Erin Jordan

In the seven months before the explosion and fire that injured 15 people and left an environmental mess, Jeff Boeyink -- a partner at Des Moines-based public relations and lobbying firm LS2group and Branstad’s chief of staff from 2010 to 2013 -- wrote to DNR leaders and Marengo officials at least 10 times on behalf of C6-Zero to answer questions, allay concerns and invite officials to tour the site, according to emails obtained by The Gazette.

Johnson County Conservation is challenging outdoor enthusiasts -- a distinction open to everyone -- to get out and explore about a dozen county parks through mid-March to find the Yeti.

The Sierra Club of Iowa and Trout Unlimited are asking a judge in Polk County District Court to overturn an April 2021 by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to approve Supreme Beef’s plan for storing and disposing of manure.

Cryptocurrency mining, which relies on cheap, abundant energy, is expanding in Iowa, with Hardin County considering two new sites.

Besides petroleum products that have leaked from a Marengo explosion site, state regulators also are worried about toxic chemicals from foam used to fight the Dec. 8 blaze.

Company founder Howard Brand III was on regulators’ radar for two years before the explosion in Iowa.

The lawsuit, filed in Iowa County, asks a judge to grant a temporary and permanent injunction to force C6-Zero and owner Howard Brand III to comply with a Dec. 15 emergency order from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, identify all chemicals at the site and allow the DNR access to the facility.

A coalition of Iowa’s large energy users wants the option to buy electricity on the open market rather than from their geographically-assigned utilities. Four other states have hybrid systems in which large companies may shop around for energy generation, so The Gazette asked them how it works.

Although pipeline opponents have been vocal in every corner of the state, Iowa lawmakers have been largely silent about whether they will take any action to influence the projects.

EcoSource, a Des Moines-based firm hired by C6-Zero to assess environmental damage from the Dec. 8 blast, said it wouldn’t be able to finish cleaning up the site until March -- two months later than the Iowa Department of Natural Resources ordered.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources referred C6-Zero to the Attorney General’s Office for legal action this week after the company said it could not meet deadlines for cleaning up the site.

Hamburg Inn, an iconic Iowa City diner, is not closing, an attorney for the owner said Monday. The restaurant will have reduced hours until some building repairs are made, but should reopen full time later this month, Kim Baer said.

If your preschooler is bouncing off the walls after too much sugar and not enough exercise, welcome to Iowa winter. Check out this list of Corridor indoor play spaces.

A Marengo company whose workshop exploded and caught fire Dec. 8 failed to meet a state deadline of Friday for filing a report about how owners plan to clean up the area, which state regulators called a “clear threat to public health and the environment.”

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from rural Iowa, and Wally Taylor, a Marion lawyer for the Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club, agree a new federal rule designed to protect waterways from pollution is ambiguous.