The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has agreed with the state of Iowa to reduce the area around Muscatine to be designated as in "non-attainment" for sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and subject to increased efforts to lower the SO2 pollution levels.

The EPA last February designated all of Muscatine County as in non-attainment for SO2, but the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in April submitted additional air modeling to support its recommendation the non-attainment area be reduced to include only the city of Muscatine and the immediate surrounding area.

For the past six years, the Bettendorf Home Depot has received a $151,000 property tax rebate check from the city thanks to a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) deal that enticed the company to build a store as part of the Duck Creek Plaza redevelopment along Middle Road.

However, the significant tax break – totaling $5.37 million over the 11-year TIF period ending in 2016 – hasn't deterred the hardware store chain from pursuing nearly yearly appeals to state and local tax officials as it seeks to reduce the assessed value of the property, and, consequently the property taxes paid each year to Scott County, the city and the Bettendorf School District.

Two years ago, the company was successful in lowering its taxable value from $6.76 million to $6.167 million, a 9 percent decrease. Store attorneys had asked for a reduction to $6 million, or more than an 11 percent cut, according to Scott County officials. However, in the ensuing negotiations, the county and Home Depot agreed to the $6.167 million assessment.

Shares of Lee Enterprises, Inc. – owner of the Quad City Times – climbed to a 52-week high Tuesday (7/23) after reporting positive earnings for the third quarter ended June 30.

The company announced earnings of $1.97 million, 3 cents a share, for the quarter, compared with a loss of 3 cents per share for the same period a year ago.

Lee stock has risen nearly $2 a share since April, about the same time that investor Warren Buffett disclosed his conglomerate – Berkshire Hathaway – had accumulated 1.6 million shares in the Davenport-based company. Buffett purchased the Omaha World-Herald last year and now owns 68 daily newspapers under his BH Media subsidiary. Just last week, Buffett's media group announced plans to acquire the Press of Atlantic City, N.J.

With the Davenport Wastewater Treatment Plant unable to handle the inflows, the city of Bettendorf has been forced to pump more than 200 million gallons of diluted untreated sewage into the Mississippi River so far this year.

Five times this spring and summer the wastewater treatment plant has been unable to handle the sewer flows and crews have partially closed the riverfront interceptor lines between Bettendorf and Davenport. Then, to prevent sewage from backing up into homes and businesses along the riverfront, Bettendorf runs six to nine large pumps to flush the wastewater into stormwater pipes, which discharge into the Mississippi River.

A total of 201 million gallons of "sanitary sewer overflows" has been dumped into the river so far this year, according to reports filed with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). Between April 17 and April 27, 98 million gallons of sewage was pumped into the river, and another 68 million gallons of sewage was dumped between May 26 and June 3. Between May 3 and May 5, 16 million gallons of sewage was pumped into the river, 9.4 million gallons was flushed into the river from April 10 through April 12, and 8.8 million gallons went into the river on March 10.

All the pumping – "sewage overflow events" as they are termed by the IDNR – must be reported by the city to the state.

Revenues at Iowa gambling parlors – race tracks and riverboat casinos – declined 1.5 percent during fiscal 2013 to $1.44 billion, reflecting a nearly 6 percent drop in admissions at the state's 15 riverboats and flat admissions at the four state-licensed race tracks.

The decline in admissions and adjusted gross revenues at Iowa gambling parlors is sure to add to the debate over whether the state should issue additional gambling licenses. A Cedar Rapids group, after getting voter approval for gambling in Linn County, is expected to submit a request for a license in the coming months.

The race tracks and riverboat casinos posted record revenues of $1.466 billion in fiscal 2012, but the strong showing didn't carryover during the past 12 months despite improved economic conditions in the region.

UPDATE 6/27: Developers of the new hotel and two commercial businesses are seeking Tax Increment Financing (TIF) rebates totaling $1.675 million over a 10-year period. Taxes on the property are now $82,530 per year and the new hotel and commercial businesses are expected to have "incremental" taxes of $148,720 a year. The property has a current assessed value of $2.35 million. The proposed development is projected to increase the assessed value to $9.25 million.

A North Liberty, Iowa hotel group and a local developer are seeking property tax rebates from the city, school district and county to redevelop the HomeRidge Inn & Suites property along Middle Road, Bettendorf, into a new Hilton Garden Inn and two additional commercial businesses.

Kinseth Hospitality Companies and First Equity Management L.C. have been negotiating with the city over Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for the project. Bettendorf School District and Scott County officials have been invited to a meeting with the city Friday, June 28 where the TIF request will be discussed.

Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. told shareholders today (6/19) it has signed an option agreement to sell its Davenport Rhythm City Casino for $51 million, subject to the new owner – Kehl Development-Scott County, LLC – obtaining "applicable gaming licenses and approvals and other customary closing conditions."

The Isle – owner of four Iowa casinos including the Bettendorf Isle of Capri Casino – reported in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Kehl Development Corporation has until September 15 to exercise the option to buy the riverboat casino. The exercise period can be extended until October 15, or can be extended or terminated early by mutual agreement "upon occurrence of certain other circumstances."

For the first time, Pleasant Valley School District property owners will be paying a higher tax rate in the coming fiscal year than their Bettendorf school district counterparts.

The tax rate for Pleasant Valley homeowners will be $14.74 per $1,000 assessed valuation for fiscal 2013-14, up from $14.64 last year. Meanwhile, the Bettendorf School Board lowered the district's tax rate to $14.55 per $1,000 assessed valuation for the coming fiscal year, down from $15 last year.

The Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. – owner of four gambling casinos in Iowa – reported Thursday (6/6) it lost $47.6 million during the fiscal year ended April 28 as company executives blamed the poor results on bad economic conditions, higher payroll tax rates and delays in gamblers getting income tax refunds.

On a per share basis, the fiscal 2013 loss amounted to $1.21 per share, which was an improvement over fiscal 2012 when the company lost $3.35 per share after writing down the value of two casinos it sold during that period.

Residents of Fremont County, Iowa, are pretty accepting of having a nuclear power plant in their backyard, so to speak. The folks in Woodbury County (Sioux City) not so much.

Those findings – buried between the transmission line and railroad access analysis of potential MidAmerican Energy nuclear power plant sites – are the result of a $44,000 public perception study sizing up how "accepting" residents of the six "finalist" communities would be to having a nuke plant built near them.

The survey conducted in November 2010 by Des Moines public relations firm Flynn Wright found the folks in Woodbury County would not be happy about the prospects of a nuclear plant nearby. And, on the opposite end of the spectrum, residents in the two "finalist" sites – Muscatine and Fremont counties – were found to be much more "accepting" of a nuclear plant being built nearby.

The survey details were among more than two dozen documents filed by the utility Tuesday (6/4) with the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) when MidAmerican decided to pull the plug on its three-year, $15-million study. The state legislature gave MidAmerican permission to charge customers $15 million over three years to fund the feasibility study.