The Transportation Commission has approved moving ahead with plans to use federal money to install more electric car chargers along the interstate highway system. The DOT will get input on the applications and then [ send them out by mid-November, and get applications back by early next year.
Iowa’s allocation of the federal funding is a little more than $50 million.
The cost of putting in the charges is expected to vary significantly from site to site, as there are very specific power requirements for proper power levels to charge vehicles in a timely manner.
it’s not known how many chargers may be installed in the first round as the price can vary quite a bit depending on what is needed to get them up and running at each site.
The Sioux City Council will be asked Monday to approve a resolution opposing the construction and operation of hazardous CO2 pipelines in or near the city.
According to city documents, the resolution is being proposed at the request of council members and individuals within the community.
The documents show that current plans show a proposed pipeline within Woodbury County and within two miles of the city limits of Sioux City. Research shows various possible negative outcomes should the pipeline be allowed. This includes health and safety issues, adverse effects on property values, and loss of future development opportunities for the properties.
The resolution the council is being asked to approve identifies the two CO2 pipelines, which are proposed to be constructed crossing the Missouri River as Summit Carbon Solutions turning north on the east side of Sioux City continuing into Plymouth County and Navigator Heartland Greenway continuing in a northeasterly direction towards Lawton
The proposed resolution states that "granting eminent domain for private companies sets a dangerous precedent" and that both routes are "dangerously close" to residences, business areas, Sioux Gateway Airport and the 185th Air Guard, as well as the sister cities of Sergeant Bluff and Lawton.
The resolution notes that "major highways will be affected by construction and operation of hazardous CO2" and "construction of hazardous CO2 pipelines would result in irreparable damage to land."
Navigator has applied for a state permit to build a pipeline through five states that would collect carbon dioxide from ethanol and fertilizer processors in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois. The company would convert CO2 to liquid form and transport it to an Illinois site, to be pumped thousands of feet beneath the surface.
Navigator's pipeline would run through 36 Iowa counties, including Woodbury and Clay counties. Other Siouxland counties en route include Plymouth, Lyon, Osceola, O'Brien, Cherokee, Dickinson and Buena Vista in Iowa and Dakota, Dixon and Wayne counties in Nebraska.
Voters in Nebraska now have a no-cost option to obtain alternate identification cards that they’ll need to cast a ballot starting in 2024, according the Omaha World Herald.
Nebraskans need a valid photo identification card to cast a vote in the next statewide primary election in May 2024, and all special and statewide elections following that.
Eligible voters without a state ID or driver’s license can get a free identification card through a Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles licensing office.
In 2022 voters approved a constitutional amendment to require voter ID, and state lawmakers passed Legislative Bill 514 this year.
The DMV immediately started issuing the free cards under a provision that allows people to get a free identification card for voting purposes.
State IDs can cost from $10 to $29, depending on how long the card remains valid. There is no difference between a state ID and a voter ID, other than how someone applies for them, Coatney said. Neither form of ID counts as a driver’s license.
