The US Supreme Court says an expanded number of small refineries can seek an exemption from certain renewable fuel requirements. The high court ruled 6-3 that a small refinery that had previously received a hardship exemption from complying with Clean Air Act requirements may obtain an extension of that exemption. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says she is disappointed with the decision.
Nebraska National Guard helicopter crews and support personnel helped battle fires in north-central Nebraska that were sparked by multiple lightning strikes on Wednesday. Severe weather triggered at least 20 different fires in the area, Seth Peterson of the Nebraska Forest Service said. As of Friday, the fires were 95% contained, according to a news release from the National Guard.
Onawa residents are being advised to boil their water or use bottled water for cooking and other uses. The city issued a boil advisory Friday morning while the city tests its water as a precautionary measure. The city water plant supervisor says a thunderstorm Thursday morning caused an electrical short, which led to an equipment failure at the water plant. That can lead to bacteria entering the system.
A massive “COVID-friendly” beef processing facility is planned for southwest Iowa The newly-formed Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef will construct the $325 million plant in Mills County. It promises to create hundreds of jobs and boost the region’s economy by more than a billion dollars a year. The company says lessons from the past year’s COVID-19 outbreak in meat-processing plants across the country are being incorporated into design and future operation of the Cattlemen’s Heritage state-of-the-art facility.
