President-elect Donald Trump says he’ll appoint Iowan Matt Whitaker as U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Whitaker served as U.S. acting attorney general for a few months during Trump’s first term in office. He was also the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa and is a former University of Iowa football player.
Trump in a Wednesday statement said Whitaker is, quote, “a strong warrior and loyal patriot, who will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended.”
Whitaker’s nomination will be subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
*Additionally, the business looking to build a carbon capture pipeline across five states on Tuesday again applied for a permit with South Dakota officials.
Summit Carbon Solutions wants to transport captured CO2 emissions from ethanol plants and store it underground near Bismarck, North Dakota.
State regulators in North Dakota approved a pipeline route permit last week for Summit, and a second North Dakota permit is also needed for the underground storage piece.
The project was previously approved in August by the Iowa Utilities Commission. Construction in Iowa cannot begin until the project is fully approved in North and South Dakota.
Nebraska voters in the November election went two directions, selecting many Republicans for seats, while on the flipside approving some progressive special ballot items.
Nebraska re-elected all five of their federal Republican incumbents and helped send Donald Trump back to the White House. Trump defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris by about 20 percent.
Kevin Smith, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said a more progressive side of Nebraska voters was shown in wins for special ballot measures. Voters approved legalized medical marijuana, mandated paid sick leave, and repealed a law funding private school scholarships.
“People will vote for progressive causes in Nebraska, even if they won't necessarily vote for progressive candidates,” Smith said.
In the officially nonpartisan state legislature, Republicans barely maintained a supermajority, with Democrats potentially flipping a Republican-majority district in Grand Island.
Smith said the lack of party names by candidates can result in more split tickets with partisan candidates for federal offices.
*In other news, Okoboji Community School District voters two weeks ago approved a $69 million bond issue measure to add new building pieces, and on Wednesday evening people can attend a public information meeting to see plans.
That meeting will run from 5 to 7 p.m., where the architecture firm will air some designs, such as floor plans.
The $69 million will be directed to an addition to the high school and for building a new elementary school on the west edge of Milford. The district has seen a 23 percent increase in enrollment over the last decade.
The elementary school groundbreaking could come in spring 2025.
There were six public school bond issue votes on ballots in Northwest Iowa in November.
Only two of those school infrastructure measures were passed, with the other being at the Le Mars School District.
*Some modern firefighting equipment is coming in Storm Lake, Iowa.
The Storm Lake City Council in a Monday meeting approved borrowing up to $3.5 million for two pieces of equipment. Storm Lake Communications Director Dana Larsen said the fire department is working to replace two aging firefighting equipment.
A new pumper and an aerial ladder truck will be purchased, and the projected costs of the two are just under $3 million.
Those two items are expected to be ready for use in Storm Lake by 2027 at the earliest, given a substantial backlog in the firefighting equipment industry.
