Biofuels

Wind blows Texas oilman in to Le Mars to talk energy (08/15/08)
He may be 80 but an audience member still called T. Boone Pickens a "rockstar." The Texas oilman and billionaire landed his jet at the Le Mars airport Thursday afternoon to spin to Iowans his plan for reducing U.S. dependency on foreign oil. His idea: shift to using more wind energy and natural gas -- two things in which the nation is rich...

Sen. Harkin suggests alternatives to combat oil prices facing country (08/07/08)
Americans are addicted to oil. Sen. Tom Harkin told Plymouth County residents gathered Wednesday at Lally's Eastside Restaurant that addiction is the reason for the continued increase in oil prices. "When you're addicted to something, you just continue to feed the addiction," Harkin said...

Plymouth Oil may receive $1.2 million in tax benefits (07/22/08)
The State of Iowa pledged about $1.2 million in tax incentives to a plant near Merrill that will make corn oil for food and cooking. The $30 million Plymouth Oil plant is planned next to the 50-million-gallon Plymouth Energy LLC ethanol plant near Merrill. The projected completion date is July 31, 2013, according to an Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) spokesperson...

Grassley gives his take on fuel crunch at Le Mars meeting (07/01/08)
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley praised ethanol and drilling for more oil in the United States during his stop at a Le Mars town hall meeting where concern about energy and food prices was the prevailing mood. Speaking to a crowd of about 50 people at the American Bank Monday, Grassley responded to questions about fuel prices by presenting his idea for an energy program...

Corn oil plant seeks property tax relief from county (06/18/08)
A proposed $30 million corn oil plant near Merrill inched closer to reality this week. The Plymouth County Supervisors on Tuesday approved five years of property tax relief for Plymouth Oil L.L.C. The first year will be a 75 percent break declining to 15 percent in the fifth year...

Corn oil producer planned near Merrill ethanol plant (04/21/08)
Better together. That's what Dave Hoffman of Merrill says about the $30 million corn oil plant he and others are planning to build next to the Plymouth Energy ethanol plant near Merrill. The corn oil plant will produce up to 60 tons every day of the oil used for human food and cooking. Employing 25 people, the plant is slated to be in operation by the spring of 2009...

Pearson predicts bright future for agriculture (03/20/08)
Things are changing in agriculture and the long-term outlook is good, according to the host of a nationally syndicated farm program. Mark Pearson is host of "Market to Market," which is broadcast on public television stations across the United States. He brought his message about what's ahead in agriculture to Le Mars on Tuesday for the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce's annual Agri-Business luncheon...