Podcasts about alliant energy

The 2025 Dairy Days event, organized by the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach dairy team, featured discussions on various topics including dairy industry surveys, feed pricing tools, and alternative forages. The event saw a high response rate to the dairy industry survey, with topics like farm transitions, financial sustainability, labor challenges, and beef-dairy integration being widely discussed. Local sponsors, such as Osage Vet Clinic and Alliant Energy, provided support. The team also highlighted the importance of health and safety education for dairy farm workers. A new Hay probe was offered as a prize to a participant who filled out an evaluation form.

Right now, there's not much growing in Iowa. But Nick Peterson, strategic partnerships manager for Alliant Energy, is already thinking about next summer's yields. He's spearheading a collaboration with Iowa State University, an Alliant customer, to evaluate a practice called agrivoltaics, which marries farming with solar energy generation.Across ten acres, the utility installed a 1.35 megawatt solar installation, using both fixed arrays and tracker panels. Along with a team from Iowa State University's agriculture and engineering schools, Alliant Energy is looking at the potential for growing high-value crops under the panels. One year into the four-year project supported by a $1.8 million Department of Energy grant,  early food and power generation results are promising.This week on With Great Power, Nick tells Brad what scientists are learning from the project, why it could change how utilities think about agrivoltaics, and why one of the hardest parts of his job is addressing the fears some farmers have about the practice.With Great Power is a co-production of GridX and Latitude Studios.  Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts. For more reporting on the companies featured in this podcast, subscribe to Latitude Media's newsletter.Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Erin Hardick and Mary Catherine O'Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. Sean Marquand composed the original theme song and mixed the show. The Grid X production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.

On episode 50 of the Innovators Podcast Alison Doyle, Associate Director of the Iowa State University Research Park, interviews Nick Peterson, the Strategic Partnerships Manager at Alliant Energy. Nick dives into the unique strategies he has put in place at Alliant Energy and specifically discusses the partnerships he has developed with Iowa State University. Thank you for listening!

What's it going to take to get Wisconsin to 100% clean energy? If you listen to the state's biggest power companies, it's more methane gas. Wisconsin is on the verge of an expensive gas construction boom if utilities like We Energies in Alliant Energy have their way. But what about wind and solar? Is it possible for Wisconsin to finally trade in fossil fuels for clean energy right now? Amy talks with energy expert Dr. Ciaran Gallagher. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guest: Dr. Ciaran Gallagher, Energy Manager, Clean Wisconsin Background Reading: Under the Lens, the Truth About Natural Gas Stopping Gas Expansion in Wisconsn Power Wisconsin Forward: An affordable, reliable, fossil-free future    

August is LIHEAP Action Month, which recognizes the importance of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. This federally funded program provides qualifying customers with bill payment and energy assistance options. Veronica Stober, a seasoned Customer Care Advocate at Alliant Energy, joins us to spread awareness about LIHEAP, how the program works for customers, and why you should support this critical assistance program. She has over 25 years of experience in the energy sector. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to supporting low-income customers, ensuring they can access essential energy services in their area.

WisBusiness: the Podcast with Coleman Peiffer, Alliant Energy by wispolitics

Proper wiring and grounding of electrical systems can increase the safety and well-being of your farm investments. The Farm Wiring Program increases farm safety, productivity, and efficiency while decreasing the potential for stray voltage on livestock farms, explains Graham Cassellius, ag specialist with Alliant Energy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show, Ryan Cristian discusses the Crisis in the Middle East, while later, Jeffery Wilson discusses the Gulf of Tonkin 2.0 in the Red Sea. GUEST 1 OVERVIEW: Driven by a desire for accuracy, chef and independent news stalwart Ryan Cristián has a passion for the truth. As a recipient of the Serena Shim Award For Uncompromising Integrity In Journalism, he understands that Americans want their news to be transparent, devoid of the opulence frothed out by today's corporate media. A cultured and insightful man with a worldly sense, Ryan's unjaded approach offers common sense to the individual racked by the ambiguous news cycle – a vicious and manipulative merry-go-round that keeps trenchant minds at a manageable distance from the truth. An avid writer and editor by day, a truth seeker by night, Ryan's reality defines what it means to be current. https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com GUEST 2 OVERVIEW: Jeffery Wilson is a producer and host of podcast content on The Podcast Network, which has been heard in over 100+ countries with over 5,000,000+ plays. He is also a professional actor and voiceover actor, with clients including Alliant Energy, McDonald's, Petcentric, NBC, USA Network, Verizon Wireless, Boeing, NCR (National Cash Register), US Dept of Defense, Jiffy Lube, among others. Jeffery is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a BA in TV/Video production.    

Partnering solar and agriculture is under review and in the research phase in the heart of the Corn Belt. Nick Peterson is with Alliant Energy who is partnering with Iowa State University on the concept of renewables and food on the same tract of land. The concept is called agrovoltaics.

WisBusiness: the Podcast with Mike Bremel, Alliant Energy by wispolitics

Monday's Second Hour: Iowa State University Professors of Entomology Matt O'Neal and Horticulture Ajay Nair join David to discuss a new solar farm from ISU and Alliant Energy spanning 10 acres and a $1.8 million grant to study production and crops. Iowa' Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig joins the show to discuss the first confirmed case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Iowa since March. And Jamey Kohake from Paragon Investments finishes todays show with an update on markets.

Welcome to the weekend!This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I'm here with your update for Saturday, October 21st, and Sunday, October 22nd, 2023.According to the National Weather Service, Saturday will be sunny, with a high near 65, cooling to a low of around 39 Saturday night.Sunday will be sunny, with a high near 61, cooling to a low around 48 Sunday night with a chance of showers after 1am, with chances of showers persisting into Monday afternoon.Mercy Iowa City pensioners seek ‘official' status in bankruptcy discussionsAs attorneys wrangle over dwindling money available to pay lawyers, bankers, creditors and employees with the now-bankrupt Mercy Iowa City, the hospital's pensioners are asking for a voice too.Past and present Mercy employees who joined its now-frozen “church plan” over the nearly 50 years it was accepting new entrants on Wednesday made their payment concerns known — asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to establish an official “Committee of Pensioners,” similar to the committee it established for unsecured creditors.With official status, the growing group of 449 pensioners who've requested regular communication would get more case information and a voice, given, “The future of the pension plan, as well as the status of its funding, is at issue.”Mercy, in continuing to operate through the bankruptcy and transition to new ownership, has sought court approval to use for ongoing operations its “cash collateral” — a shrinking pot of money that could be distributed among the hundreds of creditors still owed many millions, unlike restricted pension funds.Iowa Utilities Board preapproves more solar generation for AlliantAfter nearly two years and several denials, the Iowa Utilities Board has preapproved two Alliant Energy solar projects that total 200 megawatts in capacity.The decision follows the board's preapproval of the Duane Arnold Solar facilities earlier this year.Interstate Power and Light Co., an Alliant subsidiary, originally asked the IUB in November 2021 for preapproval of 400 megawatts of solar and 75 megawatts of battery storage, along with their associated lifetime costs and rates.The projects included the Duane Arnold Solar projects that Florida-based NextEra is building near Palo.The additional 200 megawatts have since been identified as the Creston Solar Project and Wever Solar Project.Don't miss The Gazette's school bond forumThe Gazette will host a public forum on the proposed $220 million school bond with school district representatives, members of the vote yes and opposition groups. The forum will feature an overview as well as moderated conversation and audience questions about the upcoming school bond vote, which will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot.This is a free event but registration is required due to limited seating. This program will be live-streamed on thegazette.com.Find out more about the live stream or register to attend in person at TheGazette.com/special-eventsHave a good weekend, everyone.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I'm here with your update for October 13, 2023. Looks like it will be a rainy morning Friday. According to the National Weather Service there will be a high chance of showers and thunderstorms before noon on Friday, then a little break for rain in the middle of the day, before a chance for more rain Friday evening. The temperature will top out at 63 degrees, with a 15 to 20 mph breeze gusting as high as 30 mph.Francis Marion Intermediate School in Marion is closed to students the rest of the week after Wednesday's storm caused several parts of the school's roof to collapse.Restoration and construction companies were on-site at the school for third- and fourth-graders in the Marion Independent School District Thursday to survey the damage and determine a cost estimate and timeline for repairs.Superintendent Janelle Brouwer said a “significant amount of water” overnight Wednesday damaged three classrooms and seeped into other areas of the building. Brouwer said a construction company likely will be working to make repairs to Francis Marion school, 2301 Third Ave., over the weekend.The district's other schools will remain open.The damage was identified by an evening custodian in the school Wednesday, Brouwer said. Notification that the school would be closed Thursday and Friday was sent to families Wednesday around 8 p.m. The closure impacts about 240 students who attend the school.Alliant Energy's Iowa utility is proposing a rate increase for its electric and gas customers it says comes to about $150 a year — with more to come later.Interstate Power and Light Company is requesting a 7.7 percent increase to residential customers' total electric bills. If approved by the Iowa Utilities Board, the hike would go into effect in October 2024. That corresponds to about $10 extra a month, said spokesperson Morgan Hawk.An additional rate increase of about 5.7 percent would follow in October 2025, which breaks down to about $7 a month.There's only one phase of rate increases for natural gas customers: a 5 percent increase that, if approved, would start in October 2024. It would add about $3 more to customers' total bills.The utility is asking to raise its rates to cover added operation costs, support grid resiliency and allow future growth, Hawk said.IPL is moving overhead power lines underground to decrease the number and the length of power outages. Frequency and duration of Alliant outages have decreased by about 30 percent over the last decade as more lines have moved underground, Hawk said.Iowa state revenue is expected to decline slightly in fiscal 2024 and 2025, owing largely to recent income tax cuts, a panel of revenue forecasters reported Thursday.The latest projections from the Iowa Revenue Estimating Conference — which will guide lawmakers on how much money they have to spend — predict state income in the fiscal year that started July 1 will fall by 0.9 percent from the fiscal 2023 level. The state revenues this budget year are expected to be $9.75 billion.Iowa's revenue in fiscal 2023, which ended June 30, was $9.85 billion, a 0.4 percent increase from the previous year.“The state is showing a modest slowdown in revenue. However, those reductions are planned and being driven by the tax rate reductions for Iowa taxpayers,” said Kraig Paulsen, the director of the Iowa Department of Management and chair of the panel.Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a major tax overhaul law in 2022 that set Iowa's individual income on the course to a flat tax of 3.9 percent for all income brackets, and intended to lower corporate taxes to 5.5 percent if revenues hit a certain target each year.

In Part II of our series on agrivoltaics, we discuss the UW-Madison Kegonsa Research Campus solar project. This project is a collaboration between UW-Madison and Alliant Energy to develop a small-scale solar and agrivoltaics project for research and education purposes on the university-owned Kegonsa Research Campus in Stoughton, WI, just south of the main campus. Joining us are Josh Arnold, Campus Energy Advisor with the UW Office of Sustainability, and Amanda Thomas, Engineer and Project Manager at Alliant Energy.

Alliant Energy continues to increase its production of electricity from the wind. The post Clean Up Your Act 9-19-23 appeared first on Jazz 88.3 KCCK.

