Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds Calls Special Legislative Session For Steel Plant Incentives
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa state lawmakers will return to Des Moines Friday for a special legislative session. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds called the session to approve state incentives for a steel manufacturing plant locating in Eastern Iowa. President Trump announced Monday the Mesabi Metallics facility in Lee County will create more than 17-hundred permanent jobs and pump billions into the U.S economy. Reynolds says the legislature can help accelerate the most consequential capital investment in state history.
Iowa Farm Group Joins Lawsuit Against USDA Over Nonpayment Of Subsidies For Solar Projects
(Des Moines, IA) — An Iowa farm group is joining a lawsuit against the USDA over non-payment of subsidies related to solar projects. Members of the Iowa Farmers Union are part of a suit the Environmental Law and Policy Center and Earthjustice filed Monday against the USDA, claiming they broke the law by eliminating solar energy supports from the Renewable Energy for America Program. The lawsuit asks the court to invalidate the USDA’s new solar policy and order it to process those REAP applications under the rules that were in place when it received them.
Five New Iowa Counties Selected to Participate in High Five Rural Traffic Safety Project
(Des Moines, IA) — Five new Iowa counties will participate in the High Face Rural Traffic Safety Project. The Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau says, over the next three years, it will be partnering with local law enforcement in Clinton, Mills, Sioux, Warren and Winneshiek counties. The safety project will focus on efforts to increase seatbelt use and reduce the number of traffic deaths. The Iowa State University Institute for Transportation identified the five counties as high-priorities after examining data on crashes in rural communities that experience above-average unprotected traffic deaths and serious injuries.
Local Developer Closes Sale On Valley West Mall
(West Des Moines, IA) — A West Des Moines developer and real estate company has purchased the Valley West Mall. Threshold Capital closed the sale Monday on the 58-acre property. The City of West Des Moines wants to demolish the mall to make room for new housing, retail, restaurants and a green space. The biggest challenge is longtime tenant JCPenney, which has a lease agreement until 2032. Threshold Capital has filed a petition in Polk County B Court to clarify what work can move forward while JCPenney continues to operate. The company plans to vacate the other remaining tenants and present site development plans to the city.
Arrest Made In Fatal 1997 Des Moines Hit-And-Run
(Des Moines, IA) — There has been arrest in a nearly 30-year-old hit and run case in Des Moines, thanks to a re-run of the TV show America’s Most Wanted. Sixty-four-year-old Leslie Ruby was killed outside of his home on Easton Boulevard in September of 1997. Investigators determined that 28-year-old Gerardo Garcia-Michel [[ MEE-shell ]] was the driver of the car that hit Ruby before leaving the state. A tip came in after a 1998 episode of America’s Most Wanted aired again, leading U.S. Marshals to arrest Garcia-Michel in New Jersey last month. The process to extradite him back to Iowa is underway.
