Gazette Daily News Briefing, September 16 and 17
Welcome to the weekend!
This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Saturday, September 16th, and Sunday, September 17th, 2023.
According to the National Weather Service, Saturday will have a slight chance of showers between noon and 1pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Otherwise it’ll be partly sunny, with a high near 77. Saturday night will have a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm, cooling to a low around 52.
Sunday will be sunny with a high near 75. Sunday night will cool to a low around 49.
Iowa regulators approve renewable energy power line
An underground high-voltage power line to ship electricity from Midwestern renewable energy projects to Eastern markets this week won approval for the portion of its Iowa route from state regulators.
The 350-mile SOO Green HVDC Link will start in Mason City and run to Plano, Ill. The direct current line will be buried underground mostly following a Canadian Pacific railroad right of way.
On Wednesday, the Iowa Utilities Board signed off on a plan to build about 174 miles of the 525-kilovolt transmission line. While most of the line will be buried on railroad and other public rights of way, the board granted the company eminent domain authority for four parcels in Clayton County and two parcels in Dubuque County.
Iowa City landfill receives $4M from EPA to expand composting
The Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center has received a $4 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help expand its composting efforts, the city announced Friday.
The funding, which stems from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021, will expand the landfill’s compost area from 5 to about 7 acres. Designs for the expansion will begin this fall, with construction expected to begin in the spring of 2024.
The expansion will increase processing capacity from 15,000 to 20,000 tons per year — an addition big enough to fill about 500 garbage trucks. That compost then will be sold to fertilize area farms, gardens and lawns.
The money also will allow for improved equipment and technology, including updated equipment that can turn compost faster to move through material quicker. Mixing up compost frequently helps the materials breakdown faster.
The extra funding will increase composting efforts in the county for families who don’t have access to the curbside services. For example, it will expand the pilot program, Food Waste Wednesdays, where those families can drop off their food waste.
Thanks to the added capacity, the Iowa City landfill would like to eventually work on diverting food waste from local grocery stores and restaurants to the compost facility.
Potent cannabis drinks and edibles legal to minors in Iowa
Iowans — including minors — can legally buy high-potency marijuana drinks and gummies because of loopholes in state and federal laws, according to leaders in the state’s new Bureau of Cannabis Regulation.
While 5 to 10 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can be intoxicating, some drinkable products have 1,000 milligrams or more per can, according to bureau staff. These products often are marketed as “heavy” because of the large doses of THC by weight of the product.
Iowa’s medical marijuana program, created in 2015 and expanded several times since, allows for people with certain medical conditions to buy products licensed in Iowa with a maximum of 4.5 grams THC per 90-day purchase in most cases. THC is the primary chemical in a marijuana plant that causes the “high.”
Iowa’s consumable hemp program limits the THC in products, including food, drinks and lotions, to 0.3 percent by weight. If you have a 12-ounce beverage, 0.3 percent is 1.02 grams or 1,020 milligrams.
Iowa Cannabis Regulation Bureau Chief Owen Parker said he will talk further with the Cannabidiol Board and with the Iowa attorney general and Department of Public Safety to consider proposing legislation for the session that starts in January.
Have a good weekend, everyone.
