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Energy

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Makeover for Central Iowa rivers?

Greater Des Moines rivers would be easier to use, more connected to bike trails and other recreation hot spots, and more aggressively preserved under a draft water trails plan developed by the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning…
By PERRY BEEMAN | Jun 10, 2016
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Pipeline work begins in Iowa, protesters vow nonviolent acts

Newton Daily News: Work has begun in Iowa on an oil pipeline despite repeated attempts by landowners and environmental groups to stop it, a spokeswoman for the Texas company building the pipeline told the Associated Press.…
By BPC Staff | Jun 10, 2016
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Clayton County residents debate frac sand mining expansion

Dubuque Telegraph Herald: The proposed expansion of a Clayton County frac sand mine will create an unsightly affront to public health, according to several people who spoke at a public forum Monday night. However, a representative…
By BPC Staff | Jun 9, 2016
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Huxley turbines will be part of microgrid wind farm

Ames Tribune: A microgrid wind farm is being built on farm land south of Huxley. “Microgrid wind farms have become a viable solution to supply energy to local communities, because the power generated by the turbines…
By BPC Staff | Jun 9, 2016
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Pheasant hunters take more birds; hunting good for business

Hunters bagged more pheasants this year, the fifth straight that the number of birds taken rose. The season is a multimillion-dollar business in Iowa, benefiting gas stations, restaurants, motels and sporting goods stores, for example. …
By BPC Staff | Jun 9, 2016
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Loebsack proposes National Flood Center

Congressman Dave Loebsack this week called for the creation of a National Flood Center that could be located at the University of Iowa, the Environmental Focus blog reported. Appearing at the University of Iowa’s Stanley Hydraulics Laboratory …
By BPC Staff | Jun 8, 2016
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Michigan environmentalist offers lessons from Flint

Chris Kolb was in the middle of the Flint water crisis. A former Democratic state lawmaker who now is president of the nonprofit Michigan Environmental Council, he co-chaired the task force that tried to figure…
By PERRY BEEMAN | Jun 8, 2016
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Biologist paddles urban streams, finds ‘amazing’ wildlife diversity

Consultant and kayaker-biologist-ecologist Jim Pease spent much of last summer padding 1,400 miles of streams around Iowa, including 150 miles in Polk County, where the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is finishing a big…
By PERRY BEEMAN | Jun 7, 2016
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Water quality: Corbett eyes tax, Northey backs GOP plan

Two Iowa leaders — both eyeing 2018 campaigns for governor — took different stances at a Cedar Rapids forum on how to solve the state’s water quality problems, Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist Todd Dorman reported. Cedar Rapids …
By BPC Staff | Jun 7, 2016
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Despite critics, Bakken pipeline gets go-ahead in Iowa

Des Moines Register: State regulators gave the go-ahead today for construction to start on the Bakken oil pipeline in Iowa, despite a complaint by the Sierra Club that the action is illegal.…
By BPC Staff | Jun 6, 2016