From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s biggest oil driller says it will commit $250 million to help fund a proposed pipeline that would gather carbon dioxide produced by ethanol plants across the Midwest and pump it underground for permanent storage. Billionaire oil tycoon Harold Hamm’s Continental Resources said Wednesday it’s making the investment into Summit Carbon Solutions’ $4.5 billion pipeline There are 31 ethanol facilities across Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and the Dakotas where emissions would be captured and piped to North Dakota to be buried. Continental officials say they have no plans to use the gas for enhanced oil recovery.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s state auditor again called for Gov. Kim Reynolds to return nearly $450,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds that were used to pay for 21 governor’s office staff members for three months in 2020. In a report released Tuesday, Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, repeated his recommendation from October 2020 and last December that the funds be returned. Sand says the Republican governor misspent the federal money and tried to conceal it by passing it through the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Reynolds says she believes the use of funds was permissible. And a spokesman for Reynolds has said Reynolds’ staff members spent most of their time responding to the pandemic during the months in question.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law a tax bill that creates a 3.9% flat tax in four years, eliminates taxes on retirement income and lowers taxes for corporations at an estimated cost of about $2 billion to state income but with little impact for many middle class and low income earners. Democratic Party Chairman Ross Wilburn says the bill hands millionaires an extra $1,200 a week, while teachers and truck drivers get less than $12 a week. Also Tuesday, Reynolds is scheduled to give the Republican answer to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, an opportunity that gives her a bright national spotlight to tout her accomplishments.
MEDIAPOLIS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a Davenport man drowned after falling through ice while fishing with his brother. The Des Moines County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release that 71-year-old Patrick Vaughn died after being pulled from the water Monday evening in rural Mediapolis. Sheriff Kevin Glendening said a man called 911 asking for help. Responders found 69-year-old Michael Vaughn clinging to the ice and pulled him to safety. Glendening says they pulled Patrick Vaughn from the water after about 90 minutes of searching. He was pronounced dead at Southeast Iowa Medical Center.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – Police say they’ve arrested a man accused of shooting another man to death at a Davenport gas station as the two men fought. The Quad-City Times reports that police arrested 23-year-old Demetrius Ray Howard Jr. early Tuesday morning on suspicion of first-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Police say the shooting occurred late Monday night. Officials have not released the identity of the man killed.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new monthly survey suggests that worries about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, soaring inflation and rising interest rates combined to undermine the confidence of business leaders in nine Midwest and Plains states. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said businesses also fear the war may worsen the ongoing supply chain problems and push commodity prices higher. The report’s confidence index fell to its lowest point ever in February when it hit 19.5, falling from January’s already low 36.2. Any score below 50 suggests a negative outlook. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
