Sunday Funday: Undermining The Court Edition

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Dave Bradley

This is a bit long, but it gives a great flavor of the insane accusations that Republicans brought against Judge Brown Jackson (10.5 minutes):

Watching the insanity that Republicans called a hearing for SCOTUS nominee was hard as the (Republicans) went to their old standby of accusing anyone left of Atilla the Hun of being involved in pedophilia somehow. It was sickening. Even the supposed benign Grassley got s couple of accusations in on the last day.

Yet even as bad as that was, Republicans have let it be known that overturning any and all decisions by SCOTUS since Earl Warren became Chief Justice. Indiana senator Mike Braun accidentally blurted out that the Loving decision, which ended state bans against interracial marriages, was in the cross hairs of the scope.

Braun then tried very unconvincingly to walk his accidental truth back, to little avail. But this was only the most recent instance of Republicans letting it be known which of the SCOTUS they hope to overturn either via law of by having a future Court reverse current rulings.

The decisions in the cross hairs go as far back as 1954’s Brown v. Board of Education, the one that seems to be the mother of bad decisions. Besides Brown and Loving other decision marked for overrule include Griswold v. Connecticut that allowed people to purchase contraceptive material and Obergefell v. Hodges that ended bans on same sex marriages.

What a week- Ukraine, Jackson hearing and a trip to Europe for Biden:

A) Next door in Nebraska, what Republican congress member was convicted Friday of felony campaign contributions and lying to the FBI?

B) According to NATO estimates, how many Russian troops have been killed, wounded or missing in Ukraine?

C) At the hearing for SCOTUS nominee Brown Jackson, what Republican senator was caught checking twitter for name mentions after his lie filled turn at questioning?

D) Russia tied all their conspiracy lies together Friday by claiming the US bio-terror labs in Ukraine is being run by what presidential offspring?

E) Back to reality. The former president sued what former opponent, claiming that accusations of Trump’s collusion with Russia harmed his campaign?

F) In Georgia a group is trying to block Marjorie Taylor Greene from running for congress because of what?

G) Speaking of history making women, what woman who was America’s first female Secretary of State died this week at age 84?

H) Almost immediately following the end of Brown Jackson’s hearing what leading Republican announced he would vote against her confirmation?

I) Emails exchanged between what wife of a current SCOTUS justice and the White House called for Trump to remain in power in January of 2021?

J) How did Iowa State’s basketball teams do in their Sweet Sixteen NCAA tournament games Friday night?

K) According to the data released by the Census Bureau Thursday, what percentage of US counties had more deaths than births last year?

L) What woman’s grave is plastered with ‘I voted’ stickers after general elections?

M) In Iowa, a bill cutting what for workers has passed both houses of Iowa’s legislature?

N) Mackenzie Scott gave a record $275 million contribution to what women’s healthcare group last week?

O) To make up for troops lost in Ukraine, Russia is turning to what source for soldiers?

P) Mark Pomerantz in a letter said the former president was “guilty of numerous felony violations.” Why is this significant?

Q) A Boeing 737 jet fell out of the sky and crashed in what country last week?

R) Applications for jobless aid last week fell to the lowest seasonally adjusted average since when?

S) Wednesday was the 12th anniversary of signing of what ground breaking healthcare bill?

T) Alaska’s representative, Don Young, died on an airplane last week. What formerly famous Alaskan said she would serve in the House “in a heartbeat”?

Our greatest responsibility is not to be pencils of the past.

— Rod Serling

Answers:

A) 1st district congress member Dan Fortenberry – AND NOW he resigns!

B) 40,000 – huge losses

C) Ted Cruz

D) Hunter Biden (rofl)

E) Hillary Clinton

F) she participated in an insurrection against the US in violation of the 14th amendment

G) Madeline Albright

H) Mitch McConnell

I) Ginny Thomas wife of Clarence Thomas

J) they both lost, sadly

K) over 75% (2300+ counties)

L) Susan B. Anthony – this is to commemorate her being charged with a crime when she voted in the 1876 election.

M) unemployment insurance

N) Planned Parenthood – Scott is the ex wife of Jeff Bezos

O) Jails – men in jail for not paying alimony and child care and other such crimes.

P) Pomerantz was investigating Trump for the Manhattan DA’s office when the new DA decided to stop the investigation.

