WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is moving one step closer to developing a central bank digital currency, known as the digital dollar. Administration officials say it’d help reinforce the U.S. role as a leader in the world financial system. The White House said Friday that after President Joe Biden issued an executive order in March calling on agencies to look at ways to regulate digital assets, the agencies came up with nine reports. One Treasury recommendation is the U.S. “advance policy and technical work on a potential central bank digital currency.” The Atlantic Council nonpartisan think tank says many other countries already are exploring or have created a central bank digital currency.
DNR seeking sign ups for annual volunteer day
By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)
The chief of Iowa’s Parks, Forests and Preserves Bureau is asking Iowans to mark next Saturday (September 24th) on their calendars to lend a hand with sprucing up our state parks.
It’s the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ sixth annual Statewide Volunteer Day and Sherry Arntzen is encouraging everyone who loves and uses our park system to sign up.
“We have a number of different volunteer projects in some of the parks,” Arntzen says. “It could be putting together picnic tables, painting picnic tables, picking up trash, helping with some invasive species removal, planting trees, or staining other buildings that we have.”
There are projects planned all across the state at about one in every four of Iowa’s state parks. “So we have 71 state parks and forests. Right now, we have 18 parks that have scheduled events on the 24th,” Arntzen says, “but if people are interested in learning about other volunteer opportunities at some of our parks, we encourage them to reach out to the park offices direct.”
Arntzen says Iowa’s state parks are “beloved places for many Iowans,” and the DNR staff greatly appreciates the help volunteers provide. “We’re down a little bit this year on the number of scheduled projects, especially since COVID,” Arntzen says. “We have a large increase in our number of guests that we serve in our parks, so we have been quite busy this year with just our day-to-day operations.”
Some of the projects can be tackled rain or shine, but if the weather looks inclement, volunteers should contact the individual park office in case of changes to the date, time, or meeting location.
To sign up, log on to: www.iowadnr.gov/volunteer
Oskaloosa High School Homecoming Parade
By Sam Parsons
Last night, Oskaloosa High School put on its homecoming parade with plenty of participants walking and riding around the town square in downtown Oskaloosa.
At the conclusion of the parade, the festivities moved to the old community stadium for the coronation of the Homecoming King and Queen, and it was Elliot Nelson who was crowned Homecoming King, and Audree Cheney crowned Homecoming Queen.
The rest of the Oskaloosa HS homecoming court for 2022 included Isabelle Fuller, Mya Snitker, Maleah Walker, Morgan Ford, Brody Barnhart, Lawson Morris, Tucker DeJong, and Jordan Barnes.
Pella Special Election Results: LOSST Extended for 20 More Years
By Sam Parsons
The unofficial results are in from this week’s special election in the city of Pella, and the voters have decided to extend the city’s Local Option Sales and Services Tax, or LOSST, through 2043.
On Tuesday, voting was conducted for the referendum on the LOSST, which has been in place in the city of Pella for 20 years. Of 7,861 registered voters, 2,182 voted, or 27.76%. 1,221 ballots were “YES” votes (55.96%), while 961 voted “NO” (44.04%).
The full unofficial results from the Marion County Auditor are available here. Mayor Don DeWaard’s newsletter published on the LOSST, which details what it is used for and other background information, can be found here.
Biden: Tentative railway labor deal reached, averting strike
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says a tentative railway labor agreement has been reached, averting a strike that could have been devastating to the economy before the midterm elections. Biden said Thursday the tentative deal will keep the “critical rail system” working and avoid economic disruption. The president says it’s “an important win” for the economy, the American people and tens of thousands of rail workers. The Democratic president says the rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions and “peace of mind around their health care costs.” Biden calls the agreement “a victory for railway companies.” A strike starting Friday could’ve shut rail lines across the country. The tentative agreement will go to union members for a vote.
Iowa Soybean Association Recipient of Historic USDA Climate-Smart Investment
ANKENY — The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) has been awarded nearly $100 million for creation of the Midwest Climate-Smart Commodity Program administered by the Soil & Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF). The grant was awarded through the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s (USDA) Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities.
The five-year program will provide direct financial incentives for farmers operating in Iowa and 11 other states to implement on-farm practices resulting in positive environmental outcomes.
“It’s a unique and historic grant that will accelerate public and private partnerships necessary to achieve sustained improvements in air and water quality,” says Kirk Leeds, ISA CEO. “We’ve long touted this model, with farmers leading the way and being rewarded for implementing practices that have far-reaching benefits.”
AgOutcomes, an ISA wholly owned subsidiary, and ReHarvest Partners, joined in 2020 to launch the SWOF. The SWOF provides financial incentives directly to farmers who transition to on-farm conservation practices verified to have multiple environmental benefits.
Adam Kiel, SWOF Managing Director, says the USDA grant will build upon its successes in connecting farmers with market opportunities and revenue streams resulting from the transaction of environmental outcomes to public and private partners. These outcomes are essential to meeting regulatory and voluntary goals, including scope 3 greenhouse gas emission insets and water quality improvements.
