Kelly Niewenhuis made the three-hour drive from his O’Brien County farm to Menlo for a good reason Tuesday: The White House invited him. Niewenhuis is president of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, a board member for the Siouxland Cooperative Energy ethanol plant near...
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Iowa Farmers to Ernst: Release White House ‘Promises’ On Ethanol
Theresa Greenfield challenged Sen. Joni Ernst Monday night, during the first debate between the U.S. Senate candidates, to explain why Iowans should trust her as an effective leader for farmers and the ethanol industry given her support for an Environmental Protection...
Trump Doesn’t Get Brazil Deal For Iowa, Ethanol Tariff Reinstated (For Now)
Donald Trump wanted Brazil to hold off on an ethanol tariff so bad, his administration may well have committed another crime in foreign election interference to convince them. Brazil didn't listen. On Tuesday, the country decided to let a tariff-free quota lapse,...
Trump Doesn’t Get Brazil Deal For Iowa, Ethanol Tariff Reinstated (For Now)
Donald Trump wanted Brazil to hold off on an ethanol tariff so bad, his administration may well have committed another crime in foreign election interference to convince them. Brazil didn't listen. On Tuesday, the country decided to let a tariff-free quota lapse,...
Report: Ethanol Industry Faces Huge Losses Due To Coronavirus Pandemic
The ethanol industry is facing a multi-billion-dollar loss due to the coronavirus pandemic according to a new report from Iowa State University. Professors with the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development estimate the outbreak of COVID-19 will lead to more than...
Ernst “Blindsided” By New Trump Ethanol Move, Blames Cruz
Calling it "the hot topic of the day" in her work, Sen. Joni Ernst responded this afternoon to farmers' concerns about the Trump Administration reportedly appealing a federal ruling that found the EPA inappropriately issued several Small Refinery Exemptions to oil...
Ernst “Blindsided” By New Trump Ethanol Move, Blames Cruz
Calling it "the hot topic of the day" in her work, Sen. Joni Ernst responded this afternoon to farmers' concerns about the Trump Administration reportedly appealing a federal ruling that found the EPA inappropriately issued several Small Refinery Exemptions to oil...
How An Iowa Ethanol Plant Is Trying To Weather Trump’s Storm
The last two years have tested the farming community, small town agriculture and the biofuels industry. There has been little stability for commodity markets. With the trade wars, some markets have been effectively erased. There has been little stability for biofuels...
How An Iowa Ethanol Plant Is Trying To Weather Trump’s Storm
The last two years have tested the farming community, small town agriculture and the biofuels industry. There has been little stability for commodity markets. With the trade wars, some markets have been effectively erased. There has been little stability for biofuels...
How An Iowa Ethanol Plant Is Trying To Weather Trump’s Storm
The last two years have tested the farming community, small town agriculture and the biofuels industry. There has been little stability for commodity markets. With the trade wars, some markets have been effectively erased. There has been little stability for biofuels...
Ernst To Trump: ‘Fire’ EPA Administrator If Ethanol Promises Aren’t Upheld
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst on Thursday told Iowa reporters she would ask President Donald Trump to "fire" Andrew Wheeler, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, if he did not comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard rule to blend 15 billion gallons of...
EPA Releases Another Empty Ethanol Deal, Contradicts Trump Promises
A new biofuels proposal released Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency once again left a bad taste in the mouth of farmers and renewable fuel groups across the Midwest and U.S. The proposal, allegedly made to reverse harm done to the ethanol and biodiesel...
Joni Ernst Voted For EPA Leaders Undermining Ethanol
As Iowa's ethanol industry suffers at the hands of President Donald Trump and his Environmental Protection Agency, Sen. Joni Ernst continues to complain about the Cabinet official she helped to confirm. "I would assess that there are a lot of people within this...
Unlikely Allies: California And Iowa Look To Cleaner Ethanol
The Midwest can help save our planet's natural resources with responsible farming practices. Presidential candidates have hinted at it with their plans and speeches in Iowa, but it's not something we should gloss over as pandering; it's a real possibility. Leaders...
Tim Ryan Talks Of ‘Forgotten’ America During Ethanol Plant Tour
Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan toured Golden Grain Energy in Mason City, Iowa on Tuesday. He made a point to learn more about people that work at the facility and their living and working conditions, as well as how the plant fit into the global economy. “The supply chain...
