The Iowa Corn Growers just held a press conference here at the Iowa Speedway to unveil the trophy for Sunday’s Iowa Corn Indy 250. It’s a tall good looking trophy. The group show here consists of several board members and CEO, Craig Floss, speaking on the left. Craig made a short statement which you can listen to here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/epic/iowa-corn-07-icga-press-conf.mp3] Here’s …
Pioneer Sponsoring #17 Indy Car
One of the people attending the ethanol pump promotion in West Des Moines was Pioneer Hi-Bred Marketing Director for Quality Traits, Russ Sanders. I interviewed Russ as things were heating up (quite literally) at this Kum & Go facility. Here’s Russ posing next to the #17 Indy Ethanol car which Pioneer is a sponsor of this year. Russ says that …
E85 Summer Promotion
Here’s a good story from the Kum & Go pump promotion about their E85 start of summer promotional price. It’s hard to beat $1.85 gas if you’ve got a flex fuel vehicle in Iowa. If you buy gas at a Kum & Go right now you can take your receipt, go online and enter to win a number of great …
Talking With Jeff Simmons
At today’s Kum & Go pump promotion I got a chance to interview IndyCar driver Jeff Simmons once again. Jeff was on hand to pump ethanol enriched gas for customers during this midday promotion. Jeff says this would be a great weekend for his first win and I and thousands of corn growers couldn’t agree more. You can listen to …
Volunteering To Promote Ethanol
Here’s the fine looking group of volunteers who worked on a hot day to pump and promote ethanol to consumers out here at the West Des Moines Kum & Go. They’re employees of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, Ethanol Promotion and Information Council and Pioneer Hi-Bred. I’ve got a number of interviews with representatives of these groups which I’ll post …
Iowa Ethanol Promotions in Progress
Since Cindy mentioned that Kum & Go is selling E85 around Iowa for $1.85 today I just happened to be at a pump promotion in West Des Moines in advance of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 where they’re doing just that. In fact, this is an EPIC sponsored promotion out here today that also involves selling regular gas with a …
Iowa Summer of E85
As summer officially begins, events in Iowa to promote and expand the use of E85 are shifting into high gear. The American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest reports that Iowa Governor Chet Culver and Lt. Governor Patty Judge will address a workshop at Wallace Auditorium in Des Moines for 100 managers and directors of state-owned vehicle fleets on Thursday, …
Ethanol Weathers Tariff Repeal Attempt
An attempt to end the 54-cent-a-gallon tariff on foreign ethanol has been turned away in the U.S. Senate. This story in the Des Moines Register says that Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire had made the argument that it was costing motorists on the East Coast: “I would rather buy ethanol from Brazil than oil from Venezuela. It just makes …
Ethanol Education Bill Pending
A bill pending in Congress would provide grants to community colleges to implement renewable energy education and training programs. This press release from the Renewable Fuels Association says the New Era Act, introduced by Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley, is before a congressional committee and would promote an educated and skilled workforce to meet the demands of an expanding renewable fuels …
Pioneer Revs Up for Iowa Indy
Team Ethanol partner Pioneer Hi-Bred International sponsored an appearance of ‘Discover Ethanol,’ complete with the Team Ethanol IndyCar simulator, at the Downtown Farmers’ Market in Des Moines this past weekend to promote the upcoming Iowa Corn Indy 250, the inaugural IndyCar Series race in Iowa. Iowa-based Pioneer, a subsidiary of DuPont, teamed up with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council …