It feels like momentum is growing behind rooftop solar in Wisconsin. Federal tax incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, Focus on Energy rebates, and falling prices could finally push us out of the bottom half of states when it comes to home solar. Except some utilities in Wisconsin appear to be pushing back.   In this episode, a look plans from MG&E and Alliant Energy that could slow adoption of rooftop solar in Wisconsin. FInd out what you can do to protect solar in your community. Net metering. It doesn't sound that exciting, but it's actually one of the biggest incentives for families and small businesses to go solar. When your rooftop panels produce more energy than you can use, that energy goes into the grid, and your utility credits you for it. Now, MG&E and Alliant Energy are taking aim at that net metering incentive. Both are seeking approval from the Public Service Commission to drastically change the way they treat customers who install solar panels. Host: Amy Barrilleaux Guests: Chelsea Chandler, Clean Wisconsin Climate, Energy & Air Program Director Ciaran Gallagher, Clean Wisconsin Energy & Air Manager Background Reading:  Take Action: Tell the PSC to Protect Rooftop Solar Wisconsin's Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050 Three big things: Transitioning to Clean Energy in Wisconsin  

The 56th World Dairy Expo will be here before you know it. And recently it was made official that the global dairy show will stay in Madison for the foreseeable future. Some of the reasons that Dane County and World Dairy Expo decided on a 5-year contract to remain at the Alliant Energy center were economic value and travel logistics. But for other stakeholders… it's about family. Bryan Voegeli of Voegeli Farms in Monticello remembers his father among the group that pushed for the show to be in Madison more than five decades ago. It started as a family event for Voegeli, and it's remained that way over the decades. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Agrivoltaics is the use of land for both agriculture and solar power. It's not a new concept, but it is something that is on the minds of UW-Extension. UW–Madison is working with Alliant Energy to plan a solar and agrivoltaics project at the UW-Kegonsa Research Campus near Stoughton. Will Fulwider, Regional Crops Educator with UW Extension, says this project would generate enough clean energy to power more than 450 homes. He explains how solar and agriculture are coming together to benefit the industry.  “There's a lot of people around the state that are trying to figure out how we can continue to practice agriculture in solar sites,” says Fulwider. “While the shade it provides can be a benefit for those with grazing operations, it can also be a benefit to some of our cool season grasses.” Fulwider is particularly interested in the possibilities of grazing sheep and finding what forage plants grow best in that environment. He is focused on figuring out how farmers can make a profit and coexist with solar developers.  *Photo credit:  Jenna ShoosmithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsmaker Ep. 2119 Tony Palese, Alliant Energy (7/6/23) by Radio on the Go

Do you think we will get rid of gas-powered cars by 2023? Co-hosts Bill Condon and Matt McGregor sit down with Coleman Peiffer, Manager of Community and Economic Development at Alliant Energy, to discuss world of clean energy and infrastructure.   Key takeaways: The US has set a goal of ridding the country of gas-powered cars by 2035. However, there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed in order to achieve this goal. One of the biggest challenges is the state of the US power grid. The grid is not currently capable of handling the increased demand for electricity that would be generated by a fleet of electric vehicles. Another challenge is the lack of EV chargers in spec buildings. Most of the buildings being constructed today will have a 60-year useful life. This means that most of these buildings will be in use during a time when the majority of vehicles are electric. Finally, there are a number of political challenges that need to be addressed in order to achieve the goal of a clean energy economy. Some politicians are opposed to the development of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power. Despite these challenges, there is a lot of progress being made towards a clean energy economy. The cost of electric vehicles is coming down, and the number of EV chargers is increasing. In addition, there is growing public support for renewable energy sources. This episode of the Industrial Advisors podcast provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities of transitioning to a clean energy economy. Mentioned in this episode: IndustrialAdvisors.com Electric vehicles Clean energy Sustainability   Coleman Peiffer Manager Community and Economic Development Alliant Energy  

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I'm here with your update for Tuesday, May 2.Tuesday will be a bit warmer than Monday, but still breezy. According to the National Weather Service it will be sunny with a high near 61 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. A northwest wind will blow at 15 to 25 mph, with wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Tuesday night there will be clear skies, with a low of around 35 degrees.Next time you order items online, there's a high chance the box your goods arrive in was made in Cedar Rapids at International Paper's Cedar River Mill plant. And now International Paper is looking to invest into that plant's longevity.The plant at 4600 C St. SW — the largest 100-percent recycled paper mill in the Americas — broke ground Monday on its expansion project to generate an alternate steam supply and transition off coal-powered steam.International Paper operates 18 containerboard plants and 28 mills overall in the United States. The company creates material for fiber-based packaging products for e-commerce, processed food and beverages, fruit and vegetables, protein, distribution and durable and nondurable goods.Currently, the coal boilers at Alliant Energy's Prairie Creek Generating Station provide all of the plant's process steam. Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Alliant will no longer burn coal at Prairie Creek as part of an environmental lawsuit settlement.After studying options for an alternate steam supply, International Paper officials decided the company will build and operate two natural gas-powered boilers to generate steam on-site, as well as build a water treatment plant. International Paper — among the top eight users of city water — will continue to purchase Cedar Rapids water, and purify that to generate the steamProject manager Tony Cleaves told the Gazette that without the replacement steam supply provided by this $103 million expansion, Cleves said, International Paper would have to shut down its Cedar Rapids plant.After rising for weeks, the Mississippi River reached its peak over the weekend in parts of Southwest Wisconsin and Northeast Iowa. It was cresting at midday Monday in Davenport and the neighboring cities of Bettendorf and across the river in Illinois at Rock Island and Moline.The peak was slightly lower than forecast but still high enough to test the region's flood defenses and to keep officials on guard. The rising river, caused by a surge of water from melting snowfall to the north, may set some records along the river, but the National Weather Service still said the river levels generally will remain well below past records. Forecasts call for little rain in the coming days, so once the river crests it should soon begin a decline that will last for at least two weeks.The amount of increases in property tax revenue that local governments are able to spend would be limited under legislation that is destined to become state law soon.Republican leaders in the Iowa Senate and House on Monday announced their agreement on property tax legislation. The compromise legislation includes provisions from the separate bills that the two chambers had been advancing.The compromise bill includes the Senate's proposal to combine and simplify a variety of city tax levies and to address increases in property assessments and any corresponding increases in property tax revenue to local governments.The new bill — which is an amended version of the House's bill, House File 718 — also includes the House's proposal to

WisBusiness: the Podcast with Ben Lipari, Alliant Energy by wispolitics

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Robert Pilot, Wendy Pilot and Ogimaa Giniw Ikwe host today’s show. Ogimaa has our news. Then our guests tonight include Tony Palese of Alliant Energy with some winter energy saving tips to help your pocketbook & the Planet. And Bob Blake from Red Lake with Solar News and more.

Robert Pilot and Ogimaa Giniw Ikwe host today’s show. Ogimaa brings us a news update. Then we’re joined by Tony Palese of Alliant Energy who has some helpful tips for saving on your heating bill. Next it’s Tom Doran and Howard Quinlin of Texbook Media. They tell us about their Course Breaks program and how…

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Thursday, September 8. The weather is going to feel like summer for a bit on Thursday, before the fall weather most certainly will arrive this weekend. According to the National Weather Service, it will be mostly sunny in the Cedar Rapids area, with a high near 88 degrees. On Thursday night it will be mostly clear, with a low around 61 degrees. The wind should hover between 5 and 10 mph all day. A Cedar Rapids man who was https://www.thegazette.com/crime-courts/man-shot-by-cedar-rapids-police-officers-identified/ (shot by police officers on July 30) was released from the hospital and booked into the Linn County Correctional Center Wednesday on two counts of attempted murder, among other charges, according to a news release from the Cedar Rapids Police Department. Brandon Nelson, 23, pointed a gun at two officers — Officers Blair Klostermann and Matt Jenatscheck — during a traffic stop. Nelson shot once during the exchange, and the officers shot toward Nelson 12 times, according to the Linn County Attorney's Office's official memorandum about the incident. Nelson sustained three gunshot wounds. Neither of the officers was injured. County Attorney Nick Maybanks https://www.thegazette.com/crime-courts/linn-county-attorney-rules-july-officer-involved-shooting-in-cedar-rapids-was-justified/ (announced on Aug. 22 that the shooting was found to be justified) on the part of the officers after an investigation by the attorney's office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Prior to the traffic stop, Nelson had been driving recklessly around Cedar Rapids, according to the memorandum. He admitted to consuming alcohol the night of the incident and said he didn't remember what happened that night before finding himself on the ground in pain after being shot. After https://www.thegazette.com/local-government/linn-county-supervisors-approve-first-of-three-readings-on-palo-solar-project/ (three 2-1 votes by the Linn County supervisors), the NextEra Duane Arnold Solar projects near Palo were given the official green light on Tuesday. Approval for the projects comes despite complaints from landowners and opposition against the projects by the Palo city council. The Iowa Utilities Board already has approved the projects. While NextEra will develop the rural Linn County project near Palo, https://www.thegazette.com/energy/alliant-energy-plans-iowas-largest-solar-battery-facility-at-palo-site/ (Alliant Energy has filed a proposal with the Iowa Utilities Board) to buy the large-scale solar farm from NextEra and further develop it into the state's largest solar and battery storage facility. Duane Arnold Solar I project proposes to use 316 acres of an 857-acre area to place photovoltaic solar arrays capable of generating up to 50 megawatts of energy. Duane Arnold Solar II project would use 815 acres of a 1,780-acre area to place solar arrays capable of generating up to 150 MW. It also would include a 75-MW, four-hour battery energy storage facility. This is the second utility-scale solar project the county has approved this year. In January, the supervisors approved developer Clenera's Coggon project in a 2-1 vote after planning and zoning commission members voted 6-1 to recommend denial. However, progress on thehttps://www.thegazette.com/news/coggon-solar-project-on-hold-as-opponents-seek-court-review/ ( 640-acre solar farm near Coggon) is on hold while a court resolves a case brought against the supervisors by a family who lives near the site. A Mega Millions ticket bought at an Ames convenience store is a $1 million winner, according to the Iowa Lottery. It is the third Mega Millions prize of at least $1 million won in Iowa in just more than a month, the lottery said. The latest winning ticket came within one number of winning the $191 million jackpot, the lottery said. With no winner, that jackpot now increases to an...

WisBusiness: the Podcast with Ben Lipari, Alliant Energy by wispolitics

Ashley is a major reason that Alliant Energy has paved the way in the US using preference-based scheduling with Calabrio WFM. Listen to hear about their implementation process, agent feedback and challenges they have overcome to ultimately decrease attrition and maintain agent wellbeing!

