Gazette Daily News Briefing, February 7
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, February 7.
It will be cloudy and warm again on Tuesday. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly cloudy in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 40 degrees. Wind gusts could blow as high as 25 mph. On Tuesday night it will be mostly clear with a low of around 25 degrees.
After months of fan grumblings after a lackluster showing by Iowa football’s offense in recent years, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz is getting thrown down a proverbial well, with a ladder that he can use to climb his way out.
Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz will receive a pay cut for the 2023 football season, Iowa announced Monday afternoon in a news release.
Ferentz will now earn $850,000 instead of $900,000 annually. His salary will increase, though, to $925,000 on Feb. 1, 2024, if he meets “designated performance objectives.”
The objectives include averaging at least 25 points per game and winning at least seven games, which includes the regular season and bowl game.
Iowa’s assistant coach contracts usually automatically extend from year-to-year, but his contract will "terminate“ on June 30, 2024 if he does not meet the objectives.
It’s not entirely clear whether that means he needs to meet the objectives to stay with Iowa, though. It’s also possible Ferentz and athletics department leadership will negotiate a new contract or role in 2024.
The bill is coming due for C6-Zero after an explosion that rocked Marengo.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources no longer has a deadline by which C6-Zero must clean up a Marengo site damaged in an explosion two months ago, but is requiring the company to pay more than $400,000 for the work.
This is according to a consent order filed Monday morning, hours before C6-Zero was scheduled to be in court facing a lawsuit filed by the Iowa Attorney General.
“The parties agreed to an aggressive performance time frame and substantial financial commitments,” the Iowa DNR said in a statement. “This agreement negated the need for a hearing today, and avoided the inherent delays in waiting for the court to issue a ruling. C6-Zero's failure to comply with these terms will be a violation of the court's order, exposing it to contempt of court, and may trigger U.S. EPA involvement, including site cleanup and cost recovery.”
The consent order, signed by 6th Judicial District Chief Judge Lars Anderson, requires C6-Zero by Thursday to pay EcoSource, a Des Moines-area contractor, $330,000 to start cleanup at the site of a Dec. 8, 2022, fire and explosion. The firm also must put $75,000 into a trust account to “fund assessment and remediation work at the property.” If this fund gets too low, C6-Zero must replenish it.
C6-Zero has until Feb. 17 to complete the requirements of a site assessment plan the Iowa DNR outlined in an emergency order nearly two months ago. By that date, the company also must give the agency a list of all chemical substances on site, including components of a mysterious solvent owner Howard Brand III was using to attempt to dissolve roofing singles at the facility.
By March 3, the company must submit a remedial action plan.
An explosion Dec. 8 at the facility caused a fire that took Eastern Iowa firefighters 18 hours to extinguish. A dozen people were injured, nearby neighbors were evacuated and the fire left polluted soil and water.