Q) China

R) September of 1969

S) the ACA (Obamacare)

T) Sarah Palin

The GOP’s attack on Jackson for being soft on crime is a bold strategy for a party led by a criminal. – Andy Borowitz

Posted in Humor | Comments Off on Sunday Funday: Undermining The Court Edition

A Little Fun From Progress Iowa

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Dave Bradley

Editor’s comment: The folks at Progress Iowa run an annual “Extreme 16” yearly to coincide with the NCAA tournament. Sadly, Iowa’s Extreme 16 seldom make it because they are good. Rather, these are people in positions of power who can make life even tougher for the average Iowan:

 

EXTREME 16 BRACKET: Iowa’s Sinister Senator Earns Top Seed

Gov. Reynolds, Sen. Grassley and Rep. Hinson round out the top four

Des Moines, Iowa — Iowans voted, and the #Extreme16 has been selected! This year, State Senator Jake Chapman takes the top spot in Progress Iowa’s list of the most extreme Iowans.

“It’s a bit of an upset but really should come as no surprise that Sinister Jake Chapman beat out heavy hitters like Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and Congresswoman Ashley Hinson,” said Matt Sinovic, Executive Director of Progress Iowa. “Chapman sealed his fate as Iowa’s number one most extreme Iowan when he accused teachers of having a ‘sinister agenda’ and proposed a bill that would put teachers in jail.”

Sen. Chapman narrowly beat out Governor Kim Reynolds for the top spot, as the two were separated by just one vote.

“Corporate Kim Reynolds is one of the strongest number two seeds in Extreme 16 history,” said Sinovic. “This year alone Reynolds has proposed a measly and insufficient funding increase for public schools, and suggested robbing public schools to fund private schools instead. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Reynolds has repeatedly sold us out, in favor of her corporate donors, and took her divisive agenda national with the State of the Union response, all while ignoring the workforce crisis she created that has made it tougher for small businesses and schools to stay open.”

Click here to view the bracket and read below to view the entire Extreme 16, in addition to the “first four out.”

2022 Extreme 16 – Tournament Resumes

  1. “Sinister” Jake Chapman, State Senator – Aside from his attacks on Iowa teachers, Chapman serves as Senate President, meaning he’s responsible for all the terrible legislation that moves through the chamber. And there have been a lot of terrible bills moving through this year.
  2. “Corporate” Kim Reynolds, Iowa Governor – The Governor has only signed a handful of bills into law this year, and spoiler alert: they’re all bad. She’s signed off on an unfair flat tax, underfunding public schools and keeping transgender children from playing sports. She could have spent that time working to improve the Reynolds Workforce Crisis, but she’d rather score political points than solve real problems our state is facing.
  3. Chuck Grassley, U.S. Senator (Class of 1959) – Where to begin? He has voted to overturn the ACA, voted against the American Rescue Plan, blocked voting rights legislation, and has threatened to hold up the Supreme Court nomination process of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Let’s hope he does the right thing and votes to appoint this highly qualified candidate. Grassley has been in elected office since 1959, and has not improved with age.
  4. “Harmful” Ashley Hinson, U.S. Representative – Hinson is no stranger to the Extreme 16, but this is her first appearance as a congresswoman. Hinson just can’t seem to stop taking credit for others’ work. Recently, she touted millions of dollars in funding for locks and dams along the Mississippi. She failed to mention those funds are thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure bill she voted against and called “socialism.”
  5. Bobby “The Bird” Kaufmann, State Representative – Bobby previously appeared on our list as part of a duo with his father, Jeff, but this year he’s earned his own spot. The act that landed him the number 5 spot? His infamous flipping of the bird at the Iowa Capitol back in January, which he said should tell constituents who disagree with him what he thinks.
  6. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, U.S. Representative – Miller-Meeks voted AGAINST a bill that would help veterans exposed to toxic burn pits… need I say more?
  7. Amy Sinclair, State Senator – As Chair of the Senate Education Committee, Sinclair has happily moved along harmful bills that undercut our public schools and put undue burden on our education professionals.
  8. Jack Whitver, State Senator – As Senate Majority Leader, Whitver helped usher in Corporate Kim Reynolds’ unfair flat tax plan and had a hand in ejecting media from the Senate floor this session.
  9. Steve Holt, State Representative – Rep. Holt is one of the most reliably fringe representatives in the state, and this year his continued attacks on the judiciary earned him a top 10 spot in the Extreme 16. His bizarre subpoenas may not have moved forward, but his attempts to undermine fair courts will almost surely continue as long as he’s in office.
  10. Mike Bousselot, State Representative – Rep. Bousselot has made quick work in joining the ranks of the most extreme in Iowa, as he has only been in the legislature for a short time. He’s more than earned his spot with his consistent and relentless attacks on labor unions and working families. And we can’t forget his demonstrably dishonest attack ads that propelled him to his seat in the first place.
  11. Jeff “The Toe” Shipley, State Representative – Shipley solidified his spot on the Extreme 16 earlier this year when he said transgender Iowans have a mental illness and compared them to cancer. There are no words. Except, maybe we should fully fund our public schools.
  12. Pat Grassley, State Representative – As Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, he’s responsible for every awful piece of legislation that moves. Every corporate sellout, every attack on educators and working families, and every theft of public resources is a betrayal of the vow he and every elected official takes to serve his constituents.
  13. Roby Smith, State Senator – Smith is another consistent member of the Extreme 16. He’s number 13 on our list this year, for his efforts to help Governor Reynolds avoid transparency and hoard executive power. Smith sponsored a bill that would end confirmation votes for several of the governor’s appointees.
  14. Sandy Salmon, State Representative – Salmon is a newcomer to our Extreme 16. She earned a spot on the list with her bill that would limit social studies teachers’ ability to hold discussions on current events and require they teach “both sides” of “controversial issues.” Thankfully, it appears that the bill is not moving forward.
  15. “Phony” Joni Ernst, U.S. Senator – Another familiar face. Ernst has been busy voting against ARPA and blocking voting rights legislation. She also failed to close the “boyfriend loophole” it the Violence Against Women Act, leaving a large group of women vulenrable to domestic violence.
  16. “Whining” Skyler Wheeler, State Representative – Our final spot on the list goes to Rep. Wheeler, who went on a crusade to “save girls’ sports” by banning transgender athletes from competing in our state. News flash: girls’ sports don’t need rescuing.