Warren Says Trump Is Hurting Farmers On Trade, Production During Ethanol Plant Tour
Elizabeth Warren took a tour of an ethanol production facility today in Dyersville, Iowa. It was the latest in a series of presidential candidate visits to biofuel facilities in the caucus state, and she used the occasion to point out where she felt Donald Trump's...
Ep102: Michael Bennet Interview & Ethanol Plant Tours
The Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard interviews Colorado Senator Michael Bennet about his presidential run, his plans for public education, how social media is impacting our...
Ted Cruz’s Weird, Wobbly Week On Ethanol
He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me... What the heck is going on with Ted Cruz and his stance on ethanol this week? For a year the Texas Senator has come under withering assault from Iowa's farmers and ethanol industry for his position on the Renewable Fuel...
Evangelical leaders predict huge caucus turnout, downplay endorsements
Iowa caucus candidates have racked up big-name endorsements—including a notable last-minute flip flop—but one evangelical leader said none of that will matter come Monday. “We think endorsements are overrated generally, but they’re particularly overrated in Iowa,”...
Biden invests $5 billion to support rural communities, including in Iowa
Golden Grain Energy LLC will use a $2.2 million grant to create infrastructure to expand the sales and use of renewable fuels by installing an above ground ethanol storage tank and a loading rack at the company’s location in Mason City.
Trump: Reynolds and DeSantis are dead to the MAGA movement, voters
Donald Trump’s feud with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds reached new heights on Sunday as multiple media outlets reported that she plans to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s top challenger in the GOP presidential primary. As first reported by the Des Moines Register,...
Eleven Iowa State Fair Scenes That Define The GOP Primary
There's nothing quite like the Iowa State Fair during caucus campaign season. And this year's circus was particularly intense, due largely to the Donald Trump/Ron DeSantis showdown on Saturday. Throughout the hot, sun-filled days, several key scenes revealed where the...
Trump Attacks Kim Reynolds On Truth Social
Just a few weeks ago, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a public statement in support of Donald Trump after his federal indictment, but now the two Republicans seem to be on the outs after Trump publicly confirmed a rift Monday. On his Truth Social media platform, the former...
Hinson Talks Abortion, Marriage Equality And Land Rights At Town Hall
Republicans angry the party they voted for was giving companies tax credits to take farmland to build carbon capture pipelines let their representative know it at her first town hall of the year. Fewer than 20 Iowans made it to a Monday morning town hall in Grundy...
How The Right’s Hatred Of Electric Vehicles Is Growing In Iowa
Over the last few months, the Starting Line team has noticed an interesting trend in Iowa social media: Stories about electric vehicles drive huge engagement and draw intense debate among supporters and detractors, mostly on Facebook. And while wild comment threads on...
Five Iowa Popcorn Businesses You May Not Know About
Corn is king in Iowa. Look out any window or drive outside of the city, and it is the landscape. While it is used in a variety of products ranging from corn syrup to livestock feed to ethanol, another other important corn product is made in Iowa: Popcorn! Iowa is one...
Why Railroad Workers Are On The Verge Of Striking
Christopher Smith wants you to know two things. One: A nationwide railroad strike is the last thing his Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation (SMART) members, some 700 of whom work for Iowa's rail carriers, want. For the last three years, and through an arduous...
Iowa River Clean-Up Project Growing In Popularity, Impact
Heidi Hopper held onto the canoe beside hers to brace it while her paddling partner, Amanda Losee, dragged a rusty hunk of metal toward the canoe. It was curved, almost as long as Losee, and probably came from the hood of an old car or maybe a tractor. Other...
Grassley Defeats Carlin In GOP Primary
As expected, Chuck Grassley successfully fended off a Republican primary challenge from state Sen. Jim Carlin of Sioux City on Tuesday to secure his name on the ballot for Iowa’s US Senate Election in November. Grassley, 88, will be seeking his eighth term in the US...
Iowa Has Passed 70 New Laws This Year. Here’s What They Do
The Iowa Legislative session has entered overtime as Iowa House Republicans continue a stalemate with Iowa Senate Republicans and Gov. Kim Reynolds on a few key issues including school vouchers and curriculum oversight. Cut to unemployment benefits, a legislative...