality projects already underway.” Daisy Brand currently has plants in Texas, Arizona and Ohio. State Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says the project in Boone will boost Iowa’s dairy industry and create permanent, good paying jobs. “Today is a heaping dollop of good news and we can all be excited about that,” Naig said, prompting laughter from the crowd as he recited a line from a Daisy sour cream commercial.

Over one of every two cups of sour cream sold in the United States is Daisy Brand sour cream. Data shows overall sales of cottage cheese were up 16 percent last year and the company’s president says Daisy Brand hasn’t seen this kind of growth in cottage cheese sales since the 1970s.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa State University weather and climate specialist says the rain we are getting is welcome for farmers across the state. Madelynn Wustenberg says improved soil moisture will support crops as they enter a critical part of the growing season. Most of the state is planted for corn and soybeans at this point and emergence is really starting to look good. So this is a really good time to have some of that rainfall so that we can, yeah, just get some moisture to those roots and get plants really popping up,” she says.

Wustenburg says the corn and soybeans should both benefit. “I would expect that we see some pretty decent growth in the next few days,” Wustenburg says. She says the rains this week will help the state catch up to get closer to normal for the month. “Climatologically what we would expect in mid-May is anywhere from around an inch to an inch and a quarter, maybe even an inch and half per week. So we’re definitely behind with the past couple of weeks being pretty dry across the state,” she says.

Wustenburg the soil moisture profile has been pretty similar to the same time last year prior to the latest rains.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report the arrest on Monday, of 27-year-old Cristyan Gonzalez Cardon, of Glenwood. Cardon was arrested on two different Mills County Warrants for failure to appear. Bond was set at $4,000 altogether.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley voted with his colleagues last (Monday) night in advancing the first major bill that would more closely regulate cryptocurrency. In a conference call with Iowa reporters this morning, Grassley was asked if he’d personally invest in crypto.

“I would not invest, but that doesn’t mean that that’s got any sort of indication of what I think of this bill,” Grassley says. “I think that the bill is needed.” Grassley says he has no quarrel with elected officials, including the president, investing in digital currency, as long as they abide by the STOCK Act of 2012. It bans the use of non-public information for private profit, like insider trading, by members of Congress and other government workers.

“I would see it as an investment, just like we can invest in the stock market now. We have to report all of our transactions,” Grassley says. “That’s no problem for me because I have my investments in mutual funds, so I don’t trade, so I don’t have to make these reports.” All Senate Democrats and two Republicans initially blocked the new crypto bill from passing, saying the regulations weren’t strong enough. An amendment that also passed last night would allow President Trump and his family members to continue with their various crypto ventures.

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (official photo)

Grassley, a Republican, says he has no objection to politicians investing in cryptocurrency. “Several members of Congress are quite regularly doing this,” Grassley says, “and as long as they abide by the STOCK Act, it seems to me it’s legitimate.” That bill, signed into law by President Obama in 2012, stands for Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge.

The new crypto bill, called the GENIUS Act, would regulate what are known as stablecoins, a sort of cryptocurrency that’s tied to assets like U-S dollars. Monday’s vote was procedural and the bill has not yet won final passage in the Senate.

(Radio Iowa) – The board that governs the state universities has launched the search for the next Iowa State University president — under a 2024 state law that says only board members are to vote and choose the finalists. Republican Representative Taylor Collins of Mediapolis says the law was passed because extreme factions from the campus communities were involved in searches for previous state university presidents. Regents president Sherry Bates says no committee has made or will make unilateral decisions on behalf of the board.

“At every board meeting, any recommendation by a committee requires the full board to approve before the recommendation happens,” Bates said. The search committees for the three current presidents of the state universities included faculty, students and community members. In 2016, the search committee for a new University of Iowa president was disbanded and the Board of Regents was criticized for selecting Bruce Harreld over the objections of faculty on the Iowa City campus. Bates, who has been on the Board of Regents for a decade, says she and the other Regents are volunteers who seek input from many sources.

“The universities are a 24/7, 365 day operation,” Bates said. “There is something going on every day and some of those issues require consultation, advice and counsel between our board members.”

Bates says the nine Regents then vote and make decisions. A 21-member search committee was formed in 2017 when Wendy Wintersteen was chosen as I-S-U’s president. The Board of Regents has given its executive director authority to hire a national consulting firm and form a search committee that Bates says will be as small as possible. Wintersteen plans to retire in January.

(Radio Iowa) – The Linn County Planning and Zoning Commission took public input at its meeting Monday on restarting the nuclear power plant outside of Palo. The Duane Arnold Energy Center shut down in October of 2020, but the demand for energy is rising with data centers expanding in eastern Iowa. Echo Oceanside attended the meeting and told K-C-R-G T-V her family supports the idea. “We’re huge proponents of nuclear energy and we work with some people who used to also work at the plant so eventually if it does come back online, we’d like the opportunity to work there too,” Oceanside says. Linn County Planning and Development Director Charlie Nichols says this is the first conversation in a series of many.

“We’re kind of just getting the ball rolling. We’re trying to get that ball rolling so we can develop our draft code and take it to a future Planning and Zoning Commission meeting,” Nichols says. Many people at the meeting told the commission they support bringing back nuclear energy, and one person asked about safety concerns. Nichols tells K-C-R-G T-V that the safety of the plant is an important issue they consider. “One of the key things we’re looking at right now is what the minimal level of emergency preparedness we need to maintain with Linn County staff and support in order to respond that anything that happens at the nuclear facility,” he says. Oceanside says she feels nuclear power is one of the best options in terms of her daughter’s future.

“We really need a renewable resource and nuclear is a lot safer than people typically think it is,” Oceanside says. The Planning & Zoning Commission will discuss the feedback they received on reopening the nuclear plant at its next meeting on June 16th.