Increased motor fuel tax contains biodiesel incentive, shoring up support from state

DES MOINES - The Iowa Biodiesel Board today praised the signing of a bill that will raise the state's fuel tax while providing a small incentive for biodiesel. A provision of the bill, signed by Gov. Terry Branstad, gives a partial exemption to the new tax for diesel blended with at least 11 percent biodiesel (B11).

The increase of 10 cents a gallon for both diesel and gasoline will help repair and improve Iowa's roads and bridges. Biodiesel blends of B11 and above will receive a 3-cent exemption for 5 years.

"We commend our state legislators and Governor Branstad for once again demonstrating leadership in fostering Iowa-grown energy," said Grant Kimberley, executive director of IBB. "Such thoughtful energy policy will stimulate biodiesel production and usage, generating economic activity and benefiting the state."

Kimberley added that IBB members are hopeful the 5 year sunset will be extended to 10 years down the road.

Iowa biodiesel plants produced 227 million gallons in 2014, down slightly from the 2013 record of 230 million gallons. Yet the state's 10 operating biodiesel plants have an annual capacity of more than 300 million gallons, showing a lost economic opportunity for Iowa.

New research shows in 2014, the increase in economic activity generated by biodiesel production supported more than 4,300 full-time equivalent jobs. It contributed more than $471 million to the state's Gross Domestic Product. Other research shows biodiesel adds 74 cents a bushel to the price of soybeans, lowers soybean meal feed costs for livestock producers by $25 - $40 a ton and also adds value to livestock production.

The Iowa Soybean Association also supported the bill.

Biodiesel is an advanced biofuel made from agricultural byproducts and co-products, including soybean oil. The Iowa Biodiesel Board is a state trade association representing the biodiesel industry.

Bill Would Give Students More Choices & Spur Entrance into the Workforce

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Dave Loebsack (IA-02), Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) and Congressman Ron Kind (WI-03) continued their effort to give more flexibility to students receiving Pell Grants by introducing the Access to Education and Training Act to allow Pell Grant recipients to take advantage of the grants year-round. Loebsack authored a provision that created year-round Pell Grants in the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which was signed into law in 2008. However, the year-round Pell Grant was eliminated in 2011. Text of the bill can be found HERE.

"As someone who would not have been able to attend college without the help of student aid, I was proud to author the original year-round Pell legislation that was signed into law in 2008," said Congressman Dave Loebsack. "After visiting schools across Iowa, I have heard from countless students whose ability to afford college would be significantly improved by the availability of year-round Pell grants. I look forward to working with Representatives Bustos and Kind to reduce barriers to higher education institutions by restoring this important program. This bill would provide Iowa's students with the necessary training and resources required to be successful in the 21st century global economy."

"As the mother to three sons, I know firsthand how important a quality and affordable education is to building a middle class life," said Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. "I'm proud to join with Representatives Loebsack and Kind to continue fighting for higher education affordability and accessibility. Our bill would give students more flexibility to get the training they need to join the workforce faster. This would be a win-win-win for our region's students, our local educational institutions and our local economies.

"Nearly 9 million students depend on Pell Grants to attend and complete college, and many students are past the 18-22 age range so they have competing demands on their schedules," said Congressman Ron Kind. "This commonsense legislation will restore access to year-round Pell Grants, providing flexibility to many non-traditional students such as those with families or full-time jobs so they can complete their courses and move forward with their careers."

Under current law, a student who goes to school full-time during the fall and spring semesters would not be eligible to receive Pell Grant awards for summer courses. Many of those who would benefit most from the Access to Education and Training Act are non-traditional students who want to complete their courses faster so they can get back into the workforce.

"Many community college students, especially those in specialized training programs, attend school year-round. Restoring the year-round Pell Program would help these students complete the necessary training to succeed in the workforce," said Don Doucette, Chancellor of Eastern Iowa Community Colleges in Davenport.

Bustos, Loebsack and Kind, who together represent 18 community colleges across their three neighboring states, introduced this bill in response to the continued demand for increased Pell Grant flexibility from local students and community colleges that offer year-round programs.

The Quad City Coin Club's annual Spring coin show will be Sunday, April 12, 2015.  The show will be held at The Camden Center in Milan, Illinois.  Admission is free.

The show will open at 9 a.m. and close at 4 p.m.  There will be 80 tables ofering U.S. and foreign coins, paper money, gold, silver, and coin supplies.

This year, kids will be able to select coins from our World Treasure Chest and other numinsmatic items at the door.  Also, we will have a youth coin auction at 1:30 p.m.  Each participant will receive play money to bid on lots donated by club members and dealers.

We will also have free door prizes every hour and a Gold raffle.

Members will be available to identify coins and paper money, answer questions on coin collecting, and the Quad City Coin Club.  A lunch stand will be available at this year's show.

If you are interested in coins or history, come to the show, where you can hold history in your hands.

WHO:  Quad City Coin Club

WHAT:  Annual Spring Coin Show

WHEN:  Sunday, April 12, 2015, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

WHERE:  The Camden Center, Milan, Illinois (Camden Park and U.S. Route 67)

FREE ADMISSION

SPRINGFIELD, IL (02/25/2015)(readMedia)-- MACOMB, Ill. - In the mid-morning hours a freight train carrying chemical agents passes through the sleepy college town of Macomb, Illinois. Without warning, near a railhead, the train derails sending three tanker cars full of potentially harmful sodium cyanide crashing to the earth. This scenario is the backdrop for Western Response 2015, a multi-agency exercise in Macomb, Illinois.

These are the situations the Illinois National Guard's 5th Civil Support Team (CST) trains for. The CST is a specified domestic operations unit comprised of highly trained Soldiers and Airmen that integrates with local authorities to respond to chemical, nuclear, biological, and radiological threats.

The goal for this exercise was to allow local first responders and authorities to establish an operations center and integrate state-level resources into response operations. Though Western Response was a smaller scale exercise involving the Macomb and Galesburg police and fire departments as well as the 5th CST, it was still valuable training.

Maj. Travis Humphrey of Washington, Illinois, 5th CST deputy commander, said he enjoyed the opportunity to work at the smaller scale.

"Typically, we exercise at a much larger level. It's planned and executed at the national level and when we get on scene, we speak to someone who's not usually a local," said Humphrey. "I like this because you get the National Incident Management System experience and you get to talk to the local guys who know the area and give good input on staging and integration."

Normally, local hazardous materials teams would respond to and contain an incident of this scale. The exercise had local first responders containing the incident and the 5th CST conducting decontamination operations.

Sgt. Andrea Boggs, of Springfield, Illinois, 5th CST human resources non-commissioned officer and decontamination team member, said she saw benefit in the exercise as well.

"This is a great exercise to get used to integrating and working with civilian agencies," said Boggs. "It allows us to train with local agencies and it allows them to see what's available to them in a real-world incident."

Maj. Marc Wright, of Peoria, Illinois, 5th CST commander, echoed the comments of his team members.

"Given the scale, it was a great opportunity for training and awareness for the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System and local departments," he said. "While local HAZMAT is fully capable of handling an incident of this magnitude, it's always good for them to get an idea of the state-level assets that are available to them in an incident."