DES MOINES, Iowa [WHO-TV] — John Deere is making job cuts at two Iowa locations. The agriculture machinery manufacturing giant announced layoffs on Wednesday at its Des Moines Works and Waterloo Operations. In total, 141 employees were notified that they are being laid off. A statement from Deere said the layoffs are a result of decreased demand and lower order volumes.

The final day for the 40 employees affected at the Des Moines Works is October 31st. The 101 Waterloo Operations workers who were laid off will work their last shift on October 17th. The Waterloo operations affected by the workforce reductions include: Tractor Operations, Drive Train Operations, Drive Train West, and Engine Works.

Deere said laid-off employees are eligible for recall for a period equal to their length of service. They will also receive monetary benefits, healthcare benefits, and other benefits, such as tuition reimbursement and job-placement assistance.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A is predicting this year’s soybean harvest in Iowa will be the third-largest on record, but the country that at one time bought about 60 percent of all U-S soybean exports isn’t buying at all. China has booked purchases from South America instead. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says that’s putting pressure on soybean farmers.

“It’s really death by a thousand cuts for our farmers right now which is they’re spending more for their inputs — for land, for equipment, for seed…for labor, for fuel — and they’re not getting the prices that they need,” Naig said, “and we’re coming into what by all expectations will be a sizable, if not historic size of a crop.” Naig says recent U-S negotiations with China about TikTok’s future might lead to a breakthrough on soybean exports.

“And frankly, they need the U.S. as a supplier. They can’t entirely rely on South America, so we need to get to reality here,” Naig said. “I am hopeful that we will in fact see some movement in that regard.” U-S soybeans are normally shipped to China from September through January, but experts who track sales say Chinese buyers haven’t booked any sales this fall. U-S soybeans are now far cheaper than Brazilian soybeans, but any Chinese buyer would have to pay a 23 percent tariff on U-S soybeans. Naig says increasing domestic use of soybeans for biofuels is part of the answer.

“But also let’s go play offense on trade,” Naig said. “Governor Reynolds and I just got back from India — huge market potential. Obviously some friction between the U.S. and India right now, although even as we were there it softened, the president and Prime Minister exchanging messages, and so we know that negotiations are ongoing.” Naig and Governor Kim Reynolds and 18 other Iowans returned Sunday after spending a week in India. The group met with leaders in India’s government as well as its manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

There were stops in India’s capitol of New Delhi and in Mumbai (mum-BY), India’s largest city and it’s financial center. The group’s other stop was in Pune (POO-nay), one of the most industrialized areas of India. Reynolds signed a partnership agreement with the region’s chief minister to expand trade ties between the two states and foster cooperation in advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and renewable energy.

The owners of nine small-scale meat processing shops in Iowa are splitting 355-thousand dollars in state grant money to expand their businesses. In southwest Iowa, Weaver Meats in Afton is included among the grant recipients.  Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says the “Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grants” have to be matched by the business and these grants are leveraging nearly two million dollars worth of investments.”This is all about helping Iowa consumers access more locally grown protein,” Naig said. “…It helps small businesses, especially in rural areas, with equipment and facility needs — new smokehouses, freezer and cooler systems, processing line expansions and equipment modernization.” Naig says meat lockers faced challenging times, but the pandemic was a turning point.

“We’ve got more producers that are looking to sell through these channels, but we also have the consumers on the other end, absolutely increasing demand,” Naig said. “Overwhelming survey results will show you Iowans say that they will go out of their way to buy something local and they will even spend a little more on that product if they know that it’s coming from an Iowa farm or an Iowa business.” Lucas Van Wyk  — co-owner of the Ulrich Meat Market in Pella — is president of the Iowa Meat Processors Association. “This grant means more than just dollars to upgrade equipment or expand capacity for our establishments. It’s a recognition of the essential role in Iowa’s food supply chain,” he said. “It’s an investment in the people who are committed to doing this work the right way, with care, skill and pride with every cut.”

The grants were announced during a news conference a couple of miles from the Iowa Capitol, at a meat locker that’s been operating since 1869. Tucker Maxwell recently bought the business, is getting one of the grants, and expects to dramatically expand the number of cattle it processes.  “Right now we’re at 12 head a week,” Maxwell said. “…Now I’m kind of quickly realizing the constraints of what we have for cooler space and this equipment should help us get to 25, 30 — potentially even 40.” Lawmakers created the state grant program for butcher shops in 2021 and the first round of grants were awarded in early 2022.

Here are the grant recipients and grant amounts:

• Weaver Meats in Afton $40,000
• Cherokee Locker in Cherokee $75,000
• Maxwell Custom Beef $30,000
• Tiefenthaler Quality Meats in Holstein $45,000
• Milo Locker Meats in Milo $75,000
• Friedrichson Meat Company in Sutherland $25,000
• Skoglund Meats in West Bend $25,000
• Winthrop Locker in Winthrop $25,000
• Yetter Locker in Yetter $25,000

(Iowa DNR News) – – Off-highway vehicle owners can now renew their registrations for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), off-road utility vehicles (ORVs), off-road motorcycles (ORM), and snowmobiles. The registration window opened Sept. 1 and closes Dec. 31, 2025. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says to renew a registration, visit any County Recorder’s office, or go to the Iowa DNR’s online licensing site: gooutdoorsiowa.com. Allow 5-10 business days for online registrations to arrive in the mail.

