By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

Russian hackers targeted the websites of more than a dozen U.S. airports yesterday morning, including the Des Moines International Airport.

A group linked to the Kremlin has claimed credit for the online attacks, which did not affect flights or air traffic control, but took down the websites of airports in New York, Chicago and Atlanta as well as Des Moines.

FLYDSM.com was down for a couple of hours, but has been restored. The website lets travelers check flight departures and arrivals in Des Moines — information that is available separately through each airline’s website.

(Des Moines) – The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) on Friday issued an order scheduling a December 13, 2022, oral argument proceeding in connection with the proposed carbon capture pipeline by Summit Carbon Solutions (Summit Carbon) in Docket No. HLP-2021-0001.

The proceeding will be held to allow interested parties to provide input on the relationship between the findings the IUB must make in that docket in regard to the location of the proposed pipeline (project siting), local land use, and injury to property as compared to safety issues subject to federal jurisdiction. The oral argument will begin 15 minutes following the monthly public Board meeting in the IUB Hearing Room, 1375 E. Court Ave., Des Moines, Iowa.

On September 2, 2022, the IUB issued an order stating more information was needed regarding federal preemption on safety issues.

Friday’s order also requires anyone who wishes to participate in the oral argument to file briefs by November 10, 2022. Representatives of both Navigator Heartland Greenway, LLC, and Wolf Carbon Solutions US, LLC, which also have projects for proposed carbon capture pipelines, may also file briefs and participate in the oral argument without filing for intervention.

DES MOINES — After yet another month of below normal precipitation across the state, the water year ended with deteriorating conditions across Iowa, according to the latest Water Summary Update.

The “Water Year” is defined as the period between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30. Precipitation for the 2022 Water Year was 29.51 inches, or 6.04 inches below normal. Drought expansion continues into the fall months, with 85 percent of Iowa in some form of dryness or drought, and more than 25 percent of the state in moderate or severe drought.

“Conditions were improving as the state moved from spring into early summer, but since then things have gotten gradually worse. September marked the sixth month in a row of below normal precipitation,” said Tim Hall, DNR’s coordinator of hydrology resources. “A repeat of last October’s above normal rainfall would help to turn things around for the state, and we are certainly hoping for that to happen.”

The 2022 Water Year was the third water year in a row of below normal rainfall for the state.

For a thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends, go to www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate.

The report is prepared by technical staff from Iowa DNR, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering, and the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department.