If you’re a public school teacher in Des Moines, you’ll soon be able to get your Master’s Degree for free from Drake University. The district’s school board approved a contract with the university last night to create a special master’s program for teachers. It’ll cost the district $150,000 the first year, and is funded through the professional development section of the district’s budget.
Another case of the bird flu has turned up in Iowa…this time in Wright County. The last case was reported a week ago. While the outbreak has put a bigger price tag on eggs and roasting turkeys, the ag department says it’s caused a dip in chicken prices, as countries restrict their poultry imports.
Local Iowa government and business leaders are looking to open trade doors with Cuba as the US moves to restore diplomatic relations with the country. State Senator Steve Sodders is getting together a weeklong Iowa trade trip to Cuba in August…and the Greater Des Moines Partnership is planning to send a group there in November.
Recently-announced Republican candidate Jeb Bush is in Pella tonight. Bush met with Iowa voters in Washington earlier today, discussing his foreign policy views and his promise to restart the American economy. Bush announced his run for the White House on Monday.
Congressman David Young got a lot of feedback from voters about the EPA’s Recent Waters of the US Rule…and he says he understands where they’re coming from. Young tells the Torch that he voted to cut funding for the new rule in the Appropriations Committee…and says the EPA should have consulted with stakeholders first.
Des Moines’ housing market saw homes selling at the fastest rate in nearly nine years…according to a May report from the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors. Homebuyers are dishing out more and acting faster to get a home in the metro area. The number of houses in the area sold last month was up 26 percent year over year.
Rick Perry is the latest GOP presidential candidate to say he’ll speak at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames next month. Perry joins Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, and Ben Carson at the summit on July 18th.
Some Iowa farmers are having trouble spraying their fields for weeds, because of the wet weather we’ve had. USDA says standing water is also a problem, causing some drowned out spots that will need to be replanted. On the other hand, 84 percent of the corn crop has been rated good-to-excellent so far.
One of the Dakota Access Pipeline’s large crud terminals has been approved. A local commission group near Watford City, North Dakota, granted zoning for the terminal…one of six planned in the pipeline project that goes through Iowa. It still needs federal and state permits…and many private landowners in Iowa have objected to it going through their property.
There’s a new rule to put more control on the Jordan Aquifer. State regulators approved the rule that creates a system for existing and future wells that tap into the aquifer…there will be a tiered group that uses past history on the aquifer to see how much water is still there and compares it to water levels in the past.
