Gazette Daily News Podcast: Tuesday, March 5, 2024

– Valero, with five Iowa ethanol plants, joins Summit’s proposed CO2 pipeline

– Iowa Republicans celebrate court ruling in favor of Trump

– Independence woman dies in Benton County crash

Episode Transcript

Welcome to the Tuesday, March 5 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.

Coming up, ethanol producer Valero is joining Summit’s proposed CO2 pipeline

And later, the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of Trump and Iowa Republicans celebrate

Plus, a Friday crash in Benton county killed one person and seriously injured another person

First, the world’s second-largest ethanol producer, Valero, has agreed to connect to Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed carbon dioxide pipeline. Summit said in a Monday statement quote, “Participation from these eight facilities adds 1.1 billion gallons of ethanol per year and will lead to the capture of 3.1 million metric tons of CO2 annually.” end quote. Summit plans to gather CO2 from ethanol plants and ship it via pipeline to North Dakota. There, the company plans to inject it deep into the ground. Estimates put the pipeline at 2,400 miles long and the project is estimated to cost over $5 billion. If regulators approve the proposed pipeline, Summit and pipeline partners could collect up to $18 billion in federal tax credits.

Valero is based in San Antonio and has eight facilities, including five ethanol plants in Iowa including Charles City, Lakota, Fort Dodge, Albert City and Hartley. The addition of Valero brings the total up to 57 ethanol plants across the Upper Midwest involved in the pipeline project. The Iowa Utilities Board is considering Summit’s application for a permit to build 680 miles of pipeline in Iowa. Summit is asking the board to grant permission to use eminent domain to force landowners to sell easements to it to build and maintain the pipeline. In August, Summit said it had voluntary leases on about 75% of the route. Those in opposition to the pipeline think they shouldn’t be forced to have a private hazardous liquid pipeline on their property. In January, the world’s largest ethanol producer POET announced it would link its plants in Iowa and South Dakota to Summit’s pipeline. This came after another pipeline proposal by Navigator Heartland Greenway folded. The POET plants in Iowa are not on Summit’s original route and require another permit application in Iowa.

Next, on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided that states cannot remove former President Donald Trump from a ballot over claims that Trump incited an insurrection. The ruling overturned a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that would have prevented Trump from appearing on the ballot in Tuesday’s primary election. The Colorado court decision was because of the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution which bars individuals who have quote “engaged in insurrection” end quote from holding office again. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress has the sole discretion of enforcing the 14th Amendment, not state officials. Now, Iowa Republicans are celebrating the decision.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement, quote, “The decision of who should serve as President belongs to the voters. Not only would this disenfranchise Coloradans, but Iowans as well who believe Donald Trump is the best candidate on the ballot. Frivolous attempts like this to harm the integrity of our elections should be struck down in similar fashion.” end quote. Gov. Reynolds endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, not former President Trump, in Iowa’s GOP caucuses.

Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann echoed Reynolds’ sentiments, saying, quote, “The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed what we all saw as a brazen, unconstitutional power grab attempting to cause election interference. The checks and balances worked against an unbalanced and unhinged effort to trash the Constitution and take away the right of people to vote in a free and fair election.”

While Trump’s ballot eligibility hasn’t been challenged in Iowa, an Iowa bill would make changes to Iowa’s election laws. The bill would dictate that a presidential candidate’s ballot eligibility can be challenged only based on the legal sufficiency of the certificate of nomination. It would also remove a rule that federal candidates must sign a statement indicating that they are aware they are disqualified from holding office if they’ve been convicted of a felony.

Democrats say the bill is a move to protect Trump. Republicans say the bill would protect presidential candidates from heavy-handed judges.

Next, one person died and another person was seriously injured Friday in a head-on collision in Benton County. 21-year-old Meghan Devane of Independence was driving north in a 2013 Jeep Patriot on Highway 150 north of Urbana around 4 p.m. Friday. According to a crash report, Devane drove into the southbound lane for an unknown reason and crashed into the 2022 GMC Sierra pickup truck being driven by 50-year-old Jeffrey Burrows of North Liberty. Devane was pronounced dead at the scene. Burrows was flown to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics with serious injuries. The crash remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol.

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.

Finally, let’s take a look at the weather in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Today will be partly cloudy with a high of 54 degrees and low of 28 degrees. Wednesday will also be partly cloudy. Anticipate a high of 56 degrees and low of 35 degrees.

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