FII Fácil Entrevista: Marcelo Souza e Leonardo Gadelha - PICE11#FIPIE #PICE11Marcelo Souza: Sócio do Pátria, Presidente do Conselho de Administração da ARKE desde 2018 e da Essentia Energia (“Essentia”) desde 2020, e membro do Conselho de Administração da CBO e Hidrovias, atuou como conselheiro e Diretor Presidente da Argo Energia e como conselheiro e Diretor Financeiro da CPFL Energias Renováveis e possui mais de 20 anos de experiência profissional. Antes de ingressar no Pátria, trabalhou por dois anos na Econergy International Corporation como VP de Business Development e por cinco anos na Alliant Energy como Diretor Financeiro. Antes disso, trabalhou por seis anos na PwC como Gerente de Auditoria. É formado em Economia pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Pós-Graduado em Finanças Corporativas pela FGV e possui MBA pela Ohio University. Leonardo Gadelha: Vice-Presidente de Investimentos do time do Pátria Infraestrutura Energia Core. Leonardo possui mais de 6 anos de experiência no Pátria. Antes de juntar-se ao Pátria, Leonardo estagiou no Banco BBM. Leonardo graduou-se em Engenharia Mecânica-Aeronáutica pelo Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA). #fiifacil #cashtfacil #fiitalk #DiogoArantes #fiiflix #FIINFRAEntrevista conduzida por Diogo ArantesPATRIA:https://www.pice11.com.br/---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ APP de FII - BAIXE o APPAPP Store: https://apps.apple.com/br/app/fii-f%C...Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Wednesday, July 13. It will be mostly sunny Wednesday with a high near 87 degrees. According to the National Weather Service it will then become partly cloudy Wednesday night, with a low of around 64 degrees. A chance for rain will return on Thursday. Going through the state's court system remains the preferred strategy for enacting restrictions on access to abortion in Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, Reynolds said she was “disappointed” in https://www.thegazette.com/state-government/iowa-supreme-court-rejects-gov-reynolds-request-to-rehear-abortion-case/ (the Iowa Supreme Court's recent rejection of her request) that the high court rehear an abortion case in order to establish legal standards for future restrictions on abortion access in Iowa. However, Reynolds said she remains undeterred in her belief that it is the proper strategy to continue pursuing legal remedies to a pair of abortion restrictions already passed into law by her and her fellow Statehouse Republicans. Reynolds wants the Iowa Supreme Court to rehear a case involving the law that requires a 24-hour waiting period between the first doctor's appointment and when a pregnant person has an abortion, and wants the district court to lift the injunction on a 2019 law that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which often is before most individuals know they are pregnant. For now, abortion remains legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.  Cedar Rapids police have completed an investigation into how a female pedestrian was injured after coming into contact with a pickup truck during a protest for abortion rights last month, and the case is now being reviewed for possible charges by a Black Hawk County prosecutor. Linn County Supervisor Stacey Walker, who rushed that day at the rally to help women in front of the truck, told The Gazette it was an “act of pure violence” as the truck drove forward as protesters crossed the street. But police, who interviewed the driver later that day, did not make any arrests in the incident. Black Hawk County Attorney Brian Williams said he has obtained the police evidence, but there may be additional follow-up. Williams said his office was reviewing the case because at least one member of the Linn County Attorney's Office was present during the incident and “could potentially be a witness.” Alliant Energy started construction on a community solar garden in Cedar Rapids this summer, and once it's complete next summer, electricity customers can enroll and receive monthly credits on their electric bills. The solar garden will consist of 18,000 solar blocks that will produce 4.5 megawatts per year, which could power around 3,600 homes, the company said in a Tuesday news release. The solar garden will be built on Alliant property north of the 1100 block of 33rd Avenue SW in Cedar Rapids. Subscriptions for the community solar garden https://www.alliantenergy.com/cleanenergy/whatyoucando/communitysolar/communitysolarformcr (opened on Tuesday). Alliant Energy offers an https://www.alliantenergy.com/cleanenergy/whatyoucando/communitysolar/communitysolarcalculatorcr (online calculator) for potential subscribers to determine how many solar blocks they would need to supplement or fully cover their energy needs.

Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: WE Energies, Alliant Energy reverse green course, will keep coal plants open. Marquette Law School Poll: Michels leads GOP race, Evers leads in head-to-head match-ups. Wisconsin lawmakers spend less than 60 seconds in abortion special session. Judge weighing options after Gableman admits to tossing some election investigation records. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support

Robert Pilot, Wendy Pilot and Ogimaa Giniw Ikwe host today’s show. Ogimaa has our news today as she highlights some events coming up. Next we’re joined by Griselda Aldrete, Director – Stakeholder Engagement with Alliant Energy. She shares some tips on how to save energy and keep cool this summer. In our sacred animals segment…

Check out this compelling conversation with Travel Industry veteran Tom O'Toole. You likely know Tom from his many years with United Airlines and Hyatt Hotels. He's currently Associate Dean for Executive Education at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, and serves on several corporate boards including Alliant Energy, CWT, and Brand USA.

On this episode of Diversity Straight Up, hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington, talk to James Klein, President of Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust. Mr. Klein recently became one of the the first leaders in the state of Iowa to earn their Certified Diversity Professional credential within the banking industry. The Certified Diversity Professional credential (CDP) is a professional qualification credential that is designed to enhance cultural competency and help an organization enrich its approach to inclusion. In this episode, Mr. Klein speaks about his experience in becoming certified. Diversity Straight Up is sponsored by Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust, ACT and Alliant Energy.

Robert Pilot, Wendy Pilot and Gina Peltier host today’s show. Gina has our news. She talks about some events coming up about the proposed Huber Mill hosted Annie Humphrey and Honor the Earth, hemp legalization and more. Next we’re joined by Griselda Aldrete, Director – Stakeholder Engagement with Alliant Energy. She talks about Alliant Energy’s…

Community partnerships can help schools introduce students to career pathways even before graduation. Jacque Goodman, Iowa Valley Community School District Vice Chancellor of Education and Training, explains how the school district is working with business partners like Alliant Energy to recruit high school students for a career in the energy sector. 

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Wednesday, March 16. It will be the warmest day of the week Wednesday, at least until warm temperatures return late in the weekend. According to the National Weather Service it will be sunny in the Cedar Rapids area Wednesday with a high near 68 degrees. It will also be a bit breezy, with a wind of 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15-20 mph by the afternoon. Wind gusts could reach as high as 30 mph. On Wednesday night there will be increasing clouds, with a low around 44 degrees. Over 60 employees will be let go from the Duane Arnold Energy Center in May under its plan to draw down staff at the closed nuclear plant near Palo. Iowa's only nuclear plant, which was to be decommissioned in October 2020 but was shut down after being extensively damaged in the August 2020 derecho, had about 500 employees before being closed. The plant is owned by Florida based energy company NextEra. NextEra spokesperson Megan Murphy Salyer said Tuesday that the layoffs are part of the company's continued plan and gradual drawdown of the decommissioning plan. Along with an enhanced retirement program, NextEra says it is also working with employees to place them in other jobs throughout the company or help with job searches in the industry. NextEra is also partnering with Alliant Energy and other companies to identify opportunities for employees. NextEra submitted its application last month to Linn County to construct utility-scale solar projects near Palo called Duane Arnold I and II. This may not be the permanent end for nuclear energy in the state. A new type of nuclear power plant — smaller, modular and designed to be safer in power outages is gaining some popularity nationally. MidAmerican Energy is asking the Iowa Utilities Board for permission to investigate the possibility of such a plant as part of a $4 million low-carbon emission pilot that would also include solar and wind power. They have asked the state for an answer on the project by October of this year. Iowa County officials told the Gazette they believe the Wasserbahn Waterpark Resort's sudden closure earlier this month was likely related to finances and came after recent complaints. “There's probably going to be a lot of civil litigation with this, which is not unusual when a hotel goes out of business,” Iowa County Sheriff Rob Rotter said. “There's been nothing criminal reported to us so far.” With tube slides, an 160-gallon bucket dump, geysers and a floating log walk, the Wasserbahn has been a popular Eastern Iowa attraction since it opened in 2004. The hotel, built in 1971, had changed names and gone through several owners since 2011. It is located off Interstate 80 in Williamsburg. Recent hotel and pool inspections show customer complaints, including one about black mold seen in part of the hotel that had been closed off for renovations and another from a family who said they got sick after visiting the water park Feb. 8. Wasserbahn's fate is unclear at this time as it changes hands between owners. It appears as though its future as a water park hotel is in doubt. Support for this news update was provided by New Pioneer Food Co-op. Celebrating 50 years as Eastern Iowa's destination for locally and responsibly sourced groceries with stores in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids; and online through Co-op Cart athttp://www.newpi.coop/ ( newpi.coop).

Today’s hosts are Robert Pilot and Wendy Pilot. We start today’s show reacting to last night’s State of the Union address. Next we’re joined by Griselda Aldrete, Director – Stakeholder Engagement with Alliant Energy. She shares some helpful tips to save energy during late winter and early spring. Later we’re joined by Bob Blake as…

On February 23, 2022, several legislators invited representatives from Wisconsin's investor-owned utilities to provide information to legislative offices at the Wisconsin State Capitol about the higher-than-average costs of natural gas heating bills this winter. On this episode of the Electric Wire podcast, we share a recording of the briefing, including information provided by Bill Skewes, Executive Director, Wisconsin Utilities Association; Rich Stasik, Director of State Regulatory Affairs, WEC Energy Group; Sara Mead, Director of Gas Supply, WEC Business Services; and, Matt Vincent, Senior Manager of Energy Markets and Fuel Supply, Alliant Energy. Energy Information Administration: Fluctuating weather this winter has significantly affected natural gas prices… “Natural gas prices in the United States fluctuate during the winter months due to a variety of factors, including the levels of natural gas inventories, production, consumption, exports, pipeline congestion, availability and competition with other energy sources in electricity generation, and weather. Unusually cold winter weather events result in increased demand for space heating and may be accompanied by production disruptions (such as well freeze-offs) or natural gas infrastructure disruptions (such as compressor outages).” Link: https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/weekly/archivenew_ngwu/2022/02_24/#itn-tabs-0 We Energies: Understanding the PGA line on your bill “Natural gas is bought and sold on the commodities market, similar to goods like oil or milk. The price we pay for the gas is the same price you pay — there is no mark up.” Link: https://www.wecenergygroup.com/home/message/we-energies-cold-wx-impact.htm Related Resources Home Energy Plus Application https://energybenefit.wi.gov/OnlineApps/OnlineApp/Default#! Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund https://www.kwwf.org/apply

In this final episode for 2021 of Diversity Straight Up, hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk about pitfalls to avoid, best practices, and trends in 2022. Diversity Straight Up is sponsored by Alliant Energy. Additional support is provided by Collins Aerospace and the city of Cedar Rapids.

Join Hosts Robert & Wendy Pilot as they welcome Griselda Aldrete, Director – Stakeholder Engagement with Alliant Energy, a new sponsor of Native Roots Radio Network with tips on how to manage energy costs this winter! PLUS Bob Blake from Red Lake brings the Solar News, Ogimaa with Native and Environmental News, and Wendy with…

On today's episode: It's Election Day in Iowa, Alliant Energy wants to buy the solar project at Palo's Duane Arnold site, Cedar Rapids hospital workers face vaccine deadlines, and the state volleyball tournament is underway. Support this podcast

On the latest episode of Diversity Straight Up, hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington, talk to Mark Nook, president of the University of Northern Iowa. Mark discusses the work required to make sure all groups have equal opportunity for success on a university campus, how his previous experiences with prejudice have prepared him for his current role, and how a nationwide pandemic has impacted the communities he represents. Diversity Straight Up is brought to you by GreenState Credit Union and sponsored by Alliant Energy. Additional support is provided by Collins Aerospace and the city of Cedar Rapids.