Iowans cast their votes for the Extreme 16 over the past week, and the full bracket can be viewed by clicking here. In addition to the 16 who were seeded, the ‘first four out’ that just missed the cut were State Senators Zach Nunn, Ken Rozenboom, Adrian Dickey, and Jason Schultz.

Posted in Charles Grassley, iowa legislature 2022, Joni Ernst, Kim Reynolds | Comments Off on A Little Fun From Progress Iowa

Be Careful What You Ask For

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Dave Bradley

One of the most baffling aspects of what has been Iowa’s turning into a Republican dominated state is that working people have been voting for Republicans. The thought of working people voting for a Republican seems at counter purpose to what working people would want representative government help them to achieve.

Yet here is Iowa on the cusp of experimenting with policies that have over the course of the last decade or so turned Iowa into a paradise for the rich and a hard place to survive for the working class. This year’s legislature is in the process of slapping workers around a bit more.

Thursday I opened my online edition of the Iowa Capital Dispatch and see one of the top stories of the day is that Iowa’s Republican dominated House and Senate have cut unemployment insurance benefits from from 26 weeks to 16 weeks. 

Iowa workers would have 10 fewer weeks of unemployment benefits under a bill passed Wednesday by the Iowa House and Senate.

House File 2355 is an amended version of a proposal by Gov. Kim Reynolds. It shortens the maximum amount of unemployment to 16 weeks, down from 26 weeks under current law. The bill also redefines a suitable job, requiring unemployed workers to accept lower-paid offers earlier in their job search.

The Senate’s version of the bill also introduces a one-week waiting period before Iowans begin receiving unemployment benefits. Rep. Michael Bousselot said he removed that provision from the House’s bill after discussion with union workers, who opposed the waiting period.

<< snip >>

Democrats in both chambers opposed the bill, offering a list of amendments to broadly change the state’s protections for workers: restoring collective bargaining rights, increasing access to affordable housing, making it easier for people to find a job despite a criminal record, and raising the minimum wage.

All Democratic amendments failed on the House and Senate floor. Members of the minority party spoke for several hours, emphasizing that the majority of people on unemployment severely need the benefits.

Workers have voted more and more for Republicans based on so-called “cultural” issues. Republicans have responded by making it harder to unionize, keeping wages low and now by cutting lifelines like unemployment insurance. 

Our corporate puppet governor – “Corporate” Kim Reynolds – claims that workers are not taking available jobs because unemployment is so extravagant. Nothing could be farther from the truth and she knows it. Her proclaimed ‘worker shortage’ in Iowa is not due to workers idling about because unemployment benefits are so lavish. Not by a long shot.

There are problems in Iowa that the legislature refuses to address that could lure workers to Iowa. We could start by raising minimum wage. Iowa is currently among the lowest in the country.  Add lack of benefits into that low wage calculation. That will never attract workers. 

Then there is the problem of inadequate child care. For many families the cost of child care takes more that what they can make at a low wage job. Why even work if it is a money losing proposition. 

Our governor can’t seem to understand why young people are leaving Iowa for better opportunities and then they do stuff like this.

And let us hope that workers are finally starting to realize that when you vote for Republicans because of their claims on the so-called cultural issues, that behind those claims is a legislative agenda that hurts workers and hands huge benefits to the wealthy and connected in our state.

Little Village Mag has some thoughts from democrats on this bill:

Democrat Rep. Chris Hall of Sioux City immediately pushed back against those claims.

