WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 2018  |  IN THIS ISSUE  
Story1EPA bumps biofuel volumes for 2019, but not for ethanol
  
The Big River Resources plant in West Burlington, which produces ethanol. PHOTO EMERY STYRON
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed increasing the volume of biofuels blended into the nation's fuel supply by 3 percent in 2019, to 19.88 billion gallons, but it was the proposal's position on "conventional" biofuels that caught the attention of farm state officials.
 
Part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the EPA's proposal calls for maintaining "conventional" renewable fuel volumes, such as corn-based ethanol, at the Congressionally mandated level of 15 billion gallons, while increasing volumes of advanced biofuels and cellulosic biofuels by a combined 700 million gallons.  
 
The EPA also pledged to improve the transparency of the renewable fuels market, but decided against a plan forcing large refiners to blend extra volumes to compensate for the hardship waiver exemptions granted to small refineries - a decision that did not sit well with Iowa's ag and political leaders.
 
"EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has handed out an unprecedented number of exemptions to small refineries across the country, effectively destroying more than 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol demand and slashing market access for America's corn farmers," said Mark Recker, president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, in a statement. "Farmers expect the EPA to uphold the RFS as President Trump and Administrator Pruitt promised to do. EPA's actions have thoroughly undermined that commitment while providing little transparency regarding how they are administering the small refinery waiver program."
 
Iowa Rep. Dave Loebsack said he was pleased that the EPA kept conventional ethanol levels stable, but said that the EPA " must suspend granting small refinery exemptions until Congress is provided the information necessary to evaluate the EPA's actions. Instead of acting to boost farmers and rural communities, the EPA seems to be following the demands of big oil." 
 
Renewable fuel volumes are set annually by EPA, which determines the amount of renewable fuel that is blended into the motor fuel supply. Under federal law, the EPA has until Nov. 30 to finalize the annual biofuel targets for the upcoming year.
 
Iowa is the nation's leader in the production of biofuels, accounting for 4.2 billion gallons of ethanol and 286 million gallons of biodiesel in 2017, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. Biofuel production now accounts for $5 billion, or 3.4 percent, of Iowa's GDP and supports roughly 50,000 jobs across the state.
Story2CEC launches Technical Career Advancement Program
 
Hiawatha-based Communications Engineering Company (CEC), a nationally recognized systems and technology integrator, has announced the launch of a Technical Career Advancement Program (TCAP) designed to help train new industry talent through registered apprenticeships.
 
Developed in collaboration with IowaWORKS and the U.S. Department of Labor, TCAP provides participants with employer-driven training that combines on-the-job learning with classroom-style instruction provided by CEC. Through the four-year program, registered apprentices will earn a paycheck while learning about AV, safety and security and structured cabling career paths.
 
"We designed the TCAP program to be an effective career advancement vehicle to arm its participants with the skills and experiences necessary to fill highly sought after technical and project lead roles, endorsed by the Department of Labor," said Shereen Bender, CEC's vice president of people and organizational excellence, in a press release. 
 
The company said it decided to offer the program to address an untapped need and train staff members to meet customers' complex technology requirements.
 
"Finding specialized talent is an industry-wide challenge, which TCAP helps us address," said Rebecca Thomas, HR director for CEC.
 
CEC's Technical Career Advancement Program began on June 11 with its first group of participants. Interested participants should contact CEC's TCAP administrator, Ryan Ringgenberg, at careers@cecinfo.com or their local IowaWORKS Center to learn more about the opportunity and application process. The application form can be found here.
STORY3CBJ Movers & Shakers: Week of 6.25.18
 For the complete list of this week's Movers & Shakers, see the June 25 edition of the CBJ.   
Story4More than one-third of Iowa households can't meet basic needs 

More than one-third of Iowa's households are unable to afford the state's cost of living, according to an updated report released this week by United Ways of Iowa.
   
The ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) report highlights a large population of residents who work at low-paying jobs, have little or no savings, and are one emergency away from falling into poverty, the Des Moines Business Record reports.
   
A total of 457,044 Iowa households - 37 percent - fall below the ALICE threshold. These include households below the federal poverty level and those unable to meet the basic cost of living in their communities.
   
In Iowa, 12 percent of households (149,264) live below the federal poverty level. The United Way ALICE Report for Iowa shows that an additional 25 percent (307,780) are unable to cover basic expenses, including housing, food, transportation, health and child care, despite having income over the typical definition of poverty.
   
These workers are in "maintainer" jobs that fill needs in our communities, including child and senior caregiving, service sector positions, clerical positions, and custodial positions, United Way said in a release. These members of our communities are typically missed in traditional measures of poverty.
   
The research was led by Stephanie Hoopes Halpin, United Way ALICE Project national director. Her staff collaborated with a 10-person Iowa Research Advisory Committee that represented a number of Iowa's colleges, universities, state departments and nonprofits, who advised and contributed to the report.
   
The researchers calculated a household survival budget that would enable a family to pay housing, food, child care, transportation and health care at a bare-minimum "survival level," but does not include any savings for unexpected expenses. Yet the total cost of this minimal annual budget - an average $19,560 for an individual and $56,856 for a family of four - was far higher than the adjusted federal poverty level of $11,8800 for a single adult and $24,300 for a family of four in 2016.
   