“By stacking together the many positive environmental outcomes of on-farm conservation practices, we deliver outcome-based payments to our farmer partners and extremely competitive environmental outcome pricing to our partners,” Kiel said. “This innovative approach, connection to farmers across a large geographical area, and proven track record of results were a perfect match for a USDA Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities investment.”
Leeds, who also serves as President and CEO of AgOutcomes, said USDA funding combined with $66.1 million in corporate commitments for outcome-based payments to farmers will significantly enhance work with farmers to incorporate climate smart practices on millions of acres of farmland in 12 states.
“Iowa’s soybean farmers were key in launching SWOF and we appreciate the opportunity we have been given to leverage these early investments with the dollars being provided by USDA and our other partners,” he added.
In addition to supporting farmers, funding will also be used for farmer enrollment and technical assistance, as well as outcome quantification, measurement, reporting and verification. The project will produce real world data on the costs and benefits of implementation to farmers and the environment and support the development of markets for climate-smart commodities.
ISA affiliate organizations, including Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance, were also announced as partner recipients on two additional grants through the USDA program. These projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve carbon sequestration for corn, soybean, pork and beef commodities, while creating transformational opportunities for small and historically underserved producers.
To learn more, visit iasoybeans.com or theoutcomesfund.com.
Ottumwa Man Facing Murder Charge After Gas Station Assault Leads to Death
OTTUMWA — On Sunday, September 11, 2022, at approximately 1:43 p.m., Ottumwa Police responded to Casey’s
located at 1001 E. Main, Ottumwa, regarding an assault that had taken place in the parking lot. It was reported that a male assaulted another male victim and then left the scene. When police arrived the victim was unconscious and appeared severely injured.
The victim was identified as Grant Cochran, age 49, of Ottumwa. Cochran was transported to the Ottumwa Regional Heath Center and then on to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic in Iowa City.
The suspect in this case was located and identified as Leon Laroy Stewart, age 39, of 313 N. Ash, Ottumwa. On Sunday, September 11, 2022, at approximately 2:27 p.m., Stewart was arrested and charged with Willful Injury, a Class “C” Felony.
On September 14, 2022, the victim in the case died as a result of his injuries sustained in the assault. As a result of the death, Stewart was additionally charge with Murder in the 2 nd Degree, a Class “B” Felony.
William Penn University Parents Weekend Primer
By Sam Parsons
This weekend is parents weekend at William Penn University. To discuss the slate of events on deck, we sat down with grad assistants Daniel Thatcher and Izzy Morales. Thatcher began with some highlights for Saturday, which will be the busiest day of the weekend.
And Morales gave some info on the registration process as well as where to find more info.
You can visit the Parents Weekend info page on the William Penn website here.
Osky Volleyball Sweeps Pella in Homecoming Week
By Sam Parsons
Anticipation was through the roof for Tuesday night’s volleyball matchup between Little Hawkeye Conference rivals Oskaloosa and Pella. Not only were you looking at a big rivalry matchup; it was also Oskaloosa’s home opener, as well as their homecoming week game.
The Indians were able to channel that emotion early into highly effective volleyball. They dominated the Dutch in the opening set 25-13; after Pella led early 5-4, Oskaloosa scored 20 out of the next 26 points and cruised to a 1-0 set advantage.
The second set was substantially more competitive. Pella again staked an early lead, this time 12-7; the Indians rallied and 11 of the next 13 points to go up 18-14, but Pella wouldn’t let this stretch last as they battled back to tie it at 20-20. From there, the two teams dueled closely and the set went into extra points, with each team facing a set point multiple times. Ultimately it was the Indians who were able to string together 3 points after trailing 29-28 to win 31-29 and take a 2-0 lead.
Oskaloosa looked to finish the sweep in the third set, but Pella wouldn’t simply give this go-round of the rivalry away, and they battled back and forth with Osky. The score was 16-15 late in the set with neither team ever establishing a firm advantage until the Indians rattled off 5 points in a row and staved off any comeback efforts from the Dutch to finish them off with a 25-20 win and the 3-0 sweep.
The Indians got excellent performances out of seniors Maleah Walker, Pressley Blommers, and Lucy Roach; sophomore Gracie DeRonde also had one of her best performances of the year. Sophomore Hannah Nelson saw extended playing time stepping in for injured junior Hayley Van Arkel and filled those shoes well.
Oskaloosa (11-7) will be in action next at 11th ranked Indianola on Tuesday, September 20, with coverage available on 104.9 KBOE and on this website. Pella (6-7) heads to Ballard for a tournament on Saturday.
Iowa teen who killed rapist sentenced, ordered to pay $150K
DES MOINES, IA (AP) — A teenage human trafficking victim who was initially charged with first-degree murder after she stabbed her accused rapist to death has been sentenced to five years’ probation and ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to the man’s family. Seventeen-year-old Pieper Lewis was sentenced Tuesday after she pleaded guilty last year to involuntary manslaughter and willful injury in the June 2020 killing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks. Lewis was 15 when she stabbed Brooks more than 30 times in a Des Moines apartment. Lewis has maintained that she was trafficked against her will to Brooks for sex multiple times and stabbed him in a fit of rage after he had raped her yet again. Police and prosecutors have not disputed that Lewis was sexually assaulted and trafficked.