“In my opinion, that is the most polite and soft way that you can tell the public they’re about to get screwed,” Hall said. “Is the solvency of the unemployment trust fund at risk? No. And nobody’s buying the governor’s rationale that garbage policy like this will have a positive economic impact. It’s not going to address the workforce shortage.”

<< snip >>

Other Democrats pushing back against the bill were equally as blunt as Hall.

“This bill that we have before us today is a middle finger to hardworking Iowans,” Rep. Liz Bennett of Cedar Rapids said during the debate.

“Why are we punishing people who are fired through no fault of their own and looking for work?” House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights asked. “By cutting them off and thinking that will get them back to work?”

“This is short-sighted, this is mean, and this is wrong.”  

Posted in iowa legislature 2022, Kim Reynolds, unemployment insurance | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Be Careful What You Ask For

Putin’s War Leading To Electric Car Surge

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Trish Nelson

Europe is moving more quickly than the U.S.  The time is now.

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , | Comments Off on Putin’s War Leading To Electric Car Surge

Must See: The Dead Malls Video Series

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Trish Nelson

This is not a typical BFIA post. It’s not about politics. But the video really spoke to me as a reflection of our shallow, wasteful, disposable, unsustainable, American culture. Google dead malls and you will get image after scary image of abandoned American malls that give you the creeps, like pictures of haunted houses. And yet for the generation that grew up in malls,  there is sadness and loss watching their demise. As I watched this video about Southridge Mall in Des Moines, the only episode I’ve seen in the series, I felt sad too.

And there is a website https://deadmalls.com/

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Election Expert: Machine Counted Paper Ballots Plus Post-Election Audits Is Best

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Trish Nelson

“The combination of machine-counted paper ballots with rigorous post-election audits is far more likely to give us a trustworthy vote count than the complete abandonment of machine-counted ballots.”

Guest column published in the Des Moines Register  by Douglas W. Jones a retired professor of computer science at the University of Iowa. He was chair of the Iowa Board of Examiners for Voting Machines and Electronic Voting Systems in 2000 and is co-author of the book “Broken Ballots” (CSLI Press, 2012).

Proposals nationally to abandon voting machinery in favor of hand-counted paper ballots reported in the March 13 Register (“Some push for counts by hand,” Page 5A) pose significant problems.

Hand counting works well where there is only one race on the ballot.  In many parliamentary democracies, you vote for your member, the parliament elects the prime minster, and that’s it.  Hand-counting such ballots is very fast; you just divide the ballots into stacks according to how they are voted and then count the number of pieces of paper in each stack.

In contrast, hand counts of U.S.-style ballots are messy.  A small rural county might have 20 races on the ballot, and larger urban counties usually have many more.

By around 1930, the majority of urban voters in the United States were using mechanical voting machines, so you have to look before that to see how well, or poorly, hand counting works.

Outright fraud attracts the most attention. In the days of hand counting, tally clerks sometimes parked pieces of pencil lead under their fingernails so they could mark on ballots they disliked. The mark didn’t even need to look like a vote because most states have laws that disqualify ballots having “identifying marks.”

An even more subtle approach was for biased election workers to demand strict enforcement of disqualifying rules for ballots they disliked while being lenient about accepting ballots they liked. This leads to a spiraling arms race where partisan vote counters disqualify an ever-increasing fraction of the ballots until the election is determined by who can disqualify the most ballots instead of by how the voters feel.

It takes armies of biased ballot counting clerks to corrupt a hand-counted election, but our political parties have such armies. When these armies are devoted to campaigning, get-out-the-vote work and poll watching, it is good for democracy. When they are put to work on manipulating the vote count, it destroys democracy.

Problems like those described above led election reformers in the US to demand mechanical voting machines a century ago. They hoped that voting machines would break the back of political machines.

They were wrong. It turns out that moving vote counting from the hands of precinct election workers to voting machines moved the integrity of the process from the army of precinct workers to the voting machine technicians. With the move to computerized electronic ballot counting, the technicians in the county building are no longer as important as the programmers working for the voting machine vendors.

We know, from numerous studies, that the electronic ballot counting machines currently on the market are vulnerable to various attacks, but when they are operated properly, they count very accurately.

Back in 1965, the state of California addressed this problem by requiring a hand-counted audit after each election. The California model was to do a limited hand count to check the honesty of the machine count. They selected precincts at random to cover 1% of the ballots cast and then audited those. No other state did this until the controversy surrounding the 2000 presidential election. Today, a majority of states, including Iowa, require some kind of post-election auditing.

In the decades after 2000, we’ve developed more sophisticated audit models. When the margin in an election is large, you don’t need to hand-count many ballots to check the result. When the margin in the election is small, though, 1% is not nearly enough. The risk-limiting audits pioneered in Colorado and Rhode Island address this by hand-counting more ballots in close elections and even more when discrepancies are found.