"ALICE does live in Iowa. Despite our reputation for feeding the world, we have Iowans who struggle to feed their families," said Deann Cook, United Ways of Iowa executive director. "United Ways have worked since the release of our first state report to shine a light on the struggle of these households and help to re-frame the way in which we view all Iowans who are working and contributing to our state's economy."
   
To view an interactive map with statistics for every county, click here.
   
Additionally:
  • More than 30 percent of Iowa's households with children live below the ALICE threshold.
  • Over 40 percent of Iowa's senior households qualify as ALICE.
  • The household survival budget for a family of four (two adults, infant and toddler) is $56,000 - more than double the $24,000 federal poverty level for the same family.
  • The family of four's greatest expense is child care.
  • 66 percent of Iowa jobs pay less than $20 an hour, and more than half of those pay less than $15 an hour.
The presenting sponsor of the 2018 United Way ALICE Report for Iowa is Alliant Energy. Additional funding was provided by the Iowa Credit Union Foundation.
Story5Iowans' jobless and injury benefits increase 
 
 
The maximum weekly benefits paid to jobless Iowans and those injured on the job will increase July 1, Iowa Workforce Development announced today.
 
An increase in wages covered by unemployment insurance triggered the rise in benefits. The average annual wage for insured Iowa workers increased to $45,877.31 in 2017, up from $44,722.93 the previous year.
 
The new benefit payment schedules apply to people who file new unemployment insurance claims and those who are injured on or after July 1, 2018.
 
Under Iowa law, the number of people covered by unemployment insurance and their gross wages are primary elements of a formula Iowa Workforce Development uses each year to compute maximum and minimum benefit amounts paid to jobless workers. The new rates can be seen in the chart above.
 
Iowa Workforce Development officials noted that about half of those eligible for unemployment insurance benefits have enough earnings to qualify for the maximum benefit. The 2019 taxable wage base will be $30,600.
 
Beginning July 1, the workers' compensation maximum weekly benefit for temporary total disability, healing period, permanent total disability and death will rise to $1,765. For permanent partial disability, the weekly maximum will be $1,623.
 
June 28
Business PM: Dwell Home Furnishings & Interior Design, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 4:30-6:30 p.m., 250 12th Ave., Ste. 100, Coralville. Meet with area professionals for an evening of casual networking. Free.
 
July 5
Open Coffee, by Washington Chamber of Commerce, 8-9 a.m., Dodici's Shop, 120 S. Iowa Ave., Washington. Join an open discussion about fostering creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in Washington. Free. For more information, visit chamber.washingtoniowa.org or call (319) 653-4712.
 
July 6
First Friday Coffee Connections, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 7:30-8:30 a.m., Corridor Dental, 2345 Landon Road, Ste. 300, North Liberty. Network with business professionals on the first Friday of every month. Free. For more information, visit bit.ly/2tiI1u9.
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Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28  
 
A ban on tobacco and alcohol may be coming to Green Square in Cedar Rapids. Right now, there is not a ban on tobacco use in parks, and visitors can consume some alcohol in most of the city's parks, including at Greene Square. Yet, city leaders are considering adding some rules to improve park safety long term. "People, if they want to drink, we have plenty of taverns downtown," said City Council Member Dale Todd. He thinks Greene Square should be both tobacco and alcohol free, and the city is currently discussing the impact of alcohol at Green Square. Mr. Todd said it could be contributing to frequent disturbances that have taken place there. "As the day goes on, as people drink more, next thing you know you've got conflict, you've got violence, you've got police calls," he said. While council members like the idea of a ban on alcohol at Greene Square, they are also considering the impact of tobacco use in the park, or if they can apply tobacco and alcohol bans that do not interfere with special events. According to city code, in 70 of 97 city parks, visitors can use, consume or have up to one quart of alcohol without a permit. In 2015, the Parks and Recreation Commission supported banning tobacco products, but the idea did not move forward then.

The National Commission on Military, National and Public Service visited Vinton to get the community's input on how more Americans can be involved in volunteerism. The commission visited with the National Civilian Corps and toured their campus and also met with Homebase Iowa officials and area 4-H members. "It was really critical for us to come here to Iowa because we don't just want to focus on big cities, we want to look at rural areas because the challenges are different," Alan Khazei, a member of the commission said. The commission was established after a bipartisan effort last September to better reach Americans interested in serving and to determine how the involvement and participation in service can be improved. Eleven commissioners are now working on introducing a plan to the president by 2020. 

T hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28 
CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast

It will be warmer today with temperatures in the low 80s under a partly sunny sky. Humidity will be creeping up in the afternoon, but it won't be terribly high. Temperatures and humidity go way up tomorrow and into the end of the week. Temperatures Thursday through Saturday will be in the upper 80s to mid 90s. The combination of hot temperatures and high humidity will lead to heat indices between 95-110 degrees. There is the potential for some overnight storms with this pattern, especially Thursday night. The higher chance for storms comes Saturday evening with out next storm system. Then next week will be dry to start and temperatures will stay warm in the mid to upper 80s.