In the latest episode of Diversity Straight Up, hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk to national authority on diversity Dr. Nika White about strategies for battling “diversity fatigue.” Also, legendary broadcaster Tavis Smiley talks about overcoming mistakes and defending yourself during the age of cancel culture. Diversity Straight Up is brought to you by GreenState Credit Union and sponsored by Alliant Energy. Additional support is provided by Collins Aerospace and the city of Cedar Rapids.

In the latest episode of CBJ podcast, “Diversity Straight Up,” hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk with Cedric Ellis, executive vice president and chief enterprise services officer at CUNA Mutual Group, about his family background and work ethic. Diversity Straight Up is brought to you by GreenState Credit Union and sponsored by Alliant Energy. Additional support is provided by Collins Aerospace and the city of Cedar Rapids.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Wednesday, July 21. Yesterday I mentioned that there likely wouldn't be any sign of rain until the end of the week. Well, that's sort of still true, if by the end of the week you substitute in the end of Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service there will be a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Cedar Rapids area. This chance will go down as the evening progresses. Besides that, it should be mostly sunny, with a high near 86 degrees.  Police are investigating after a 15-year-old girl was found dead with gunshot wounds in a vehicle Tuesday morning in southwest Cedar Rapids. According to the Cedar Rapids Police Department, officers were called just before 6:30 a.m. to the Hawthorne Hills apartment complex — in the 2200 block of C Street SW — for reports of a single-vehicle crash. When they arrived, police said they found a vehicle with extensive damage and a teenage girl in the driver's seat. Police said the girl was dead and had what appeared to be gunshot wounds. The name of the girl is being withheld pending notification of the family. The investigation is ongoing, police said, adding that the preliminary investigation indicates the shooting likely was a targeted incident. Deficits that the University of Iowa and Iowa State University projected for their athletics operations over the last pandemic-plagued season were not as steep as feared, according to newly released Board of Regents budget documents. To be sure, the Hawkeyes and Cyclones did lose millions in the fiscal year that ended June 30, the records show. Still, Hawkeye income was $35.8 million above expectations and Cyclone income was $15 million better than anticipated. University of Northern Iowa Athletics, which is not self-sufficient like at the larger schools, ended fiscal 2021 about $3 million over budget. That UNI positive balance in large part came thanks to a spike in support from the main campus — which increased its athletics funding from a budgeted $3.2 million to nearly $8 million. More than 40 percent of Alliant Energy's power sold in Iowa during 2020 came from renewable sources, according to a report released Tuesday, as the company continues toward its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 43.8 percent of Iowa power from utilities in 2020 was up from 26.5 percent in 2019 and 9.9 percent in 2018. The company announced goals last year to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and eliminate use of coal by 2040. Alliant also unveiled its plans to plant 1 million trees — or about one tree per customer — in Iowa and Wisconsin over the next decade.  The Linn County Sheriff's Office has identified the man who was https://www.thegazette.com/crashes/1-killed-1-injured-in-two-vehicle-wreck-monday-morning-in-linn-county/ (killed Monday in a two-vehicle wreck) near Central City and Alburnett as 62-year-old Larry Hullerman, of Waterloo. The sheriff's office said Hullerman was pronounced dead at the scene Monday morning after the vehicle he was driving was struck by a vehicle that had run a stop sign at Central City and Alburnett roads. Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon https://www.thegazette.com/topic?eid=121774&ename=Alexa&lang=en (Alexa) enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what's the news? If you prefer podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes or wherever else you find your Podcasts. Support this podcast

In the latest episode of CBJ podcast, “Diversity Straight Up,” hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk with Ray Brown, CEO of ESCO, about his purpose and passion and being mindful of the big picture. Diversity Straight Up is brought to you by GreenState Credit Union and sponsored by Alliant Energy. Additional support is provided by Collins Aerospace and the city of Cedar Rapids.

In the latest episode of CBJ podcast, “Diversity Straight Up,” hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk with Marcus Bullock, co-founder and CEO of Flikshop, an app and website to keep families connected with loved ones in prison, about being your authentic self, resiliency and justice reform. Diversity Straight Up is brought to you by GreenState Credit Union and sponsored by Alliant Energy. Additional support is provided by Collins Aerospace and the city of Cedar Rapids.

In the latest episode of CBJ podcast, “Diversity Straight Up,” hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk with Hugh Ekberg, CEO and president of CRST, about diversity in the trucking industry. Diversity Straight Up is brought to you by GreenState Credit Union and sponsored by Alliant Energy. Additional support is provided by Collins Aerospace and the city of Cedar Rapids.

In the latest episode of CBJ podcast, “Diversity Straight Up,” hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk with Rafael Espinal, the executive director of Freelancers Union, about freelancers in today's workplace ... who they are, why their ranks are growing and why their diversity matters. Diversity Straight Up is brought to you by GreenState Credit Union and sponsored by Alliant Energy. Additional support is provided by Collins Aerospace and the city of Cedar Rapids.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for the weekend of March 20th and 21st. Happy Spring Equinox. We have a nice spring-like weekend to herald the first week of spring. According to the National Weather Service Forecast we will have sunny skies in the Cedar Rapids area on Saturday with a high near 58 degrees. It will be a might bit windy, with wind speeds of 5 to 15 mph gusting as high as 20 mph. On Sunday it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 67, while still being breezy yet again. On Sunday night there will be a small chance for rain, which will transition into a higher chance for more rain on Monday. After a year of bad news, for the second day in a row Friday, no COVID-19 outbreaks were reported Friday in any of Iowa's 429 long-term care facilities. An outbreak is defined as three of more COVID-19 cases among facility residents and staff. At the peak of the winter surge in virus cases, outbreaks were reported at 170 Iowa nursing homes on Dec. 3. In the past year, 2,224 residents of long-term care facilities have died, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the 5,672 virus-related deaths in Iowa. Alliant Energy is “picking up the pace” on moving power lines in Iowa underground, Terry Kouba, the president of Alliant's Iowa company told The Gazette this week. Kouba attributed the stepped-up effort on burying lines to increased reliability and decreased customer cost. “Certainly when you get that system underground, it's much more reliable when you have those windstorms, when you have those ice storms, when you have those tornadoes going through the state,” he said. He acknowledged that last year's derecho that devastated the state's power lines almost as much as its trees has also served as a strong motivator, but the move underground has been happening for some time. Nobody tell the red-wing blackbirds they will have to find a new place to sit. U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, voted against two bills that passed the House of Representatives on Thursday that would establish paths to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, including “Dreamers” brought to the country as children and agricultural workers. Noting a surge in migrants in February, Hinson faulted President Joe Biden's executive orders, which that she said have “incentivized” illegal immigration. Hinson said she supported some level of immigration protection for children brought to the country through no fault of their own, but said the legislation she voted against goes too far for her liking. Nearly $775 million in federal relief soon will be available to Iowa schools to help cover costs incurred from the COVID-19 pandemic, officials in the Iowa Department of Education said Friday. The money is Iowa's share of the more than $122.7 billion in a third round of emergency relief provided in the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, according to a news release. The money is part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, signed into law March 11 by President Joe Biden. The funding can be used for summer school and for other learning and enrichment programs to counter some of the learning lost when schools closed and switched to online instruction during the pandemic. This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers. Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com). Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon https://www.thegazette.com/topic?eid=121774&ename=Alexa&lang=en (Alexa) enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what's the news? If you prefer podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes.

We are joined by Matt Welch, Executive Director of Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation to discuss events in Texas and the polar vortex. In the second half of the episode we then speak with Matt Cole, Director of Operations at Alliant Energy about energy infrastructure here in the Midwest.

In the latest episode of "Diversity Straight Up," hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk with Janet Godwin, CEO of ACT, about diversity, inclusion, equity and engagement in an industry best known for getting elite students into elite colleges. Diversity Straight Up is brought to you by GreenState Credit Union and sponsored by Alliant Energy. Additional support is provided by the city of Cedar Rapids.

This is Nathan Ford with The Gazette digital news desk with your update for Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. There is a 20-percent chance of rain after 3 p.m. in Cedar Rapids today. The high temperature will be near 41. Tonight sees a low around 29 with another chance for rain, mixing with snow after 9 p.m. Any new snow accumulation is expected to be less than a half inch. After thrusting the University of Iowa's College of Dentistry under the free speech microscope of Republican state lawmakers with his mass email condemning then-President Donald Trump's executive order on diversity training, https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/university-iowa-dentistry-dean-david-johnsen-free-speech-republicans-20210225 (college Dean David Johnsen said Thursday he'll step down after this semester). Although a UI announcement of Johnsen's early departure didn't mention the controversy that's spawned Republican calls for accountability for free speech violators across the public universities, Johnsen in a statement said, “Upon further reflection, I came to realize that the pieces are in place for me to step away a year earlier." President Joe Biden since has repealed the executive order. A proposal to ban traffic cameras throughout Iowa — except on the dangerous S-curve on Interstate 380 by downtown Cedar Rapids — https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/lawmaker-seeks-to-ban-traffic-cameras-in-iowa-except-along-cedar-rapids-s-curve-20210225 (got the green light Thursday from the Iowa Senate Judiciary Subcommittee). The bill seeks to bar Iowa communities from using automated traffic enforcement systems, reviving lawmakers' on-again, off-again attempts for years to regulate or eliminate them. Some lawmakers see the cameras as traffic safety tools that reduce public safety costs, while others slam them as cash-generating constitutional violations. This bill would let cameras stay along the S-curve, though it doesn't specifically say Cedar Rapids. Sen. Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale who introduced the bill, said he took into account local officials' concerns about the S-curve. Police have long said the elevated curve is prone to crashes but leaves no room for stationing squad cars for traffic enforcement. Temperatures are rising after the February cold snap, but so is your natural gas bill. Starting next month, MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy both say they are expecting increases in gas bills following unusually high use amid limited supply. MidAmerican said it is expecting residential customers to see a $13 jump on average, and commercial customers to see a $95 jump on average, in March. The increases will continue throughout the year. Alliant also anticipates a rise in gas prices, but a spokesman said it's too soon to know how much. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/hawkeyes/iowa-womens-basketball/michigan-iowa-womens-basketball-is-on-hold-20210225 (Thursday's Michigan-Iowa women's basketball game was delayed five hours due to COVID-19 protocols). Originally scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in Iowa City, it didn't tip off until 8:30. Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said junior forward Logan Cook had tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday and Michigan asked for the rest of the Hawkeyes' players and staff members to receive PCR tests. Once those all came back negative, the game was played and Iowa scored a key 89-67 win over the 12th-ranked Wolverines. Elsewhere, the ninth-ranked Iowa men's basketball team lost a Top-10 showdown at No. 3 Michigan, 79-57. This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers.   Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com).

