THE INDEPENDENT DAILY NEWSPAPER FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COMMUNITY SINCE 1868 WedneSday, February 20, 2013 NEWSPAPER •DAILYIOWAN.COM • TELEVISION 50¢ Beef prices on the rise Rastetter sparks debate Regent Pro Tem Bruce Rastetter draws fire from one legislator following an exchange regarding a UI professor’s biofuel research. By stacey Murray [email protected] An Iowa legislator criticized the state Board of Regents President Pro Tem Bruce Rastetter after he reached out to University of Iowa President Sally Mason regarding a UI professor’s research. “The Board of Regents is supposed to be a buf- fer against political in- terference in academic rastetter freedom, not the vehicle regent for it,” said Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames. “What is even more important, he seems to be using his po- Jack Carlson works on a shoulder cut of beef at the Bread Garden Market on Tuesday. It is estimated that beef prices will rise by as much as 10 percent this sition on the Board of Regents to work summer. (The Daily Iowan/Nicholas Fanelli) through the power structure. If I could imagine myself in the situation, and the president of the university and a mem- There were 89.3 million cattle and calves nationwide in January, the lowest number since 1952. ber of the Board of Regents wants to put pressure on my research — that’s a lot of By BriaNNa Jett This January, there were 89.3 mil- However, beef consumers are unlike- pressure and that’s inappropriate.” [email protected] lion cattle and calves in the United ly to see this decrease anytime soon, Rastetter wrote in an email on Jan. 30 States, a 1.6 percent decrease from if at all. to Mason, “The industry would appreci- The effects of last year’s drought January 2012. “It takes awhile for those price ate being able to provide factual informa- continue to have an effect — including This is the lowest number since changes to work their way to the mar- tion so this professor isn’t uninformed; is on the price of beef. 1952. ketplace,” Grooms said. “If Congress there a way to accomplish that, thanks Prices for beef have continued to rise Even as consumers continue to see suddenly decides to settle all of its is- Bruce.” well into winter. the price of beef skyrocket, officials say sues, the customers probably won’t see His message to Mason came after “It’s a combination of the drought the future is uncertain. [the price decrease].” Monte Shaw, the executive director of affecting pastures for cows and the “There’s a lot of nervousness in the Even as uncertainty in Congress the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, drought affecting high prices for corn,” market,” said Dal Grooms, the director ripples into an uncertain market, the approached the regent and claimed UI said Nancy Degner, the executive di- of communications at the Iowa Cattle- beef industry is attempting to keep the Professor Jerry Schnoor was “an embar- rector of the Iowa Beef Industry Coun- men’s Association. prices down. rassment to the regent university.” cil. “Retail prices for beef are up 24 The uncertainty comes from discus- “Cattle producers are doing what These accusations followed published percent since 2007.” sion in Congress about sequestration, they can to keep prices down,” Grooms scientific works by Schnoor claiming Not only is it more expensive to feed which would lead to automatic spend- said. “They’re operating efficiently.” biofuel production negatively affects the cattle, there are also fewer cattle to fill ing cuts. These cuts would radiate out Some of the techniques producers state, because it draws too much water demand. and possibly cause a furlough of U.S. are using include feeding their ani- from aquifers — a serious environmental “Cattle numbers are at somewhat Department of Agriculture inspectors. mals byproducts. issue. record lows,” said Lee Schulz, an assis- “Prices have been decreasing be- “In reality, we’re producing more Schnoor, a professor of civil and envi- tant professor at Iowa State University cause of the uncertainty in the mar- and an extension livestock economist. ket,” Grooms said. sEE Beef, 7 sEE rastetter, 7 council defers action City Council passes new venue rule on waste containers After the Iowa City City Council seemed Entertainment venues will now split on the issue of waste-container loca- tion, the council decided to defer action on be open to 19- and 20-year- the matter until a future meeting. olds after midnight. The ordinance would have required that waste containers on residential properties be stored behind the building line of resi- By Nick Hassett dential structures or screened from public [email protected] view. Iowa City City Councilor Michelle Payne It’s official: 19- and 20-year-olds in Iowa thought the ordinance was punishing home- City will now be able to see shows after owners who didn’t have any trash issues. midnight without fears of being ticketed “I’m at a loss as to why we would do this by police. and make all people suffer for the sins of a The Iowa City City Council unanimous- few,” she said. “Everybody in town doesn’t ly approved the final reading of the ordi- have a problem with their trash can.” nance, passing and adopting it into law. Payne also expressed doubts about the In approving the measure, councilors effectiveness of the ordinance. expressed their support for local venues “If someone is being a slob, and they and stressed that this measure didn’t move the [waste container] 3 feet to the mean the council wasn’t concerned about side of the house, does that really fix the alcohol issues. problem?” she said. “A lot of members of the community are The ordinance was developed after concerned and think we’re deconstructing the North Side Neighborhood Association the 21-ordinance,” Councilor Rick Dobyns Patrons enter the Blue Moose on Jan. 26. The Iowa City City Council voted to allow 19- and 20-year-olds to brought concerns about the issue to city said. “But providing nonalcoholic oppor- be in entertainment venues after midnight. (The Daily Iowan/Juan Carlos Herrera) staff. tunities for students isn’t just rewarding Other councilors had concerns about the the good guys, we’re still trying to punish general manager of Gabe’s and the Yacht unfair to the music scene, and I think the process a property owner would undergo if the bad guys who don’t quite keep up with Club, referring to the previous ordinance. council knew that.” there was a complaint, the cost of screening alcohol enforcement. Nobody likes police “But we are offering more than just a However, McCarthy thought the measures, and whether other neighborhoods in their bars.” place to drink — we’re offering entertain- changes wouldn’t have an immediate ef- should be contacted on the issue. Local entertainment venues have ment.” fect. Ultimately, the council voted to defer worked with the city to develop the ordi- McCarthy said the previous ordinance “It took awhile for people to stop going action on the ordinance by a 7-0 vote. nance, and one general manager of two made underage venue-goers more reluc- to shows [after the previous ordinance “I don’t see a great reason to move venues thinks the changes are good for tant to go see shows. was passed],” he said. “I don’t know if forward with a split vote,” Iowa City Mayor the city. “Sometimes the headlining band won’t we’ll see automatic turnaround, but I Matt Hayek said. “This clearly doesn’t seem “It definitely hurt everyone’s business, go on stage until 11:30, and kids are like something we should be divided on.” bars and venues,” said Pete McCarthy, the afraid of getting tickets,” he said. “It was sEE veNues, 7 - By Nick Hassett WEATHER dAily iowan Tv insidE To watch daily iowan Tv: Classifieds HIGH LOW 9 • scan this code Crossword 6 23 14 • Go to dailyiowan.com Opinions • Watch UiTv sunday-Thursday 4 Mostly sunny, windy. night at 9:30 Sports 10 2 | The Daily Iowan • Iowa City, Iowa • Wednesday, February 20, 2013 News dailyiowan.com for more news The Daily Iowan Walk-in mammograms popular Volume 144 Issue 141 BreakiNg News staFF Phone: (319) 335-6063 Publisher at Iowa River Landing Clinic email: [email protected] William Casey 335-5788 Fax: 335-6297 editor-in-Chief Emily Busse 335-6030 CorreCtioNs Managing editor Call: 335-6030 Sam Lane 335-5855 Policy: The Daily Iowan strives for Metro editors accuracy and fairness in the reporting Kristen East 335-6063 of news. 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