Gazette Daily News Briefing, December 22
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for December 22, 2023.
According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly rainy on Friday in the Cedar Rapids area, with a high near 49 degrees. The rain is predicted to mostly come after 10 a.m. There also is a possibility of patchy fog in the morning, so keep an eye out for that.
Two major rail crossings in Texas have been temporarily closed to address an influx of migrants crossing into the U.S., and Iowa politicians are not happy about it.
Iowa’s all-Republican congressional delegation sharply criticized this week in a letter to President Joe Biden’s administration, citing concerns about the potential impact on Iowa agriculture exports.
In a letter dated Wednesday, the Iowa delegation expressed “grave concerns” with the Biden administration’s closing of major rail crossings between Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the closures are meant to address “a recent resurgence of smuggling organizations moving migrants through Mexico via freight trains.”
More than a third of U.S. trade with Mexico moves through the two closed crossings, and for every day the crossings are closed, 60 trains sit idle and 4,500 rail cars face delay, the letter notes.
Mexico is the second-largest purchaser of Iowa goods, according to state and federal trade data.
In a response to The Gazette, the White House said the temporary action was needed to address a large number of migrants coming into the U.S. by rail.
“DHS took this temporary action in order to stop a large movement of migrants coming by rail and to protect the health and safety of its personnel,” a White House spokesman said in an email to The Gazette. “We are working closely with the Mexican government in attempt to resolve this issue and also surging personnel to the region. We are communicating regularly with industry leaders to ensure we are assessing and mitigating the impacts of these temporary closures.”
A Johnson County developer has agreed to pay a $4,000 penalty for stormwater violations during construction of Park Place, a 450-acre multiuse development that includes PinSeekers, in Tiffin.
Ders Development LLC agreed to pay the fine within 30 days and stop illegal discharges to the Spencer Creek watershed, according to the enforcement order released Thursday.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources did a routine inspection of the site, south of Forevergreen Road and west of Interstate 380, on July 24. The inspector found erosion in several places and inadequate protections against erosion and sediment migration, the order states.
“Evidence of a discharge of sediment-laden stormwater was observed to have flowed south from the end of the Pin-Seekers facility into the adjacent field,” the DNR reported.