In the latest episode of CBJ podcast, “Diversity Straight Up,” hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk with Jennifer Bennett, president of Shive-Hattery, about her leadership role in the engineering field and the benefits of having a mentor. Diversity Straight Up is brought to you by GreenState Credit Union and sponsored by Alliant Energy. Additional support is provided by the city of Cedar Rapids.

Here's your WORT Local News for Tuesday, January 2nd, 2021: The village of Brooklyn votes to disband its police department, in-person absentee voting for the spring primary election starts today, Alliant Energy announces plans to close its last coal plant in Wisconsin and in the second half, we learn the latest news from the UW-Madison campus, talk amphibian and reptile rehab, and examine the cosmic mystery of invisibility.

Are rural communities the future hotspot for entrepreneurship? Today's guest, Jordan DeGree, founder of the Rural Ideas Network, sits down with us to share why he believes they are, and what it means for those of us living and working in rural America. We talk about how the network helps small towns to encourage entrepreneurship, foster creativity, and drive innovation. Whether you're an entrepreneur in a rural community or a person who cares about supporting small businesses in your town, this episode is for you! Be sure to catch Jordan's Fast Five (we love a solid soapbox!) to hear his answer to the question posed above. It's such an exciting time to be in a small town! About Jordan Jordan founded the Rural Ideas Network in 2018 as a way to support entrepreneurs in rural communities. In his role at the Rural Ideas Network, Jordan oversees network efficacy and provides coaching to entrepreneurs. Jordan is a social enterprise entrepreneur, focused on starting both for-profit and nonprofit initiatives that have a positive impact on communities. In 2020, he was selected by the governor to serve on the Empower Rural Iowa Taskforce, with a specific focus on supporting entrepreneurial development. In 2018, Jordan received a Governor's volunteer award for his various community service efforts in Iowa. In 2008, Jordan launched Creative Adventure Lab, a nonprofit organization on a mission to foster creativity and innovation. Over the past 11 years, Creative Adventure Lab has grown to provide innovative learning experiences to people of all ages, through a variety of programs, and serves more than 20,000 people every year. Jordan also helped launch The Innovation Lab, a coworking space and innovation services provider with multiple locations throughout the midwest. The Innovation Lab provides office space, entrepreneurial support programs, and innovation services to existing businesses (like John Deere and Alliant Energy).  DeGree has successfully launched and sold a residential property company and is currently majority owner of the Dubuque Idea Campus, a 42,000 ft2 commercial real-estate development in downtown Dubuque.  To complement his 12+ years of entrepreneurial & management experience, DeGree has a master's degree in educational leadership and professional experience designing curriculum, developing effective educational models, and providing instructional and advisory services to individuals. In this episode, we cover: The meaning of creativity and innovation and how they work together  The value of co-working in a small town How The Rural Ideas Network can support you and your community What all businesses can focus on while still dealing with the pandemic When your idea takes longer to implement than you planned... Links + Resources Mentioned Molly Knuth Media (Thanks for connecting us, Molly!!) https://www.mollyknuthmedia.com The Rural Ideas Network—Community Tools page: https://www.ruralideas.net/community-tools The Rural Ideas Network—Entrepreneur Tools page (classes & coaching): https://www.ruralideas.net/entrepreneur-tools  (Use Coupon Code GST20 to get 20% off your registration!)   Subscribe + Review Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, head out to Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!

Summer has ended, school has started and The Square is back with a new episode! We talk with Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart, who was recently elected as President of the League. Mayor Hart shares what led him to serving on the city council and as mayor, the unique position of being a full-time mayor (a rarity in Iowa) and some of the fun and challenges that come with the job. We also talk about Mayor Hart's plans for his League presidency and finding ways to enhance services and programs. We then chat with Kathryn Kunert of MidAmerican Energy and Joel Schmidt of Alliant Energy about the work each company did to restore power after the derecho storm that swept through the state in August. Kathryn and Joel talked about the importance of having strong partnerships with cities and how critical that is to storm recovery. The League thanks each of these partners for their incredible work in our communities to get power back to residents and businesses following such an unprecedented storm. We hope our listeners and communities are doing well, please contact thesquare@iowaleague.org with any questions or comments!

Newsmaker Ep. 1399 Mike Wagner, Alliant Energy Spokesman (8/24/20) by Radio on the Go

Morgan Hawk is a senior communications partner for Alliant Energy and former radio broadcaster for the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

