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Statewide Iowa — Hundreds of thousands of smartphone users in Iowa were jolted awake around 2 o’clock Wednesday morning by an AMBER Alert. It’s the second time in two weeks the emergency warning system has gone off in the wee hours and it’s left some Iowans wanting to disable the feature. Sergeant Nate Ludwig, of the Iowa State Patrol, says those cell phone alerts are vital and he hopes people will reconsider.


(As above) “I would advise them not to disable them,” Ludwig says. “If this was one of their kids or someone they knew or someone they might have clues about, they’re not going to be notified by this wireless alert.”

The incident involved a father abducting his young son in Urbandale, both of whom are presumed to have died in a vehicle fire Tuesday night in northern Missouri. While the outcome in this case was tragic, Ludwig says he’s confident in how the AMBER Alert system is working.

(As above) “The two previous AMBER Alerts we had before that, the one up in Clay County and the one in Jefferson, as soon as the AMBER Alert goes out, they reach as many people as possible and the end result was, these kids were returned safely and they were returned quickly, within an hour after the AMBER Alert went out,” Ludwig says.

The alerts are also going out in several other venues, like on Iowa Lottery ticket machines, the Iowa D-O-T’s roadside message boards and over weather radios. Still, people’s frustrations with the notifications in the early hours were compounded by word the father and son were killed in the fire several hours before Iowans were even alerted to the abduction.

(As above) “In this case, people are jumping to conclusions,” Ludwig says. “They hear the child was missing since 11 o’clock yesterday and then the AMBER Alert goes out at 1:45, but they don’t hear the whole story. Like with anything, you’ve gotta’ hear the whole story before you realize what happened.”

In this case, the father wasn’t expected to return the child until 8 P-M and it wasn’t until later that the mother reported the possible abduction. He says all procedures were followed and the alert was issued as quickly as possible. Ludwig notes, since the AMBER Alert program was initiated in 1996, a total of 767 children who were subject of the alerts have been safely returned to their homes.

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Des Moines, Iowa — The Iowa Utilities Board has issued a schedule of deadlines for the controversial Bakken oil pipeline which would criss-cross the state from northwest to southeast. The schedule indicates the board will decide in December or January whether the project may proceed. Lawmakers adjourned the 2015 legislative session without passing a bill that would have made it harder for pipeline developers to forcibly acquire land by eminent domain. A group called the Preservation of Rural Iowa Alliance had lobbied for the bill and the group’s president, Carolyn Sheridan, says they’re hoping the legislature revisits the issue in 2016.


(as said) “We thought we gained a lot of momentum,” Sheridan says. “We have a good deal of legislative support from legislators across the state.”

The utilities board has set an August 10th deadline for the company to complete its filings to seize property through eminent domain. A public hearing on the oil pipeline project will be held in late November or early December, at a location that will be determined later. Sheridan’s group is also opposed to the Rock Island Clean Line, a project that would carry wind power out of Iowa to more urban areas to the east.

(as said) “We, of course, will look to next session, but right now we need to get busy and do what we were doing anyway and that’s to inform people and to maintain with the Iowa Utilities Board that eminent domain should not be used at this level.”

Critics say state officials should not grant the projects eminent domain authority, since these are for-profit endeavors that will not yield a direct public benefit to Iowans. Supporters of the projects say thousands of good-paying temporary jobs will be created and both projects aim to increase U.S. energy production, reducing dependence on foreign sources.

In anticipation of a go-ahead from the Utilities Board, three Iowa counties have hired engineers to oversee installation of the oil pipeline and a contractor has begun delivering pipe to Jasper County.

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Des Moines, Iowa — The Iowa Utilities Board has decided on a timeline for decision-making on the Dakota Access Pipeline Project, and a final decision is scheduled for this winter.

The proposed $3.78 billion pipeline is to start in the Bakken/Three Forks oil fields in North Dakota, cut through South Dakota, enter northwest Iowa, starting near Inwood and heading southeast through Lyon, Sioux, and O’Brien Counties, on its way to to a terminus in Illinois, with various potential points of destination along the pipeline.

The first deadline is July 27, 2015. That’s the date by which those seeking to comment in the permitting process need to have filed their comments. By August 21, the board will issue a report identifying any matters Dakota Access needs to address in its testimony.

In the matter of the use of eminent domain, Dakota Access has until August 10th to file its initial exhibit. The report from the Utilities Board telling Dakota Access what matters it needs to address in its testimony needs to be complete by September 14th. Testimony for the use of eminent domain needs to be prepared by September 23rd.

Those for the pipeline need to submit their testimony by September 8. Those against, by October 12. By October 26th, those for the pipeline need to file any rebuttals.

The hearing, in front of the Iowa Utilities board — while it may not take that long — is set for November 12th through December 2nd.

The IUB hopes to make their decision in late December or early January, which is about the same time as the Illinois Commerce Commission and the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission make their decisions.