Better keep your speed down for the rest of the month. Extra patrols will be hitting the interstates this weekend as part of an end-of-August nationwide crackdown to cut the number of car crashes. August is the deadliest month for accidents on the interstate. They’re specifically targeting I-80, which runs through 11 states…and I-35, which runs through 6 states.
A Texas company is being ordered by the state insurance commissioner to pay more than 2 million dollars to residents who were swindled in an energy investment scam. Carson Energy reportedly called prospective Iowa investors promoting a low-risk, high potential oil and gas project.
ISU officials say the new renovations for Ames Municipal Airport will be a boon to the university. The nearly 3-million dollars’ worth of improvements will include a new terminal and hangar, which could lead to flight training for ISU students. The facility last had an upgrade 18 years ago.
Farmers trying to save money and keep their crops healthy gave a listen yesterday to a team of Iowa State researchers talking about drones. Actually, the term they use is UAV, or unmanned aerial vehicles. They showed how UAVs could look over fields for farmers to spot insects or diseases.
More than 7 million dollars in state tax incentives are heading to greater Des Moines for housing projects. Iowa Economic Development Authority gave the thumbs up to three projects for Hubbell Realty, and another trio for Neighborhood Development Corp. Hy-Vee and Knapp Properties are getting a million bucks for their Court Ave project, and projects by Nelson Construction, Harbach Lofts and developer Jake Christiansen also received funding.
Broadband will be expanding in rural Iowa, courtesy of federal funding for CenturyLink. The tech firm is getting 500 million dollars a year for six years to extend the internet to well over a million rural homes and businesses in 33 states.
Iowa’s about to get more solar power. Central Iowa Power Cooperative says it plans to have solar panels operational by the end of next year. It’s currently accepting bids for the work, which will determine where the panels will be located.
Classes will be delayed until September 8th for students at an elementary school in Fort Dodge because of structural problems. Duncombe Elementary students will be attending the former Fair Oaks Middle School.
IDOT plans to use more than 2-and-a-half million dollars sitting dormant in a state infrastructure bank to set up a grant program to improve multi-modal freight shipping. The projects funded would make the state’s transportation system more efficient by improving rail-to-truck or barge-to-rail or truck-to-plane links.
