Harris Vaccines in Ames is waiting to hear back from the USDA about a bird flu vaccine it created. Director Hank Harris says his lab developed the vaccine without the actual strain of the deadly bird flu infecting millions of chickens and turkeys in Iowa. Harris and his team created the vaccine about a month ago.
Republicans in the state legislature are proposing funding for the second year of a 2-year budget, even while both sides are haggling over the upcoming year. A house panel passed a measure that lowered the proposed increase in school funding from 2.45 to just two percent, based on the impact of the bird flu and the corn market. Democrats say it’s not enough of an increase.
The city of Des Moines is starting to tear down 2,500 ash trees infested with the emerald ash borer. Contractors showed Public Works employees earlier this morning how to treat infected trees using an injectable insecticide. Des Moines is also giving away some of its waste wood to poultry farms affected by the bird flu.
Apartments in the Des Moines area aren’t going up as quickly as single-family homes….according to the latest report from the Home Builders Association of Greater Des Moines. Single-family home building permits are up 26 percent for the year…while permits for apartment complexes are down 57 percent.
Iowa college grads do not appear to be inspired to stay in the Hawkeye State, according to a new Iowawatch.org report. Roughly half of the University of Iowa and Iowa State University students leave the area, while 85 percent from the University of Northern Iowa have stayed put.
A Pleasant Hill citizens group has lost a battle in the state appeals court, with the court saying the city has the legal right to extend the life of an urban renewal district. The group was objecting to plans for a $40 million warehouse development near Southeast Polk High School.
Iowa state’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg remains silent as the rumors continue to swirl that he’s heading to the Chicago Bulls. Hoiberg played for the bulls from 1999 to 2003.
Two local barbeque restaurants have landed on the “100 Best Barbeque Restaurants in America” book by Johnny Fugitt. Woody’s Smoke Shack in Des Moines and Smokey D’s both placed on the list.
If you owe money to your alma mater, you might want to pay up. Iowa’s three public universities are banding together to collect student debt. They expect to save money by hiring one debt collector for all three schools.
A second landfill in Iowa has agreed to accept dead birds downed by the bird flu. Iowa Waste Systems and Northwest Iowa Area Solid Waste will take in some of the 27 million carcasses that have been piling up.
Interest in the Iowa Straw Poll continues to wane…as GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says he won’t be going to the political event in August. Huckabee, who won the straw poll in 2008, joins Jeb Bush in opting out of the festivities.
