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University of Iowa building AI model to forecast nitrate fluctuations

Researchers at the University of Iowa are building an artificial intelligence system that will find patterns between extensive NASA satellite data and Iowa water quality sensors to forecast nitrate fluctuations. Several water treatment systems in Iowa are working with the researchers, who hope the AI system will deliver forecasts utilities can use to plan for changing nitrate concentrations in surface water sources. Jesus Gomez-Velez, the project lead and an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, said the nitrate modeling will help water treatment systems ...

Parade features floats, queen hopefuls and lots of vehicles

Hamilton County Fair parade has over 80 entries

Iowa farmer sees culture shift toward water conservation

MADRID – Nick Helland and his father have embraced a slew of conservation practices – bioreactors, saturated buffers, cover crops and a nutrient reducing wetland — on their farm in the Greater Des Moines Watershed. Helland said he feels there has been a “shift in the culture” among farmers from judging one another on how black they could till their soil, to now, how frequently they till and how much cover they leave on the fields. “It’s really starting to shift the culture, demonstrate to some of our neighbors and peers that hey, this can be done,” Helland said. ...

Iowa State University lab examines muscle and bone deterioration in space and on Earth

Researchers at Iowa State University have earned national recognition for their work connecting the impact of space on astronauts to potential treatments for muscle loss here on Earth. Khaled Kamal, assistant professor of kinesiology and health at ISU, leads the university’s Musculoskeletal Redox & Therapeutics Laboratory where, along with graduate and undergraduate researchers, he works on different projects to identify biological markers for exercise and create countermeasures to mitigate muscle deterioration. While he doesn’t want to stretch the lab’s mission, Kamal said the ...

IEDA approves tax credits for four Iowa companies, including Webster City Custom Meats

DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board approved tax credits for four manufacturing companies, which will assist in the creation of 312 jobs and result in $62.9 million in new capital investment for the state. These projects are located in Des Moines, Independence, Wapello and Webster City. The board also approved assistance for three startups in Ames and Coralville, along with a quality-of-life project in Cedar Rapids. In addition, IEDA recently approved assistance from Iowa’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Innovation Acceleration ...