Jeff:Welcome to the VIP Home podcast where we talk about all things homeowners need to know. Today we're speaking with Pete and Megan from Powerhouse, which is a TV show produced with Alliant Energy. Welcome to you both.Caroline:Tell us a little bit about Powerhouse and how it started back in 1996. How did you guys get started?Pete:Well, thank you, Caroline and Jeff. It's great for Megan and myself to be with you guys today to talk about this. We're going to be coming up on 25 years for Powerhouse and Alliant Energy started this back in 1996, because it wanted really to educate its utility customers about the importance of energy conservation and safety, but also to help us save energy dollars. They started the Powerhouse program looking at energy efficiency. It's a 30 minute program that airs in six markets across the Alliant Energy service territory in the upper Midwest on Saturdays and Sundays. Megan and I are very fortunate to be hosting it for the past 24 years.Megan:I have a theater background. Pete is in broadcasting, so we kind of have different background experiences. The cool thing is, is that Pete and I have known each other almost all our lives. We grew up across the street from each other.Caroline:Wow. That is so awesome. No wonder why you guys work so well together.Pete:The number one question we get asked, because again, we know each other so well and play off of each other. They do think we're married. We're married, but not to each other. We're learning and that's the great thing about Powerhouse is that we're sharing the insight that we see in terms of helping customers be comfortable in their homes, be knowledgeable and save dollars and save energy and be more efficient when it comes to energy in the home.Megan:The interesting angle that Alliant has chosen to take it is that Pete and I are kind of speaking for the consumer. We're speaking for the customer. We ask the questions that our audience would want to hear. We don't present as though we know everything. We've learned a lot over the years through this process.Caroline:At VIP HomeLink, our goal is to make the homeowner's lives easier. Although we're homeowners, we don't know everything. That's why [inaudible 00:02:05] wonderful guests like yourselves is so wonderful for us and our bran and to just share knowledge of home ownership with everyone. We like to look into homeowner horror stories, sort of those stories that no one really wants to talk about, but maybe a few years down the road, you get a good laugh out of it or you're frightened to even think of that it might happen again. Do you guys have a story like that, that you could share with us?Pete:One of our first years here at the house that I live in, one of our segments was blowing in insulation up in the attic. Oftentimes, Megan and I, we have the do it yourself projects, and I was helping with our expert to blow in insulation up in my attic. I'm maybe not the most agile or gifted in terms of home projects and I stepped off one of the joists in the attic and put my foot through the ceiling in my house as I was blowing in insulation. I did get the insulation and my attic is much better insulated, but I had to repair the ceiling in one of the bedrooms because I was a goof and slipped off the joists and put my foot through the ceiling.Jeff:You pulled the Chevy Chase from Christmas vacation where he's up there [crosstalk 00:03:10] himself and he just....Pete:Absolutely. Yeah. I did that. That's a bit of my own horror story that I did on one of our shoots.Megan:The crew and I have gotten a lot of mileage out of that through the years. There's a, sometimes they put together a blooper reel and that's kind of fun. Maybe this is just a horror story to me, but they were trying to kind of figure out what the show was going to be and looking back, Pete and I did some things that I can't believe we did. Pete was in the shower for one episode. I was in a hot tub in a bathing suit for one episode.Jeff:Got to get those ratings. I mean, it's [crosstalk 00:03:50].Megan:Oh my gosh. To me, that's a horror story. Then there was another shoot that I remember where they shipped us off to Wisconsin for a catalog shoot. We had all these products that were for sale in helping you be more energy efficient. One section was all about grilling. Well, they do these things so far in advance. I think it was February in Wisconsin and Pete and I are wearing shorts and T-shirts and trying not to breathe so you couldn't see our breath. We were freezing. That was a horror story too.Caroline:I used to intern at a magazine. We did the reverse as well so we were doing Christmas in July and everyone was in [inaudible 00:04:30]. I remember all the models being like, "This is horrible." That is a horror story in my opinion because I [inaudible 00:04:37] serve chilli. No. No. Too much.Jeff:I actually do have a horror story. We bought a condo in Hoboken, fourth floor walkup. I decided, hey, I'm just going to replace the switch. How hard can that be? I watched YouTube videos. I thought I can do this. How hard can electrical work be really watch the video. I did it. I brought my wife in for the big reveal and I turned it on and then you just see like go up the wall and just like burn all the way up. I was like, "Oh my God." Yeah. From that point on, I was not allowed to do any DIY, especially electrical work. We had to do another chandelier in the dining room. I got my very smart, downstairs neighbor who had an engineering degree. He came in and he wired it all. I was just like, "Oh God." Horror stories abound when it comes to electrical work, I can only imagine.Caroline:I feel like that was such a good segue to start talking about how somebody could start their home energy efficiency journey.Pete:We talk about insulation and over the many years of Powerhouse, doing a home energy assessment, we've had professionals that come in and do it. You can also go around your own house and do an assessment. The whole thing about is, is keeping in the wintertime, keeping the warm air in your house and in the summertime, keeping the cool air in your house. Again, not allowing vice versa. Insulation is certainly a great place to start. Attic insulation is a great way to check and make sure you do have enough insulation above you because the warm air rises. If you don't have enough insulation in your attic, that's the first place. We always say, when you do that assessment, start there. Then your walls, making sure that you have enough insulation in the walls, which may be a little bit more difficult.Pete:Again, on Powerhouse, we have a the do it yourself projects, but we also, we'll bring in the experts and the true professionals. We are not the experts. We're sharing the insight and the knowledge. That's the fun part for us. I've learned so much about taking care of our home, being comfortable, energy efficiency. It's the insulation in the walls, making sure that you have enough there even around gaskets, your plugins, making sure that those, it really starts with the insulation in your attic, your walls and in the floors.Jeff:Installation, that sounds like a professional job. What about DIY? Are there simpler things that I can do that are just easy? I run to the hardware store and do myself.Pete:Yeah. You can spend maybe 50 to 75 to a hundred dollars caulking, weatherstripping, going around and checking windows because windows obviously are the biggest source where if you've got gaps in the framing, get a caulking tube and a caulking gun and seal around the windows, weather stripping on the floors. During the wintertime, keep the warm air in from getting outside. Those are very easy things that you can do yourself. We talk about that on Powerhouse. It seems like that's one of those shows every year that we get into, as we get into the winter season.Megan:Led light bulbs. That's newer technology, and those can make such a difference. We always encourage homeowners. It's a little bit more of an investment, but it really pays itself off. What you want to do is you want to take those few lights that you use most frequently, or that are hard to reach, those pain in the neck lights and replace those because they do last much, much longer.Jeff:The technology has gotten a lot better over the past decade I'd say. The one thing about led lights in the beginning was just the look of them. They had this like hospital quality to them, very I'm in an office and it starts flicking of that florescent. Nowadays, I mean, I replaced a lot of our lights, not all of them, but a lot of them with the Phillips hue so it's all smart connected. You can adjust the very, my wife has a very specific setting that she likes the kitchen on and it's called Mrs. White or whatever. It's very customizable and the quality of the light I feel has just completely changed over the years.Pete:The LEDs, the upfront costs are much more than the old incandescent bulbs, but LEDs and the thing that we, Megan and I, have stress on Powerhouse is again, how much longer they last in terms of years for a bulb. We often talk about putting LED bulbs, just start replacing the ones that you have to replace more often that are easy access. As you said, the design has gotten much more friendlier. The lighting's much better. LED bulbs, 95% of the energy goes into the lighting with LED bulbs, which is certainly much different than the old incandescent. Only 5% of a LED is going to energy usage. That's the big thing. It's longer lasting and much, much more energy efficient with LED bulbs.Jeff:We moved into the house and we had all ... all the ceilings were kind of the cheaper ... I don't know if they were LEDs, but they were a certain type of white that, like I said, it was like a hospital flicking on all the lights. I don't know if I'm light sensitive, but it was just like, they had to go. We put them all in a box and gave it back to the builder who redid the house and then made the investment in the smart LED bulbs. Because not only is it customizable, but you can put them on timers, you can reduce your energy consumption that way and make sure at the end of the day, they turn off all the lights and all the lights are off. You don't leave the one in the basement on by accident. I thought that was a really a plus, but downside, they are expensive.Caroline:Do lights on dimmers count, like if you dim your light, does that count as energy efficient? I mean, my fiance definitely has some bulbs that are the LED, but not all, but we have every one on a dimmer.Megan:My guess would be that it would be using less energy.Pete:I would think. The one thing that you do have to make sure that when you buy LEDs, that they do allow for dimming. I mean, you go to your hardware store, you do have to make sure that they are built for dimmers.Caroline:Can we touch a little bit on appliances and energy efficient appliances and how that affects your overall efficiency?Megan:When it comes to your appliances, there are a handful that you really need to maintain well and use appropriately because they use the bulk of your energy. That would be your refrigerator, your dishwasher, and your washer and dryer. Of course, maintenance is important on all three of those things. With your refrigerator, you want to keep the temperature at 40 degrees and the freezer at zero, that's going to be an energy efficient path and still get the job done. Also, I'm going to sound like your mother for a second, but you don't want to leave the doors open. Know what you want out of the refrigerator before you go in there. It takes a lot more energy then to re cool the unit if you stand there with the doors open. Don't forget about the vent and the coils down below the refrigerator. Every year, check that out and clean that out with your vacuum cleaner.Megan:Or if you have a pet, you'll want to do it more than once a year. Check that because that keeps the flow running efficiently. You also don't want to overcrowd your refrigerator. They're designed to basically be full, not jam packed because then the circulation doesn't work. When it comes to the dishwasher, there are a couple of things you can do. You can use the eco settings that are built right into the dishwashers that we buy today and only run it when it's full. Some people are in the habit of doing it every night, whether there are four cups in there or it's loaded and do wait until it's full because you're going to use not only less energy, but you're going to use less water. Another tip is to put it on the air-dry setting. That's going to save you energy too and rinse your dishes off.Megan:Even though the new dishwashers can sense how dirty your dishes are, but do yourself a favor and rinse them off because you're going to get a cleaner wash and it's going to require less energy to do that. To the point that I made about the dishwasher, you also want to take into account when it comes to your washer and dryer. Do full loads. Doing a couple shirts at a time is not going to save you any energy at all. Wait until you have an appropriate load and also use cold water. It'll get your clothes just as clean. Make sure that you clean out not only your lint catch, but also your dryer vent too. That can cause big problems. If you have anyone who is ill in your house, of course, you want to make sure that you put it on this sterilize setting.Pete:In normal times, we talk about washing with cold water, but if you do know that you've got some sick people in your home, in that instance, we do recommend washing with hot water during that time. Megan mentioned cleaning that lint filter in your dryer, but also the duct coming out of it. One of our viewers reached out to us after one of the shows we did and said that he got out his vac and cleaned up the vent coming out of his dryer. It was like a new dryer he said, because it actually dried the clothes much more efficiently. One of the common things that we talk about with your furnaces is changing that filter vent once a month. Most people don't. It's about making sure your furnace is running efficiently and if you've got a dirty filter, it's not going to run efficiently and you're going to use more energy and you're going to use more dollars to run that furnace.Pete:That's one of those things that I always stress. Keep track on your phone, hey it's time the first of the month to change my furnace filter. The other thing that we also recommend is having a service plan. Have your heating and cooling system checked once a year. That's a well worth it 50 to a hundred dollars service call, but to make sure that your furnace, that your air conditioner is running efficiently, again, we'll save over the years, save energy dollars for you and your home.Jeff:It's interesting you say that. VIP HomeLink is an app, and it's basically for people who they have a home, they want to stay on top of these things, but we all know it's easier said than done. You say, "Oh, I'm going to do this." Then life gets in the way. The app is there to actually send you reminders. You put the information in on exactly what your HVAC system is. You can log in your what filter you need, and it'll send you notifications every time you need to change the filter, every time you need it serviced. It'll actually keep you on point there, because like I said, it's one thing to say, "I'm going to do this." It's another thing to actually do it.Megan:A lot of times we tell our viewers, mark a day or think of a day on your calendar and do that monthly. Now, your app sounds luxurious, and I'll certainly look into that, but in a simple way, if you just think the first of the month, I'm going to check my filter.Pete:Probably the one thing that we've done over the years on Powerhouse is if people haven't, it's a programmable thermostat. I know on some of your other podcasts, you've had a smart home, the programmable thermostat. Maybe it's a Nest that you can control off your phone, which is so nice that you can set back at night, turn down that thermostat and save, turn it down 10 degrees. Over a year time and 10 hours, I think you can save something like 10% on your heating bill. There's really savings and again, that's what, here on Powerhouse, we're about. Saving energy, but also helping our customers and our consumers save energy dollars. Megan and I have put in more programmable thermostats over the years. That's another small investment. They can be as simple as maybe a 25 to a $50 investment. Again, you can go up and get Nest and have everything programmed off your iPhone, which is wonderful. That's significant savings in energy and energy dollars.Caroline:I know Ruth is a very smart home tech kind of guy.Jeff:I like the gadgets. When we moved in, that was the first thing I did was let's get the Nest thermostats. Let's get all the security stuff. Let's get all hooked up and you put eco mode on. It kind of just keeps it at a comfortable ... It's not blowing air on you, but Nest will remind me even when to change my HVAC filter, which I didn't know when I bought it. I mean, it's an amazing device.Pete:It really is. Again, I think that's one of the other things here on Powerhouse that Megan and I are very fortunate is to learn about the new technology all around our house. We've done shows on things in terms of reminders with a smart home, to change the filter, to setback your water heater. Some people might be away for a while and they can set back that. It is amazing the technology, the changes that we've seen over the past 24 years of Powerhouse. It all comes back again to helping that homeowner be more comfortable saving energy and saving energy dollars.Megan:Right now it's, we're approaching summer and here in the Midwest, it's really, really hot. That's another thing. If you can program that with your phone, program your air conditioning. You don't have to have it run all day with a programmable thermostat. You can set that to kick in before you get home from work, before you get back from vacation. One of the things that you can do to maintain your air conditioner is to clean it off. We had an episode where I got to do that, and I had no idea that I could do that myself. Of course, I had a professional walk me through it. You just go outside and you have your air conditioner, make sure that it's turned off at the electrical panel.Megan:Then you take your garden hose and you spray it all the debris off the outside and inside the compressor, spray the fins on the inside carefully, starting at the top down so you don't force any debris in there. That's something that you can do that's really, really simple. Another thing is to make sure that you've got airflow around your air conditioning compressor. A lot of people have landscaping and things like that because they want to hide it. Well make sure you keep it trimmed away so you have about a foot, at least a foot around there for circulation.Jeff:I thought I read that it's not a good idea to put a cover on an air conditioner because it can create mold problems or mildew or something like that. Dumb air conditioners, you can go and you can cover it with like an air conditioner cover, which they sell. I assume there's a need and a reason for that, but then I also read you don't want to cover it.Pete:You just got to make sure again, debris and everything's clear. To me that would be the benefit of having it covered, but then you also have to check to see if there's anything that may have crawled up or may have gotten on the fans. Just be aware of that.Jeff:Some resident chipmunks in there.Pete:Sure.Jeff:I did have a dryer vent [inaudible 00:18:54]. I think somebody moved the dryer and it popped out of the wall, but it's so big that we couldn't see behind it. You don't want to scratch the floors and all that. We only knew something was wrong because we'd run the dryer and then it would get really humid and the hallway started fogging up and it turned out that somebody must've moved it and it popped out off the wall. All the wet steam was basically not going where it should. It's just going into the room and we have a small room. That was an issue. We called the professional.Jeff:They came over and charged me four or five hundred bucks to really ... I mean, I was like, "Oh my God, is that really necessary? Can I not do this myself?" He had a whole thing, it goes all the way up to the roof, I guess. He had to put this thing together and clean the whole thing because I guess dryer vents are a big source of fires. There's something like 15,000 fires a year, the NFPA says are caused by dryer vents. It's a real problem. You got to stay up on top of it or else you can put your family at risk.Pete:I think that's a good point. Megan was mentioning cleaning the coils on your refrigerator. I mean, you don't need to do that, but once a year, but again, making sure that that vent is connected properly. That it is again, blowing that hot air and getting it out of your home. Making sure that the vent is clear there and then go on outside where that vent actually vents to the outside, making sure that's clean out there. I just last weekend went and checked mine. I wanted to make sure that I didn't have any issue, but you're right. A dryer vent fires, I hate to say, can be more common than you think, but a little bit of maintenance can help save from a fire. Also, just the overall, again, the efficiency of your dryer operating.Megan:Speaking of vents, I'm going to reverse the season, but if you have a gas fireplace, they vent outside. I know it's important to make sure that they are covered and that when you're not using it, the six months that you're not utilizing it, things can get in there. Animals can get in there. Debris, all of that kind of stuff so in reverse, that's something that you want to make sure that you check out and have a professional look at. Always. We always recommend a seasonal tune up on those appliances, on your air conditioner, as well as your fireplaces and your furnace. That's another vent issue, right?Jeff:I have a gas fireplace. That is definitely now on the top of my list because you know what? I was outside and I was trying to find the dryer vent exhaust, and the guy said it was on the roof. Then there's another vent. I was like, "What is this?" It's the gas fireplace vent. Now I know.Caroline:My parents had a horror story. They were using, I guess their fireplace once. I don't know. [inaudible 00:21:45] not really sure. Then one day there was this squirrel in the bedroom because I guess the fireplace vent wasn't closed all the way. It was just start of fall into winter. There was just a squirrel in the house. If that doesn't count as a horror story, I don't know what does.Jeff:A squirrel in the house counts as a horror story. I've had that in that apartment that I told you about in Hoboken. I had a squirrel. I was home and I walked into one room and my dogs are there and they just start going bananas. I go in the other room and the squirrel had come in the bathroom and walked into the bedroom and the dogs discovered that. It was just going around in a circle, just like on the ceiling. I literally just closed the door and then freaked out. Then I was like, "Okay, I got to do this. I'm not going to trap an animal right now at this point in time." I just opened the window and left. Then I came back like four hours later, just hoping it was gone. Thank God, it was gone, but not after peeing all over my head.Megan:I think I'd rather have a squirrel than bats.Pete:On Powerhouse, again, we've had episodes again, where chimney sweeps, the importance of making sure your chimney is clean and again, having a professional come out and clean your chimney. We've had episodes where they talked about the chimney sweep, talked about different animals that have been found and maybe have been dead there. That also takes me over to cleaning your ducts, your duct work in your house, occasionally is a good thing to do. If you have a lot of pets, it is worthwhile, but again, make sure your duct work is cleaned. It's about efficiency and making sure again, your appliances are operating efficiently. Just like we know with your car, you have an oil change and a checkup with your car. You need to have a checkup of your house system to making sure that it's operating properly and efficiently. Cleaning your ducts, D-U-C-T-S, and making sure that again, that it's functioning efficiently.Caroline:These are amazing tips. We were talking about outside home efficiency so can we just touch a little bit more kind of beyond the AC unit or whatever the real term is for that, and just kind of touch base on some other outdoor efficiencies that would help along your journey?Megan:Well, I think with landscaping, this goes back to the air conditioner, energy.gov says that you can save up to 50% of your energy if you shelter your air conditioner. Shade it with a bush, a tree, of course, distanced. If you think about it, we run more efficiently when we've got a little bit of shade when the heat is pouring down on us. Your air conditioner is no different. Call a professional, make sure that everything is operating smoothly and I will just reiterate what Pete said. The system of your house is designed to be efficient and all your appliances are designed to work well, but we have to do our part and take care of them as well.Pete:Plant that tree to shade your house, your overall house can make a difference. Just a little bit of shade on your house can cool the house so that the sun isn't beating down on it. That's another opportunity. Again, we've done that numerous times on Powerhouse. Come out and plant a tree and again, obviously again, think safety when you're going to plant a tree. Call to make sure you're not digging into a power line. Look up and make sure you're now also not going up into power lines above that might be up there. We always stress safety on any, do it yourself projects on Powerhouse.Caroline:People like Jeff Ruth here might take things into their own hands when they should be calling a pro.Jeff:Felled enough trees in my day that I know to call a pro.Megan:One thing that can make a real difference in your energy usage is how you plug in all of the things around your house. You think about all of the cell phone chargers that we have on the small end, but then we also have our home office. We have all kinds of little appliances, toasters, things like that, that we don't use all the time, but they are always drawing power. We call that phantom power. That phantom energy can really add up, up to 10% of your utility bill. That's huge. I have a prop for you. This is a smart strip. What this has is different plugs here that will remain on if necessary, like say your wifi router. You don't want that to go off. There's a designated place for those items, but for the things, video game systems, things like that, that you don't use all of the time, your DVD player, things like that you can put in here. Then it actually will sense when you're not using it and shut those things off.Caroline:That is an amazing product.Jeff:Yeah. We're going to definitely recommend because I need one. I'm going to find one, we're going to recommend it to the listeners and give some links out there so you can find the right one for you.Pete:With your ceiling fans during the summer, they are pushing the cool air down. You want to make sure it's spinning the right way to push down. In the winter months you want to pull the warmer air up. Remember when you're out of a room, I remind my family to turn off ceiling fans if you're not in the room.Jeff:Is that because money doesn't grow on trees?Caroline:You mentioned the right way. There's clearly a wrong way. Is the right way for cool air counterclockwise or clockwise or [crosstalk 00:27:25]?Pete:Well, again, making sure you can feel it when you turn it on. Is it pushing down? I mean, you can feel it pushing down. Make sure it's spinning that way. I'll let the listeners check themselves, okay?Caroline:Perfect. Perfect. Your website, discusses home energy assessments. What would that entail and how does a homeowner know that they're ready for such an assessment?Megan:On the Alliant Energy website, we offer an energy assessment and you enter all of your specific information in there, and it's really basically a checkup for your home. It offers recommendations of ways that you can improve and it's something that once you make those improvements, you can then watch your utility bill and see how things change after you do that. I would say every five years, you can revisit it too. If you've done any other home improvements, you can plug those in. It just kind of keeps things up to date. It's not unlike your app actually. You can keep all of that in one place as well.Jeff:We have a lot of things in common. I'm definitely excited to check out more about the Alliant Energy assessment. Can you tell us a little more about where to find that and how to, is it for just people in the service area or can anybody go and get tips there?Pete:Most utilities, again, I think around the country are offering that. I would always say to your listeners to check with your utilities for what kind of services they provide in terms of a home energy assessment. I think most energy companies today are trying to be good citizens of our Earth and are looking at ways to make sure your home is energy efficient and offering that. I would say check that. One of the things that we stress on Powerhouse is energy star rated appliances. When you're going out to look for new appliances, make sure they have that energy star on the product.Pete:Maybe you've got that second old sort of a beverage refrigerator or beer refrigerator that maybe is 20 years old, but it sure keeps those beverages cold. That's not always the best use of that old refrigerator because they really burn through energy. A fridge that's about 15, 18 years old, it might be time to look at a new refrigerator because they are so much more energy efficient here today than just 15, 20 years ago. You can save again, a lot of energy dollars that you're paying to keep those beverages cold.Megan:Another service that Alliant energy offers is a refrigerator recycling program. To Pete's point, you want to check with your utility company and see what services they offer, because you might be surprised.Caroline:Thank you for all these tips. I mean, I'm so enlightened. Knowledge is power they say.Megan:People are sheltering in place and their home a lot more. Their utility bills are creeping up because of that. With the use of the home office, kids playing video games, all kinds of things, homeschooling, using your computer more than you might have before. People are cooking a lot more. There are ways that you can use your kitchen a little bit more efficiently, and that is to scale down your appliances, especially as we're approaching summer. Grill outside. It's a common sense thing. Use your crock pot, a slow cooker, toaster oven, they use so much less energy than torquing up your oven.Megan:Also, you can scale down how you use your stove top as well. You want to make sure that you use your cookware appropriately by using the right pan size so you're not wasting energy by extra heat coming up. Also, put lids on things. That's going to speed up your cooking and it's going to use less energy too.Caroline:I know my fiance doesn't quite get the toaster oven versus the oven. I'm really trying to help him out there. It also got so warm that the toaster oven is, it seems a bit quicker, but it also doesn't make the whole place like it is outside.Jeff:I think one of the best wedding gifts that I ever got was the Breville toaster oven. It's like-Caroline:I just said that, for our wedding.Jeff:It's great. I mean, I use it every day.Megan:It's fast, quick, easy. You can watch it happen and it doesn't heat up the kitchen.Pete:Brilliant. Again, appreciate being able to, Caroline and Jeff, to talk with you guys and share tips with your listeners. As we like to say, always as we finish an episode of Powerhouse, with these tips and ideas and saving energy, we can make your house a power house.Megan:A powerhouse. Visit our website, Powerhousetv.com. There are loads of tips on there.Caroline:Thank you so much, Megan and Pete. It was so lovely to have you both. We hope that we can partner again soon. Our missions really align in that we really have a lot in common. We'd love to have you guys back on the show one day.Pete:Thank you.Megan:We would love it. Thank you.Jeff:Thanks guys. Have a good one.Caroline:Have a great day.Megan:Thanks. You too.Jeff:Bye.

