MidAmerican Energy says it has idled nearly four dozen electricity-generating wind turbines while workers check them for safety after blades broke off of two similar turbines over the past two months, reports the Des Moines Register. Those blade failures follow a break earlier this year and one in 2019. The blades that fell recently were on […]
U.S. Cellular has expanded access to the company’s 5G network for 19 communities in central Iowa, the company announced Wednesday. Customers in parts of Ackworth, Albion, Attica, Bevington, Cedar, Clutier, Cooper, Cumming, De Soto, Fontanelle, Hartwick, Lincoln, Lynnville, Malcolm, Martensdale, Pleasant Hill, St. Charles, St. Marys and Spring Hill can now access 5G coverage along […]
As broadband providers watched in late spring, the needs of Iowans evolved rapidly, representatives at Mediacom and Minburn Communications said this month. Both companies saw an almost immediate shift in peak activity by residential users from the evening hours — Mediacom customers shifted to 3-4 p.m., and Minburn Communications saw peak use essentially level across the […]
Slater-based Gross-Wen Technologies Inc. has received a $240,000 grant from the Department of Energy to develop a next-generation process to remove phosphorus from wastewater. According to a news release, the company will partner on one of 82 projects supported by the grant from the DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund. The project will be led by the […]
Iowa has received $26.2 million in federal relief to fund broadband access for students, the Iowa Department of Education announced this week. Iowa’s grant is part of the nearly $3 billion Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Iowa Department of Education and the […]
Des Moines-based “smart building” startup Igor received the 2020 Sapphire Award for its Nexos Linear Network Node under the category of “Emergency SSL Luminaires, Modules and Drivers,” the company announced today. Igor was the only Iowa company nominated for awards among competitors including Samsung, Dow and Signify (formerly Philips Lighting). Igor was also a finalist […]
Philip Groner, a 20-year employee of the Iowa Communications Network and executive director since 2018, has died after a battle with cancer, ICN announced today. “His passing is a great loss to the State of Iowa and the customers that he loyally served. The Iowa Telecommunications and Technology Commission and the ICN extend our deepest […]
The federal emissions settlement with Volkswagen is providing nearly $5 million that school districts can apply for to replace diesel buses and to cut air emissions, reports Radio Iowa. The Iowa Propane Gas Association is lobbying districts to try propane buses over electric or new diesel engines. In the first round of funding, 19 schools and […]
Iowa is working with five other states to study the availability of alternative fuel along Interstate 80, reports Radio Iowa. A federal grant will help determine where electric vehicles can be charged and where compressed natural gas is available. Drivers of electric vehicles are said to suffer from “range anxiety,” as there are long stretches of […]
Customers have mixed opinions after Alliant Energy announced a new program to install meters for gas and electric service that send out radio signals to the company, reports Radio Iowa. The Iowa Utilities Board previously ruled against charging customers a fee if they wanted to opt out of the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) program; the latest […]