There is plenty of room to improve how most states audit elections, but I believe that the combination of machine-counted paper ballots with rigorous post-election audits is far more likely to give us an accurate and trustworthy vote count than the complete abandonment of machine-counted ballots.

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Urgent Action Alert From Friends Of The Earth

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Trish Nelson

The USDA has continued a dangerous Trump-era program that will allow a number of pork processing plants to increase their “line” or “processing” speeds. This means more animals will be slaughtered and prepared for human consumption per minute — at the expense of worker and animal welfare.

The added pressure on the people working at the slaughterhouses to work at excessive speeds makes it more likely for them to suffer significant injures. It also makes it more likely for animal protection laws to be overlooked. This can result in rough and abusive handling, frequent use of electric pods, botched stunning, and careless slaughtering that can cause CONSCIOUS animals to feel excruciating pain.

These farm animals are already terrified and vulnerable. Increasing the potential for greater abuse due to unsafe line speeds is inhumane and cruel. Please, trish, protect worker safety and prevent further animal cruelty by signing the petition against increased line speeds.

SIGN THE PETITION NOW

Meat factories are already considered an extremely hazardous working environment. Being forced to increase line speeds adds extra stress for these workers and puts them at significantly greater risk of accident and injury.

The animals and plant workers at the slaughterhouses aren’t the only ones whose safety is compromised with increased line speeds. Public health and food safety are also jeopardized when workers are forced to rush. Studies have shown that slaughterhouses operating at faster speeds contained higher rates of contamination from fecal and digestive matter.

The faster the lines are running, the more waste factory machines release, leading to higher air pollution and more agricultural runoff dumped into the ocean.

The negative effects of increasing line speeds at meat factories are far-reaching, and it impacts ALL of us. That’s why your urgent action is required to persuade the USDA to reverse this Trump-holdover policy. Add your name now to tell the USDA to prioritize worker safety and animal welfare above Big Ag’s profits.

SIGN THE PETITION NOW

Thanks for taking action,
Friends of the Earth
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Democrats Are Under Attack In Iowa

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Trish Nelson

Action alert from United Rural Democrats:

We are excited to announce the newest member of our board, Todd Prichard. Todd is a Democratic representative serving Iowa’s 52nd district in the Iowa House of Representatives. More importantly, he is one of the last rural Democrats in Iowa.

Democrats are under attack in Iowa. Chip in here to keep the progressive flame alive.

Rep. Prichard is a public school graduate, veteran, and lawyer. He has worked across the aisle on important issues like rural development, workforce training, veteran affairs, and public safety. But Rep. Prichard also understands the importance of promoting Democratic policies and investing in the next generation of Democratic voters.

That’s why we’re proud to have Rep. Prichard on our team as we work in his home state of Iowa and rural states across the country. Together, we will support Democratic candidates, policies, and voters in our shared mission to make sure rural America is prioritized in our political system.

Rep. Prichard has seen the challenges and backward policies that his Republican colleagues often bring to the table. But he also sees the way forward. Rep. Prichard can help us find the best way to connect with rural voters and win on the issues that these communities are most worried about right now.

We’re excited to learn from and welcome Rep. Prichard into our United Rural Democrats family. But we can’t accomplish these goals without your support, Patricia. Chip in here to help us advance a Democratic movement in rural America. 

United Rural Democrats (URD) is leading the effort to rebuild the Democratic Party in rural America. If we’re going to take back our country, we need a 50-state strategy to organize in every community across the country. Will you support our network of activists on the ground as we work to rebuild our party’s infrastructure and flip these areas blue?

Chip In Now →

Thank you,
The Team at United Rural Democrats

United Rural Democrats
111 Lynn Ave
Ames, IA 50014

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Carbon Capture in Iowa

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Paul Deaton

Carbon Capture in Iowa by Sheri Deal-Tyne, Health and Energy Policy Researcher, PSR, Iowa.