In the latest episode of the CBJ podcast, “Diversity Straight Up,” hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk with Joel Schmidt, vice president of business development with Alliant Energy, about the importance of authentic conversations, lessons from his days of international travel and how diversity can lead to positive change.

The Rise of Solar! The first episode of our Energy Innovation Series focuses on solar power in Wisconsin. Heather Allen of RENEW Wisconsin joins to give a lay of the land and share her personal story of getting involved in renewable energy. Jeff Ripp of Alliant Energy discusses Alliant Energy's recent announcement regarding an investment in 1GW of solar. Rep. Mike Kuglitsch discusses legislation he is working on to aid solar and wind workforce training grants. INTERVIEW START TIMES Heather Allen – 10:30 Jeff Ripp – 35:00 Rep. Kuglitsch - 47:15 LINK TO POWER LUNCH REGISTRATION: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/power-lunch-building-toward-net-zero-carbon-registration-93806500769

Hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk with Phil Jasper, president of Mission Systems at Collins Aerospace, about the role of diversity in innovation, reverse mentoring and the importance of cultural competency in leadership. Presented by the City of Cedar Rapids, Collins Aerospace and Alliant Energy.

Hosts Sarika Bhakta and Anthony Arrington talk with Marci Chickering, executive VP and chief human resources officer with Wellmark, about gender parity in the C-suite, building diversity in the insurance industry and finding people's innate gifts. Presented by the City of Cedar Rapids, Collins Aerospace and Alliant Energy.

