From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
PALO, Iowa (AP) – Alliant Energy has announced plans to buy and expand an existing solar farm project at Palo to make it Iowa’s largest solar and battery storage facility. Alliant, based in Madison, Wisconsin, said in a news release that it wants to buy the project located at the decommissioned nuclear Duane Arnold Energy Center at Palo from NextEra Energy. Alliant filed the proposal Tuesday with the Iowa Utilities Board. The plan would have NextEra continue developing its 200-megawatt solar field and 75-megawatt battery storage facility. Alliant would then buy the completed project and add another 200 megawatts of solar at a later date. Alliant says it expects the board’s decision on the Palo project by late next year.
NEW YORK (AP) – Voters across the U.S. are picking new city leaders from candidates who have been largely defined by their stances on police and crime. Polls open Tuesday morning. Law enforcement issues came to the forefront in cities big and small after the death of George Floyd last year led to a national reckoning on racial injustice and law enforcement. The debate centered on questions of when and where police are needed – or whether they’re needed at all. It also unfolded amid an increase in homicides in the wake of the pandemic. In some big cities, fear or a desire for a middle-ground approach elevated candidates seen as more supportive of law enforcement.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa panel responsible for resolving lawsuits against the state has agreed to pay nearly $400,000 in attorney and expert witness fees as part of a settlement in a lawsuit in which University of Iowa officials reversed a decision to eliminate the women’s swimming program. Men’s swimming, gymnastics and tennis also were eliminated. The State Appeal Board voted Monday to pay $399,989 to five attorneys and three expert witnesses. Iowa Solicitor General Jeff Thompson says the payment was part of a court-approved settlement. Members of the women’s swimming and diving team sued last year, alleging the decision to eliminate the program violated a federal law that bars sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs.
AMES, Iowa (AP) – Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man outside the Elks Lodge in Ames where a Halloween party was being held. Police say 23-year-old Stashaun Brown, of Des Moines, died from his injuries in the late Friday night shooting. Officers were called just before midnight Friday to the lodge for reports of shots fired in a crowd of about 100 people. Investigators believe a group of people had been fighting before the confrontation escalated into gunfire. Arriving officers found Brown with a gunshot wound. Police say he was taken to an area hospital, where he died early Saturday. No other injuries were reported, and no arrests have been made.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new monthly survey of business leaders in nine Midwest and Plains states shows significant jumps in employment and inventories since September, but confidence in the economy over the next six month remained at a dismal low. The overall index for October of the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions released Monday rose to 65.2 from September’s 61.6. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth. But the survey’s business confidence index, which looks ahead six months, failed to budge from 37 recorded in September. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
State and local election officials are hoping for a smooth election on Tuesday to demonstrate that voting is secure and tallies are accurate. The off-year elections come after a year of falsehoods surrounding the 2020 presidential election, Republican-led ballot reviews and new voting rules passed by GOP lawmakers. Some of the new voting restrictions imposed by Republicans will be in place for elections in Florida, Georgia and Iowa. False claims about the 2020 presidential election have led to local election officials being targeted with harassment and threats. Many of them have been trying to be transparent about the many security steps they have in place.
