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Landowners should not be intimidated by Summit's letter

Letters to Editor

To the editor: (In June), Summit Carbon Solutions received a conditional permit from the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) to construct a 680-mile CO2 pipeline across Iowa. The proposed pipeline, named the Midwest Carbon Express (MCE) will carry pressurized CO2 from ethanol plants across five Midwestern states to North Dakota where it will be permanently sequestered underground. The investment company will then earn billions of dollars annually in 45Q carbon tax credits. Summit recently filed additional applications with the IUC to bring 16 ethanol plants from the now-defunct ...

Summit shouldn't be allowed to use eminent domain

Letters to Editor

To the editor: Imagine sitting down after a hard day’s work with your family and enjoying a wonderful meal. As your stomach rumbles in hunger and the aroma of delicious home cooking permeates your nostrils, suddenly a stranger knocks on your door and demands a slice of your land — a piece of your heritage, passed down from your grandparents. They tell you it’s for “public benefit,” “the greater good,” “to help farmers,” and for a “good cause.” But when you dig deeper, you find that the reason the stranger wants your land is simply for the profit of a few private ...

Together in life and Our Neighborhood

Local Columns

I love this time of year: cooler mornings, the back-to-school shopping craze is in full swing and the anticipation of early Christmas deals is already gaining momentum. There was a time when I’d get caught up in all of it. When I was a postmaster, our office personnel would have a lottery ...

Something new

Local Columns

What makes us so resistant to change? It seems many developments — especially technical developments — are unwelcome for the first few years. Case in point: electric vehicles. I am amused by the memes and comments on Facebook that ridicule electric cars or EVs for short. Certainly there are hurdles to clear before EVs become common on our highways A friend purchased a new EV within the last year and loves it. He is aware of the vehicle’s shortcomings (like range) but plans his trips accordingly. I don’t anticipate ever owning an EV because engineers keep designing cars ...

Like manure, that stuff is better spread around

Local Columns

“But it wasn’t the money. Like manure, that stuff was better spread around.” That’s a line from near the end of a novel I wrote. It refers to the life-changing infusion of funds won by the book’s heroine, an Iowa farm woman whose dreams collide with a trans lounge singer in Las Vegas. It’s a goofy storyline, in some ways, and I can elaborate on it another time. Its point, though, is crucial: It wasn’t about the money; it was about what she would do with it. With that in mind, I sat down with Dean Bowden the other day to ask him what makes him tick. Many of you know ...

Flashback to France in another time

Local Columns

I’ll admit it; I’ve been a bit “hooked” by the 2024 Olympic Games. Maybe it started back in 1996, when our family went on a grand adventure to the ’96 Atlanta Games. I still vividly remember being on the subway when the chaos in Centennial Park happened. Having to evacuate off the ...