Gazette Daily News Podcast: Thursday, March 14, 2024

– U.S. House votes to ban TikTok unless its Chinese parent company sells it. Here’s how Iowa’s reps voted

– Agri Star sends 250K gallons of meat processing wastewater to Postville treatment plant, some enters creek

– Lawmakers hit brakes on bill to ban Iowa DNR form buying land at auction

Episode Transcript

Coming up, the clock is ticking for social media app TikTok to split from its Chinese parent company

And later, 250 thousand gallons of meat processing wastewater was sent into the Postville sewer system

Plus, lawmakers are shelving a bill that would prevent the Iowa DNR from buying land at auction

Welcome to the Thursday, March 14 edition of the Gazette Daily News Podcast. This podcast gives quick bites from the latest headlines coming out of The Gazette newsroom. I’m Bailey Cichon.

First, the U.S. House voted to ban social media app TikTok unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells it. Every member of Iowa’s all-Republican U.S. House delegation voted in favor of the measure on Wednesday. U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson, of Marion, said the bill forces TikTok to cut ties with the Chinese Communist Party (or CCP) or lose American users.

Hinson said quote, “Today, we are sending a message to CCP that we are going to deflate the 140 million spy balloons they’ve installed on American phones. We are going to protect our kids, our national security, and our cybersecurity.” end quote.

Now, the bill is heading to the U.S. Senate. Some lawmakers are concerned that the bill violates Americans’ rights to free expression. Critics say that Congress should strengthen data privacy and security instead of singling out TikTok. On Wednesday, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley told reporters he wants more information about the national security risk that ByteDance poses. Grassley said, quote, “I think anything connected to the Chinese Communist Party must be suspect, and that’s why I’m telling you I’m leaning toward (supporting the bill). But I’m going to reserve just a little bit of judgment till I get the briefing we ought to have until we pass it.” end quote.

TikTok is incorporated in the U.S. but its connection to ByteDance has many concerned that the app could be weaponized by Chinese government officials for spying or spreading misinformation or disinformation. The company says it has never and would never share U.S. user data with the Chinese government.

If you’re squeamish, this next story might not be for you. Last week, more than 250,000 gallons of untreated food processing waste from beef kill facility Agri Star was sent into the Postville water treatment plant. Some of the wastewater, including blood, went into Williams Creek before Postville city staff identified the problem and diverted the waste into a holding tank. Now, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is considering citing Agri Star.

On March 2 and 3, Postville city staff noted an unusual quote unquote “cleaning product” smell in the water treatment plant. On March 4, a sample of water coming into the plant was a dark red color. Plus, city staff saw red-tinted water in Williams Creek, which is a tributary to the Yellow River. Agri Star staff was contacted almost immediately. About an hour later, Agri Star officials told Postville officials that they had found a blocked sewer line leading from the beef kill facility to Agri Star's own industrial treatment plant. Plus, the basement, where the plant has a lift station that pumps some wastewater to the city, was flooded. Postville reported to the Iowa DNR that as Agri Star worked to fix the problem, processing waste flowed to the city at a rate of 148 to 164 gallons per minute. Quote, “At no time did they appear to cease or limit production.” end quote. The city reported that it diverted treated water away from Williams Creek from March 4 to March 7, when ammonia levels were back in the normal range and the water was just faintly tinted pink. A full recovery will take a month and require additional cost for labor, power, lab testing and sludge hauling.

In a report to the state, Postville officials said quote, “The fact that it appears it took Agri Star at least 2 days to realize, and did not report until prompted by the City that they had a severe blockage that was discharging to the City system is alarming,” end quote.

The city is recommending that Agri Star be required to install a transmitter at the meter site to monitor flow and that the transmitter alarms city staff when flows exceed normal levels. The city also wants Agri Star to verify places in the plant where domestic and industrial waste streams could converge. They also want staff trained on how to quickly report and repair blockages.

At the time this podcast was recorded, Postville and Agri Star had not returned Gazette messages seeking comment.

Next, lawmakers are hitting pause on a bill that would prevent the Iowa Department of Natural Resources from buying land for public use. Now, it’s unlikely to become law this year as legislative deadlines are quickly approaching. Senate File 2324 would have banned the DNR from buying land at auction and from receiving land donations from nonprofits that bought the land at auction. The House State Government Committee decided not to advance the bill after dozens of outdoor enthusiasts came to the Capitol this week in protest of the bill.

Representative Austin Harris, a Republican from Moulton, wrote the House version of the bill. Harris said that the DNR already has a policy of not buying land at auctions and the bill would codify the agency rule.

Harris said quote, “I believe with all my heart that this is good policy that was created by the DNR. This bill will not change a single thing, it does not threaten public land any more than the current policy does.” end quote.

Despite the DNR’s policy of not buying land at auctions, supporters say the bill would allow Iowa farmers to buy land more easily without state competition. Iowa Conservation Alliance president Fred Long said high farmland prices are preventing small and beginning farmers from buying land, not DNR competition.

As always, you can find a link to each of the stories featured in today’s episode in this episode’s description or at the gazette dot com.

Now, let’s take a look at the weather in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Today it will rain. Expect a high of 51 degrees and a low of 36 degrees. On Friday, it will be partly cloudy. Expect similar temperatures to today.

Thank you for listening to the Gazette Daily News Podcast. Stay up to date with the latest news from Eastern Iowa at the gazette dot com. I’m Bailey Cichon.

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com