A CEO’s Virtual Mentor Episode 20 The ESG Canvas for Corporate Reporting with Pat Kampling, Chairman and CEO of Alliant Energy Welcome to Episode 20. I am joined by Pat Kampling, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alliant Energy in Madison Wisconsin.  This Episode 20 covers several areas of topical interest including a discussion on ‘sustainability’ and the quickly emerging and rapidly evolving area of ESG or “Environmental, Social, and Governance” criteria.  Institutional investors are demanding action and attention to ESG and CEO’s are responding by charting their companies’ course. This is not without tension for corporate management teams. We’ll discuss with Pat how she and Alliant have been addressing ESG and hopefully put you at ease. Madison-based Alliant Energy has a $10.8 billion market cap as a public utility holding company that provides regulated electric and gas service through its subsidiaries, Interstate Power and Light and Wisconsin Power and Light to 410,000 gas customers and just shy of one million electric customers. Pat has served as chairman and CEO since 2012 and prior to that, she was COO for about a year and prior to that, she was CFO and Treasurer and has an extensive finance background. Foundationally, Pat is an engineer and a registered professional engineer at that --- a true renaissance woman. I’d like to express our special thanks to the clients of Lyceum Leadership Consulting that enable us to bring you this podcast. The UN “Principles for Responsible Investment” or PRI are a set of six principles that provide a global standard for responsible investing as it relates to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors. Organizations follow these principles to meet commitments to beneficiaries while aligning investment activities with the broader interests of society. The PRI movement began in early 2005, when the then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan invited a group of the world’s largest institutional investors to join a process to develop the Principles for Responsible Investment. The Principles were launched in April 2006 at the New York Stock Exchange. Since then the number of signatories has grown from 100 to over 1,800. I’ll briefly summarize the six principles that investor-signatories publicly demonstrate: They incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes. They are active owners and incorporate ESG issues into their ownership policies and practices. They seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which they invest. They promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. They work together to enhance their effectiveness in implementing the Principles. They each report on their activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. Sweeping in its reach, isn’t it? But what triggered a Madison-based company to consider these UN Principles as a guide? Thanks for listening.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.    Informative and Helpful Links The UN “Principles for Responsible Investment” or PRI. Alliant Energy’s 2018 Corporate Sustainability Report Goldman Sachs’ ESG Report from 2017.  See the impressive list of “Key Metrics and Indicators” on page 30 – 32.   Program Guide Episode 20 The ESG Canvas for Corporate Reporting with Pat Kampling, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alliant Energy  0:32      Introduction to Episode 20 and Pat Kampling, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alliant Energy 2:40     ESG discussion and the Sustainability Report of Alliant Energy 7:46     Break 1 8:12     Investor demands around ESG cuts through politics 9:05     Safety at Alliant Energy 13:38    Break 2 13:52    Culture shaping at Alliant Energy 21:04    Break 3 21:20    Experience and advice in moving from CFO to CEO 22:46    Increasing and managing the tempo of an organization 28:18    The CEO role as a liberating role 28:55    Farewell and congratulations on Pat Kampling’s retirement effective July 1, 2019 28:54    Preview of upcoming Episode 21 with Ralph Izzo, Chairman, President and CEO of PSEG in Newark, NJ  Biographies of Guests Ms. Patricia Leonard Kampling Pat Kampling is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Alliant Energy Corporation.  Her broad experience within the utility industry has proven essential to Alliant Energy’s ability to ensure competitive costs and reliable service for customers, while strategically leveraging a balanced generation portfolio. Pat has responsibility for leading the performance and strategic growth of Alliant Energy’s regulated utility companies (IPL and WPL), serving customers in more than 1,200 communities throughout Iowa and Wisconsin. She also provides executive direction for Alliant Energy Resources, the parent company of Alliant Energy’s non-regulated businesses, which includes Alliant Energy Transportation and non- regulated generation facilities. Pat joined Alliant Energy in 2005 and served originally as Alliant Energy’s Vice President of Finance. She then transitioned into roles as Vice President and Treasurer; Vice President Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In these roles, Pat guided the financial objectives of the company, supported regulatory proceedings, promoted environmental commitments, and was instrumental in the development and communication of a long-term strategic plan. In 2011, Pat became President and Chief Operating Officer. She was responsible for overall corporate operations and was instrumental in the execution of Alliant Energy’s capital plan, commitment to customers, environmental planning and safety initiatives. She was named Chairman, President and CEO in 2012. Before joining Alliant Energy in 2005, Pat spent more than 20 years in increasingly responsible finance, treasury, regulatory and engineering positions within Exelon Corporation, ultimately serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Exelon Enterprises and the Treasurer of Commonwealth Edison. Pat holds bachelor’s degrees in engineering and economics from Swarthmore College, an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School, and is a registered Professional Engineer. She serves on the Boards of Directors of American Transmission Company and Briggs & Stratton Corporation. In February 2019, Pat announced her intent to retire from the company on July 1, 2019. The Board of Directors appointed Alliant Energy President and Chief Operating Officer John O. Larsen to succeed Kampling. More information on that announcement can be found in this article.   Your host Thomas B. Linquist is the Founder and Managing Partner of Lyceum Leadership Consulting and Lyceum Leadership Productions. Over his 14 years in management and leadership consulting he has served a wide array of industrial clients.  This includes leadership assessment and search for chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief operating officers and boards of directors.  He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and over his 28-year career has served in a variety of roles: as an engineer with Shell Oil Company, a banker with ABN AMRO Bank, and as treasurer was the youngest corporate officer in the 150+ year history at Peoples Energy Company in Chicago.  He is an expert on hiring and promotion decisions and leadership development.  Over the course of his search career, he has interviewed thousands of leaders.  Thanks for listening.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.  Please rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues.   Program Disclaimer The only purpose of the podcast is to educate, inform and entertain. The information shared is based on the collection of experiences of each of the guests interviewed and should not be considered or substituted for professional advice. Guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, experience and conclusions, and neither The Leadership Lyceum LLC nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular content, recommendation or methodology discussed in this podcast.   Follow Leadership Lyceum on: Our website: www.LeadershipLyceum.com LinkedIn: The Leadership Lyceum LLC Twitter: @LeaderLyceum https://twitter.com/LeaderLyceum Email us: info@LeadershipLyceum.com   Thanks for listening.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.  Please rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues.   This podcast Leadership Lyceum: A CEO’s Virtual Mentor has been a production of The Leadership Lyceum LLC. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.

A CEO’s Virtual Mentor Episode 19 Redefining Leadership in a Traditional Industry with Mary Powell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Green Mountain Power Corporation Welcome to Episode 19. I am joined by Mary Powell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Green Mountain Power in Vermont.  This Episode 19 presents a unique CEO profile in Mary Powell.  Many of the CEO’s that we have featured in the past have come from science, technology and engineering disciplines or law or finance backgrounds.  Mary was raised in an artistic household on New York’s Upper West Side.  Her father was a hardworking, constantly auditioning New York actor.  Mary attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts made widely famous by the 1980 dramatic film Fame based on student life at the School of Performing Arts. Mary studied art with a particular passion for charcoal drawing with its kinetic form of big, bold, and fast movement.  She was graduated with a degree in Liberal Arts from Keene State College in New Hampshire.  Her career experience prior to Green Mountain Power included a breath of variety – for a large fund manager specializing in money markets, for state government, and in banking. Through our conversation it will become very apparent how Mary’s creative and liberal arts background and variety of experience renders her as a uniquely effective leader in a utility industry that most often abides by tradition. I’d like to express our special thanks to the clients of Lyceum Leadership Consulting that enable us to bring you this podcast.  Thanks for listening.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.  See you next time.   Informative and Helpful Links An April 3rd 2013 article on architecture website Arch Daily entitled “Can Architecture Make Us More Creative?” by Jonathan C. Molloy posed an interesting lead in question: “What do MIT’s Building 20, the Ancient Greek Agora, 18th Century British teahouses, and early 20th century Parisian cafés have in common?”  “They were some of the most creative spaces in the world.” Goes the answer.   The Green Mountain Power INSPiRE SPACE. See video link on our program page on the Episode 19 page on our website. Website: https://gmpinspire.com/ From Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist Seneca, “Mihi crede, verum gaudium res severa est.” Epistulae morales, 23, 4 ---- “Believe me, true joy is a serious business.”    Program Guide Episode 19 Redefining Leadership in a Traditional Industry with Mary Powell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Green Mountain Power Corporation 0:32     Introduction to Episode 19 and Mary Powell, President and CEO of Green Mountain Power 2:17     Introduction to Green Mountain Power 3:44     Progression of Green Mountain Power accomplishments and award recognition. 6:43     Origins of orientation toward fulfilling ‘customer dreams’ and ‘love’ for customers 7:52     The Tesla Powerwall as an answer to customer dreams and to ridding the dependence on ‘peakers’ in Vermont 10:38   Break 1 11:01   Innovation at Green Mountain Power 13:11   Physical space and its role in innovation and GMP’s INSPiRE SPACE. See video link on our program page on the Episode 19 page on our website. And “Can Architecture Make Us More Creative?” by Jonathan C. Molloy 16:54   Break 2 17:09   Boundaries or lack thereof at GMP 21:24   Break 3 21:46   M&A at Green Mountain Power and 'the ability to soar' 25:13   Final Break 4  25:28   Conclusion: Mary Powell’s leadership that draws upon her upbringing and liberal arts education 27:40   Famous Last Words – Seneca “Mihi crede, verum gaudium res severa est.” Epistulae morales, 23, 4 28:06   Preview of upcoming Episode 20 and Patricia Kampling, CEO of Alliant Energy in Madison Wisconsin.    Biographies of Guests Ms. Mary Powell Mary Powell is nationally recognized as an energy visionary, positioning Green Mountain Power as a leading energy transformation company.  Delivering clean, cost-effective and highly reliable power to customers all across Vermont, GMP offers cutting-edge products and service to reduce costs and carbon.  In 2017, GMP was named one of the top 10 energy companies in the world by Fast Company.  GMP has also achieved the top score for mid-sized utilities in the East Region in J.D. Power’s 2016 electric utility residential customer satisfaction study. Mary has served as president and chief executive officer for GMP since 2008.  She initiated and implemented a strategic and comprehensive restructuring of the company that dramatically transformed GMP, and she has been the backbone of a cultural transformation and service quality improvement.  Fast, fun, and effective is her motto.  Under Mary’s leadership, GMP became the first utility in the world to become a member of B Corp, showing a commitment to use energy as a force for good. Mary has delivered on an ambitious energy vision to provide low-carbon, low-cost and highly reliable power to Vermonters.  As a result, GMP became the first utility to offer to help customers go off-grid, built Vermont’s largest wind farm, made Rutland, Vermont, the Solar Generation Capital of New England, and installed smart grid technology across GMP’s service territory. In 2012, Mary led the acquisition of Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS), with a promise to generate $144 million in savings for customers.  GMP has grown from serving 88,000 customers in 2008 to serving over 260,000 customers, with revenues of more than $640 million and $2 billion in assets. And in 2015, Mary led another partnership with Tesla, with GMP becoming the first utility anywhere to offer customers the Tesla Powerwall battery. In 2014, Mary was recognized by Powergen as the Woman of the Year, in 2015 The Burlington Free Press named her Vermonter of the Year, in 2016 Fast Company named Mary one of the 100 most creative people in business, and in 2017, Mary was named one of the top 25 Most Influential Women of the Mid-Market by CEO Connection.    Your host Thomas B. Linquist is the Founder and Managing Partner of Lyceum Leadership Consulting and Lyceum Leadership Productions. Over his 16 years in management and leadership consulting he has served a wide array of industrial clients.  This includes leadership assessment and search for chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief operating officers and boards of directors.  He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and over his 27-year career has served in a variety of roles: as an engineer with Shell Oil Company, a banker with ABN AMRO Bank, and as treasurer was the youngest corporate officer in the 150+ year history at Peoples Energy Company in Chicago.  He is an expert on hiring and promotion decisions and leadership development.  Over the course of his search career, he has interviewed thousands of leaders.  Thanks for listening.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.  Please rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues. Program Disclaimer The only purpose of the podcast is to educate, inform and entertain. The information shared is based on the collection of experiences of each of the guests interviewed and should not be considered or substituted for professional advice. Guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, experience and conclusions, and neither The Leadership Lyceum LLC nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular content, recommendation or methodology discussed in this podcast. Follow Leadership Lyceum on: Our website: www.LeadershipLyceum.com LinkedIn: The Leadership Lyceum LLC Twitter: @LeaderLyceum https://twitter.com/LeaderLyceum Email us: info@LeadershipLyceum.com Thanks for listening.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.  Please rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues. This podcast Leadership Lyceum: A CEO’s Virtual Mentor has been a production of The Leadership Lyceum LLC. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.

Extra crews have been called in to help restore power to the Quad Cities area, after thousands were in the dark. Meanwhile, Alliant Energy pulled their crews due to bad road conditions. Also, businesses have been experiencing a shortage of salt this winter. Get details as Morgan Ottier from Quad Cities Today at KWQC joined AM Quad Cities.