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DAILY NEWS MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016 • WHERE TO GO WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW
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IUB denies Dakota Access request to expedite final permit By Mike Mendenhall Newton Daily News
Jason W. Brooks/Daily News Iowa Rep. Greg Heartsill, left, answers a question during Saturday’s Jasper County League of Women Voters legislative coffee. The event was the last in the series for the 2016 session.
County officials implore lawmakers to fund programs Kelley, Heartsill only lawmakers at forum By Jason W. Brooks Newton Daily News As the Iowa Legislature heads into the final month of its annual regular session, some major issues remain unresolved. However, a few major bills made some progress within the past few weeks, and those bills were among the topics at Saturday’s Jasper County League of Women Voters legislative coffee. It was the final regularly scheduled coffee in the series, although the two lawmakers who attended said they would consider attending any coffees scheduled later.
Rep. Greg Heartsill (R-Columbia) and Rep. Dan Kelley (D-Newton) were the only legislators at Saturday’s coffee, held in the Hy-Vee of Newton Club Room. Sen. Amy Sinclair (R-Allerton) was ill and could not attend and Sen. Chaz Allen (D-Newton) had a prior commitment. Both Kelley and Heartsill mentioned tax coupling in their opening statements. “I think this was an issue that got caught up in some political crossfire,” Heartsill said. “Fortunately, the bill that is on the governor’s desk now would free up the logjam that will allow us to talk about school funding and lots of other financial issues.” A tax coupling bill applying to the 2015 tax year was passed by both the Senate and the House, and Heartsill said the governor will likely sign it this week.
Iowa Supreme Court issues decision on case heard in Newton Court rules against Warren County supervisors in suit By Jason W. Brooks Newton Daily News The Iowa Supreme Court issued its opinion Friday morning, overturning a state district court decision in a case that was heard at Newton High School in October. The court issued its opinion on three cases Friday, including a case involving the Warren County Board of Supervisors and plaintiffs who charged significant layoffs of county employees were not discussed in compliance with an open meetings law. The case was heard Oct. 14 in Newton High School’s Center for Performance in front of
NHS students and about 200 other spectators. The court periodically hears cases outside of its regular Des Moines courtroom. The 4-3 decision overturns a district court decision. It sets a precedent related to Iowa government administration in terms of what constitutes a public meeting; the Warren County supervisors had met individually with an administrator to discuss the layoffs and ended up having dialogue with each other, even though there was not a direct conversation. Much of the discussion centered on the definition of a “gathering” as it used in Iowa Code, as the case involves a county administrator meeting with all three county supervisors around the time 12 county employees were laid off. COURT | 3A
April 19 is the final scheduled day of the 2016 Iowa legislative session. Heartsill said he feels the Legislature will have “no excuse” for not adjourning on time this year. After their opening statements, the two legislators took questions from the 25 people in attendance. One of the more contentious discussions occurred when Jasper County Treasurer Doug Bishop asked both representatives if they would return donations made by the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa as a statement about saying no to big oil. Kelley nor Heartsill said they would return any contributions; Heartsill said he has no contributions to return to that organization. Kelley said the donation from PMCS was due to his efforts regarding ethanol and biodiesel, and LEGISLATURE | 3A
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Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com
Newton Main Street hosting state workshop By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News Newton Main Street has been selected to host Main Street Iowa’s Spring Workshop. The workshop, which is a two-day program on March 30 and 31, will bring about 100 people to the community. “It’s a great opportunity to show off Newton to other Main Street programs and people associated with those programs,” Newton Main Street Director Andrew Bassman said. “It’s a good economic boost for Newton — there will be 100 people staying overnight in Newton, eating downtown at least once during the visit and typically these types of visitors like to explore downtown shops, so probably doing a little shopping, too.” The featured topics of the workshop are fundrais-
Submitted Photo By Gerry Ellis Andy Robinson will be the featured speaker at Main Street Iowa’s Spring Workshop hosted by Newton Main Street. The program will be on March 30-31, bringing nearly 100 people to the community for the event.
ing and investment drives — a timely topic for Newton Main Street, whose initial three-year pledge drive concludes at the end of 2016. Newton Main Street will begin another three-
year pledge drive in the coming months. The First United Methodist Church is housing the workshop with the first WORKSHOP | 3A
FEATURE
WHERE IT’S AT Astrograph......................5B Calendar..........................5A Classifieds......................4B
A request filed by Dakota Access with the Iowa Utilities Board March 16, asking the utility regulator to expedite the final permit to construct a crude oil pipeline through 18 Iowa counties, has been denied. The Texas-based pipeline company also requested IUB keep documents associated with a board-mandated $25 million insurance policy for the project confidential. The IUB did not indicate in its March 18 response if this request would be granted, but the three-member panel said the five day-period Dakota Access recommended to allow interested parties review pre-permit compliance filings was not sufficient. As part of the conditions of the IUB permit, Dakota Access’ parent company Energy Transfer Partners will have to give unconditional guarantees it would pay for damages associated with a pipeline oil spill or leak. The company also filed a modified agricultural mitigation plan, provide a timeline explaining when construction notices will be given and modify landowner condemnation easement forms. The Iowa Sierra Club filed a motion of resistance March 17 asking IUB to deny the request and said a March 25 deadline should be sufficient time to review the required documents the pipeline company submitted last week. IUB approved an order March 10 granting a conditional construction permit and eminent domain rights to the pipeline company. The 1,168-mile pipeline could ship up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the North Dakota Bakken Oil Fields through four states to a hub and refineries in Patoka, Ill. Approximately 343 miles of the project is slated to run underneath public and private land in Iowa, with 34 miles of the pipeline going through Jasper County. Dakota Access hopes to begin construction this spring and complete the project by the end of 2016.
Comics & Puzzles...........6A Dear Abby........................6A Local News......................2A
Obituaries.......................5A Opinion............................4A State News......................7A
A Plus Automotive to open
New business makes Newton its home / 2A
Volume No. 114 No. 216 2 sections 14 pages
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