A Lodestone
At this moment, three different carbon capture and pipeline projects have been proposed and are being debated in Iowa. The Iowa projects are significant at the national level because the adoption or rejection of the proposed projects will serve as a “litmus test” for a network of CO2 pipelines and carbon capture developments across the U.S. The situation in Iowa is what those in the policy and advocacy arenas recognize as a policy window, or in other words, a pivotal point.
Ethanol
Corn is about two-thirds starch, which is fermented to make ethanol (ethyl alcohol). After fermentation, the ethanol is concentrated through distillation, then dehydrated, and blended with about 2% denaturant, e.g., methanol, to render it undrinkable.
The federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires that transportation fuel in the U.S. contains specified amounts of renewable fuel. Under the RFS, ethanol is one form of renewable fuel and is blended with gasoline typically at a 10% level. There are a variety of incentives designed to maintain a market for ethanol fuel; however, recent studies emphasize the detrimental environmental impact of ethanol use. The production of ethanol also emits CO2 into the atmosphere. By industry estimates, the fermentation of corn into 100 million gallons of ethanol generates around 300,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.
Land Use, Agricultural Practices, and Food Production Changes
A recently published study found that due to the RFS mandate, corn cultivation increased 8.7% and expanded into 6.9 million additional acres of land between 2008 and 2016. These widespread changes in land use have contributed to a growing world food crisis that has now been made acutely worse by the February 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. The RFS has also led to changes in tilling and the increased application of nitrogen-based fertilizers. The enormous rise in nitrogen fertilizer use has increased nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. N2O is a potent greenhouse gas—289 times as powerful as carbon dioxide. Finally, the study concluded that ethanol is at least 24% more carbon-intensive than gasoline. 
Corn-Based Ethanol
Despite growing concerns, Iowa is the leading ethanol producer in the US. Iowa has 42 corn ethanol plants across the state that produce more than 4 billion gallons annually. Using the industry figure above, the state of Iowa emits 12 million metric tons of CO2 per year from its ethanol plants. This figure represents the CO2 generated by the fermentation process only. These 42 ethanol plants and 12 million metric tons of CO2 are the focus of the carbon capture and pipeline projects in Iowa.
Proposed Projects
Navigator CO2 Ventures proposed CO2 Pipeline Iowa route. Image from Navigator brochure in public IUB Filing.
Proposed Summit Carbon Solutions project in Iowa.  View a map of the project in the five-state region.
3 – Wolf Carbon Solutions, in conjunction with ADM, proposes a 350-mile pipeline intended to transport CO2 from ADM’s ethanol facilities in Clinton and Cedar Rapids to be stored underground at ADM’s sequestration site in Decatur, Illinois. Wolf Carbon Solutions and ADM have not released a publicly available map of their pipeline route.
Eminent Domain
Before a pipeline for the transportation of hazardous liquids can be built in Iowa, the company proposing the pipeline must obtain a permit from the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) under Iowa Code chapter 479B. There is no federal siting or permitting for hazardous liquids pipelines. The IUB has primary jurisdiction over the routing-siting of hazardous liquids pipelines in Iowa.
The IUB’s authority to grant the power of eminent domain comes from Iowa Code chapter 479B for hazardous liquids pipelines. The process of taking private property for public benefit is called condemnation. The code states that a permit will not be granted unless the board determines that “the proposed services will promote the public convenience and necessity.”
The first step in the process is an informational meeting to be held in each county affected by the proposed pipeline. At the meeting, a company representative explains the proposed project and landowner compensation, followed by a question-and-answer period. To construct a pipeline on private property, the company must obtain the rights from the owner of the land, typically by means of an easement. An easement grants specific rights to a party other than the landowner and generally includes the right to build a structure like a pipeline, as well as the right to enter the property for maintenance or repairs. An easement can be voluntarily negotiated or, it can be obtained through condemnation.

The company cannot begin to negotiate with landowners for easements until after the informational meeting. The IUB does not supervise or control negotiations for the purchase of voluntary easements. After the informational meeting is held, the company and the landowners begin to negotiate. If the company fails to obtain all needed easements voluntarily, it can then ask the IUB for the authority to take those rights through eminent domain. According to federal and state laws, private property cannot be taken for public use without 1) a need to serve a public use and 2) just compensation to the landowner.

Under Iowa law, the IUB determines whether a company has demonstrated the public use requirement, but the IUB does not have jurisdiction over the question of compensation. If the use of Eminent Domain is required, compensation is determined in an entirely separate proceeding by a compensation commission in each county for which condemnation authority has been granted, under Iowa Code chapter 6B. Pipeline History Lessons: Dakota Access
Steve Roquet is a farmer in Keokuk County, Iowa. Against his wishes, a section of the Dakota Access pipeline was constructed across his land. Roquet was provided with a copy of an “agricultural mitigation plan” by the Iowa Utilities Board, which he assumed the pipeline installers would follow. Violations of the plan witnessed by Roquet and third-party pipeline inspectors included working in wet conditions and failure to preserve the entire layer of topsoil.   These violations culminate in soil compaction, drainage issues, and a 60-90 percent reduction in crop yields all along the pipeline’s route. The photo below shows rich, valuable topsoil dumped directly on the pipeline at the bottom of the ditch, resulting in disastrous mixing of topsoil and subsoil.
Rich Iowa topsoil at the bottom of the Dakota Access pipeline ditch. Source: Steve Roquet
Roquet contrasts the pipeline projects with the wind turbines on other farmers’ land in Iowa. Consenting to a wind turbine on your land is voluntary, and the landowner receives compensation each year, Roquet points out. In Roquet’s case, he received a one-time payment for the easement right of way and diminishing funds over a five-year period for crop loss. That means no funds after the fifth year, despite facing reduced crop production to this day, which Roquet documents in crop yield reports. The compensation he did receive did not reflect the reduction Roquet has seen in his yields. Roquet emphasizes that he was not given a choice about the Dakota Access pipeline. He was told that if he signed the easement agreement, he would receive X amount of dollars, and if he refused to sign the easement, they would take the land anyway, through eminent domain. He says that the discussion surrounding the easement did not involve any kind of negotiation over terms or dollars. Indeed, when Roquet was informed of the amount that he would be compensated for the pipeline installation on his land, Roquet replied that he would pay Dakota Access that amount to stay away from his land.

