Environmental News

A December explosion and fire that injured a dozen people and caused a small-scale evacuation in Marengo was caused when an “unknown mechanical failure” ignited flammable air vapor, the State Fire Marshal reported.

Johnson County Conservation began visiting the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County’s early childhood education classes last month through a new partnership. The students get engaging, hands-on nature programming once a month.

Despite recent snow and ice, there are hints that warmer weather is on its way.

Iowa has a new drought plan — the first since the 1980s, when droughts were less frequent and less intense than what Iowa has seen in recent years because of climate change.

A majority of the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors voted earlier this month to freeze funding for the roadside vegetation management program, started in 2016, because they say that money would be better spent updating snow plows and other Secondary Roads equipment.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will create a new grant program for combating emerging contaminants in drinking water in small or disadvantaged communities. The program will be funded with $18.9 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Agriculture contributes more than 10% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States today, and Iowa — with 13 million acres of corn and seven hogs per person — is one of the top two emitters, second only to Texas, since 1990.

The drafted plan, which would require operational improvements at two MidAmerican coal-fired power plants, is open for public comment.