Wind energy could help Iowa meet new pollution rules established by the EPA. Janet McCabe of the agency says the Clean Power Plan requires states to start cutting back on carbon pollution by 32 percent over the next 15 years. They’re also looking to clean energy, such as wind power, to fill the gap…and Iowa leads the nation in wind power.
A blighted plot of land that covers more than 480 acres at East 14th Street and Euclid is being targeted by the city of Des Moines for redevelopment. The owner lives in Florida and has turned down previous offers from the city, so the city council is considering eminent domain. The city will be polling neighbors to get their input for potential projects.
Federal investigators say the cause of last year’s Younker’s fire in downtown Des Moines is “undetermined,” but they won’t rule out hot work done on the building by contractors. They say there was too much damage done by collapsing walls and intense heat to pinpoint an exact cause.
The federal government could be on the hook for 140-million dollars because of the failure of the CoOportunity insurance cooperative in Iowa and Nebraska. State insurance officials should find out next month how much will be coming from the risk-corridor program to help pay CoOportunity’s debts.
A decision on Ankeny’s Miracle Playground at Hawkeye Park was delayed yesterday, as school board and city officials ponder whether to continue to limit use of the playground to outside school hours. The park is behind Terrace Elementary. Instead of limiting the playground hours, they’re now considering designating a softball park for Terrace’s use.
Ames has joined the list of cities letting you hitch a ride on Uber. The official launch of the ride share service is this afternoon at Tom Evans Park. ISU’s student body provided the push to get the service brought into the area.
A former University of Iowa wrestler is doing a plea bargain with Linn County in a series of car burglary cases. Ross Lembeck pleaded guilty to being an accessory to felony and to drunk driving. He’s one of three former U-I wrestlers charged in the cases.
A Pella man is being accused of leaving his baby daughter inside his locked hot car. Trent Steinhart told police he’d been inside the store shopping and forgot his child was in the car. He’s being charged with neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.
The seven car owners who tried unsuccessfully to sue Des Moines for its traffic cam on I-235 are going to appeal. The group says the use of the photos to give them speeding tickets took away their constitutional rights. A federal court last week disagreed.
More high-speed police chases in the U-S are ending in deaths…but not in Iowa. Police say the number of punch-the-accelerator chases is dropping, as departments choose options other than pursuing a fleeing suspect.
