Child labor groups upset farm rules being dropped WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Child labor groups say they are stunned and disappointed the Obama administration is backing off a plan to keep children from doing the most dangerous farm jobs. Reid Maki, coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition, said the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) sudden decision late Thursday to withdraw the proposed rules means more children will die in farm accidents that could have been prevented.
“There was tremendous heat and I don’t think it helped that it was an election year,” he said. “A lot of conservatives made a lot of political hay out of this issue.”
Under pressure from farm groups and lawmakers from rural states, the DOL said it is withdrawing proposed rules that would ban children younger than 16 from using most power-driven farm equipment, including tractors. The rules also would prevent those younger than 18 from working in feed lots, grain silos and stockyards.
The plan specifically excluded children who work on their parents’ farms. But the proposal still became a popular political target for Republicans who called it an impractical, heavy-handed regulation that ignored the reality of small farms.
“It’s good the Labor Department rethought the ridiculous regulations it was going to stick on farmers and their families,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “To even propose such regulations defies common sense, and shows a real lack of understanding as to how the family farm works.”
The DOL said Thursday it was responding to thousands of comments that expressed concern about the impact of the changes on small family-owned farms. The agency said it would work with rural stakeholders, including the Farm Bureau, the National Farmers Union and 4-H to develop an educational program to reduce accidents to young workers.
CME Group sells CBOT buildings for $151.5 million
CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) — CME Group, Inc., which operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and other markets, said last week it had sold two of three buildings that comprise the Chicago Board of Trade complex for $151.5 million.
The buyer is a joint venture between GlenStar Properties LLC and USAA Real Estate Co. The group will buy the 1.3 million square-foot north and south towers of the CBOT building complex. CME will lease back 150,000 square feet of space for 15 years. It will continue to own the 288,000 square-foot east building. CME shares fell $1.15 to close at $271.90 in the regular session April 23 before the sale was announced.
Gas line explodes in eastern Iowa; second in one week
HINTON, Iowa (AP) — No injuries were reported in a natural gas line explosion in a farm field in Jackson County in eastern Iowa. The blast happened late Friday afternoon about 12 miles north of Maquoketa. The sheriff’s office said there were no reports of injuries. No other details were immediately released.
The Quad City-Times in Davenport said a witness reported flames were shooting about 100 feet in the air. This is the second gas line explosion in Iowa this week.
On April 25, two men were injured in an explosion when their trenching equipment struck a Northern Natural Gas pipeline near Hinton. The Iowa attorney general’s office is investigating whether workers followed a state law requiring utility companies to be notified before digging begins.
Iowa woman dies in ATV overturn accident ALLAMAKEE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities said a northeastern Iowa woman died in an ATV accident while she was checking on cattle in a pasture near her home near Monona.
The Allamakee County sheriff’s office said 50-year-old Sandra Ehrhardt died on April 22 when the ATV overturned on a slope, pinning her. Ehrhardt died at a hospital in Waukon. Iowa man pinned between truck and sprayer
AKRON, Iowa (AP) — A 39-year-old northwestern Iowa man was hospitalized after being pinned between two pieces of equipment in a farm field.
Authorities said Chad Gosch was taken with non-life-threatening injuries to a Sioux City hospital on April 23. Plymouth County sheriff’s deputies said Gosch was pinned between a tanker truck and a sprayer unit in a field near Akron.
EPA accepting Great Lakes grant applications
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it will award $20 million in grants this year for projects to help the Great Lakes.
EPA officials recently invited states, cities, American Indian tribes, universities and nonprofit groups to apply for the grants, which will come from money Congress appropriated under the Obama administration’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The projects will focus on issues such as invasive species, toxic pollution and runoff from farms and cities.
Applications are due by May 24. EPA’s regional office in Chicago will conduct several webinars next month to explain the application process. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a multi-year effort to make progress on some of the freshwater seas’ biggest and most longstanding ecological problems. |