Roquet’s experiences with pipeline construction on his land are not isolated. In fact, a study done by researchers at Iowa State University corroborates Roquet’s experiences. Farmers in South Dakota also faced similar problems. Research being conducted on farms in Ohio is documenting the impact of a series of smaller pipelines on soil degradation there.

Roquet’s efforts to resolve his crop yield problems with Dakota Access have thus far been unsuccessful. To make matters worse, in early February 2022, Roquet received a letter from Navigator informing him that they would be surveying his property for the construction of their CO2 pipeline. Unconfirmed reports are that the Navigator CO2 pipeline will be constructed adjacent to the Dakota Access pipeline in some Iowa Counties.
Follow the Money
Navigator CO2 Ventures is a Texas-based company. Navigator’s “Heartland Greenway” project is being funded by Valero and BlackRock. Valero is a transnational manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels and petrochemical products. BlackRock is one of the largest institutional investors in the coal industry with share and bond holdings of US$109 billion.
Summit Carbon Solutions is part of the larger Summit Agricultural Group in Alden, Iowa which is owned by Bruce Rastetter. Rastetter is the former president of the Iowa Board of Regents and is well known in Iowa as a high-dollar GOP donor. Jess Vilsack, son of USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack now serves as the general counsel for Summit Carbon Solutions and former Iowa governor Terry Brandstad is their Senior Policy Advisor.

Wolf Carbon Solutions is also a private company that is part of Wolf Midstream, a $4 billion energy infrastructure business based in Calgary, Alberta. Wolf Midstream recently completed construction on a CO2 pipeline in Alberta. The pipeline, known as the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line, carries captured CO2 that is used for EOR in the Alberta tar sands. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is a transnational food products corporation. Their joint project proposes to transport CO2 to ADM’s “fully permitted and already-operational” sequestration site in Decatur, Illinois. This site is a CCS test project being funded by the US Department of Energy. The total carbon capture and storage work at ADM is valued at $441 million, of which $281 million came from the Department of Energy. The project employs 11 people.

The key revenue stream for a CCS project is the 45Q tax credit, which provides a credit for CO2 that is captured and stored. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 set the rate for permanently stored CO2 to $31.77/mt in 2020 for new CCS facilities and raised the rate to $50/mt in 2026, plus annual inflation adjustments. For storage plus enhanced oil recovery, the rate was $20.22 in 2020 and will rise to $35 in 2026. There is a proposal to increase the 45Q tax credit to $85/mt for permanent storage in the Build Back Better legislation.

Additionally, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed in November 2021, provides $2.1 billion for low-interest loans for shared CO2 transport infrastructure, as well as $2.5 billion in grant funding for commercial large-scale carbon sequestration projects and associated CO2 transport infrastructure. In all, more than $12 billion in CCUS investments are funded by the IIJA.
California connection A recent amendment to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), a crediting mechanism intended to reduce California’s fuel intensity by 20% by 2030, has created a further incentive for the ethanol industry to utilize CCS in their production of ethanol with the LCFS recognizing CCS as an acceptable strategy to reduce emissions from transportation fuels.

Resistance As part of the Iowa permitting process, the public is allowed to file an objection, letter of support, or provide a comment on the IUB’s online Open Docket Comment Form. Any information submitted is available for public viewing subject to the Iowa Open Records Act. Submissions regarding pipeline proposals are available here. (For comments regarding the Summit pipeline, use Docket Number HLP-2021-0001 in the search application. For comments regarding the Navigator pipeline, use Docket Number HLP-2021-0003.)
The Boards of Supervisors in 20 Iowa counties have filed objections opposing the use of eminent domain for the pipelines. The Des Moines Register reports that the number of objections filed so far exceeds the number filed during the permitting process for the Dakota Access pipeline.
Conclusion  Apparently, the Biden administration has identified CCS as necessary infrastructure to meet climate goals. Certainly, the fossil fuel industry is pushing CCS to extend the lifespan of their activities. The rollout of CCS at these levels will require extensive construction of pipelines. According to Reuters, the White House has “declined to comment on the use of eminent domain to construct those pipelines.” Property rights, the just application of eminent domain, and the preservation of valuable farmland are not partisan issues. The Iowa projects are the first link in a network of CCS and pipeline projects across the U.S. and arguably hold a key to whether these projects move forward. We need effective climate solutions that will also preserve farmland for food production. Our world needs energy, but it also needs food, clean water, and a livable climate. 