Fees for OHV and snowmobile registrations support grant programs to develop and maintain off-highway vehicle parks and snowmobile trails in Iowa.

Owners with new machines, or who have not yet registered their vehicles, need to go the County Recorder’s office in their county of residence to begin the registration process.

For information on OHV registration, renewals and nonresident permits visit: iowadnr.gov/things-do/highway-vehicles/registration-fees

For snowmobile registration, renewals and nonresident permit information, visit: iowadnr.gov/snowmobiles

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club and some landowners called Tuesday for the Iowa Utilities Commission to reject Summit Carbon Solutions’ petition to amend its pipeline permit. (Read the petition: For Immediate Release_ Summit Amendment Request ).

The Iowa Capital Dispatch says the petition, filed Monday, requests changes to the initially proposed route and pipe size for the carbon sequestration pipeline project, which had been approved by the IUC in 2024. That approval came with requirements that Summit could not begin construction until it received route permission from North Dakota and South Dakota, and storage permission in North Dakota. 

Since the IUC’s initial approval, South Dakota has enacted a law preventing the use of eminent domain in CO2 pipeline projects, and has denied two of Summit’s permit requests. In North Dakota, Summit’s permits were approved, but are facing legal challenges.

In light of these actions in other states, Summit has requested to amend the permit in Iowa, changing language to reflect that “additional options for storage and pathways to storage are developing and may provide a better solution.” The request would remove language referencing North Dakota and South Dakota, changing the petition to state construction cannot begin until it has “secured access to one or more sequestration sites and permits or agreements to allow it to reach such storage.”

Landowners and advocates who oppose the pipeline project or the use of eminent domain in gaining land easements necessary to complete the route, released statements Tuesday calling for the IUC to reject the proposed language change.

Though Summit said in its petition that the move away from state-specific language would not diminish “protections against a ‘pipeline to nowhere’” in the permit, people opposed to the project said the shift is too substantial of a change to be approved as an amendment, while criticizing the business for not providing further details on a new route or storage options.

“This isn’t an amendment, this is a last-ditch effort and half-baked proposal for an entirely new project because South Dakota said no,” Wally Taylor, attorney for the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, said in a statement. “Summit needs to realize that Iowa is saying no, too.”

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission voted today (Tuesday) to continue a program with the state Ag Department to improve the watershed runoff into the Iowa Great Lakes. The D-N-R’s Ginger Murphy says the project has several benefits. “Water quality in the Iowa Great Lakes drives the economy, recreation, and quality of life in the region and also impacts source water for local communities,” Murphy says.

Information from 2019 shows an economic impact from travel to the region at nearly 378 million dollars. Murphy says those numbers are likely higher as travel has picked up since the pandemic. She says the plan seeks to improve the water quality. “The current watershed management plan for Iowa Great Lakes is focused on reducing turbidity driven by sediment and algal growth by reducing the phosphorus entering the lakes,” she says. The plan has a limit of up to 129-thousand-500 dollars using an E-P-A grant.

“Practices supported by the watershed management plan and this funding include in-field and edge-of-field best management practices on ag land. Wetland and shallow lake restoration on public and private lands. Shoreline stabilization on the lakes and urban stormwater best management practices,” Murphy says. The plan was first implemented in 2018. “Total sediment reduced during this time period is six-thouse-944 tons per year over all the practices that have been installed,” Murphy says. “Total phosphorus reduction has been 15-thousand-746 pounds per year, and that’s based on those practices staying in place and ongoing. And we calculate that using a model that we use across all of our watershed projects for all installed practices.”

Murphy says one success in the project is Lower Lake Gar, which met water clarity goals. “And that resulted in the 2024 delisting from the impaired waters list off lower Gar Lake. Lower Gar is kind of the end of the chain of lakes…it has its own watershed, but it also captures everything flowing through the bigger lakes that are to the north. And so this was great news and important milestone,” Murphy says.

Murphy says they still feel that phosphorus will continue to be the primary pollutant of concern in the Great Lakes and they want to continue seeing progress.

(Onawa, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports, “Due to safety concerns created from dead or dying cottonwood trees, the Lewis and Clark State Park campground is closed until further notice. The DNR will remove hazardous trees while the campground is closed.” The DNR said also, the park currently remains open for day-use activities such as picnicking and walking trails; however, the park will close once tree removal begins to ensure safety of visitors.

Campers with reservations have been contacted and issued refunds. Please visit the DNR’s Iowa State Park and Forest web page to find alternative campgrounds in the region, and for links to latest park closures and alerts.

For more information, contact the Park Office at: Lewis_and_Clark@dnr.iowa.gov