Sheri Deal-Tyne is the Health and Energy Policy Researcher for Physicians for Social Responsibility: Iowa. Learn more about the chapter by clicking here.

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The High Five

Posted on March 20, 2022 by Dave Bradley

Once again we bring you Friday’s version of ProgessIowa’s High Five Newsletter. This is a good newsletter to use to follow Iowa’s Republican dominated legislature while they are in session:  

Happy Friday!

Did anyone else have Iowa in their final four? According to the ESPN TC app, over 10% of March Madness Brackets had the Hawkeye men going all the way to the finals! Congratulations to the Iowa men’s basketball team for a tremendous season, and we’ll continue rooting for the Iowa women’s and Iowa State teams this coming week!

Progress Iowa is having our own March bracket, with the #Extreme16 to call out the extreme elected officials in Iowa, including Governor Reynolds, Sen. Chuck Grassley, Rep. Ashley Hinson, and many in the legislature. You can nominate an elected official for our Extreme Sixteen here: Extreme Sixteen bracket

This week was the second and final funnel week for the Iowa Legislature, and unlike the first funnel week, bills had to have been passed by a floor vote in either the House or Senate chamber, and have made it through the committee process in the opposite chamber to survive for full consideration the rest of session. There are some exceptions to this, but fortunately funnel week helped stop some terrible bills from moving forward.

Let’s take a look at the bills that didn’t survive the funnel:

1. BAD BILLS BLOCKED: Fortunately, the second funnel week here in Iowa helped stall a number of bad bills introduced by Iowa’s Republican lawmakers. Here’s a few of the worst bills that didn’t make it through the second funnel:

SF2364 – Better known as the bill that would put teachers in jail, this bill didn’t make it through the House and is no longer eligible this session.

SF2205 – This bill would have required schools to post curriculums online months in advance, putting undue strain and burden on educators and potentially would have cost schools millions of dollars.

SF2312 – This highly controversial bill would have limited Iowans’ ability to sell their property for land conservation, and we are glad to see it didn’t survive funnel week.

There are many bad bills left in play this session, however, and we all need to stand together to hold Iowa’s Republican lawmakers accountable.

Click to tweet: I want our legislators focusing on issues Iowans care about, not their wealthy & corporate buddies. That’s why I’m urging Iowa Republicans to focus on their constituents rather than an extreme agenda this last part of session. #Iowa

After you share that message, check out some of the bills that survived funnel week and the other top stories we’re watching today:

2. THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY: And while some terrible bills were defeated this funnel week, some of Corporate Kim Reynolds’ top priorities are still in play thanks to Republicans taking advantage of their supermajority. Speaker Grassley has moved some Republican bills out of their original committees and over to Ways and Means and the Appropriations committee so they will be eligible after the funnel. Reynolds’ terrible unemployment benefit slashing bill was one of these bills, because some Republicans prioritize corporations over anything else.

3. WHERE IS HER EMPATHY?: And while these terrible bills are making headlines today, State Representative Ruth Ann Gaines, a former Iowa Teacher of the Year and a 40-year veteran of East High School in Des Moines, called out Governor Reynolds for her terrible comments about the shooting at East High last week. In her first public comments about the tragedy, Reynolds passed the buck onto Iowa’s school system that she has spent over a decade underfunding.

4. IOWA ELECTIONS ARE SAFE AND SECURE: New data from MIT shows that Iowa ranked third in the nation for administering the 2020 election, meaning our elections were safe and accessible. Even so,Iowa Republicans worked to dismantle voting rights in the state of Iowa, touting false claims about election integrity. This effort is still being seen at the national level as Republican controlled state houses continue to pass voter suppression laws after the record turn out in 2020.

5. IOWA SOIL AND WATER QUALITY IN JEOPARDY: Dr. Francis Thicke is a soil scientist and organic dairy farmer. He has served as the National Program Leader for Soil Science for the USDA-Extension Service and was the 2010 Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. In his first article for our online news blog, Potluck, he shares his expertise about the water and soil quality issues facing Iowa.

Thanks for reading, and we’ll get back with you Monday for another Hive Five!

– The Progress Iowa Team

Progress Iowa | P.O. Box 548 | Des Moines, IA 50302

Posted in gun control, gun safety, iowa legislature 2022, Kim Reynolds, water | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The High Five