United States Congressman Dave Loebsack, serving Iowa's second congressional district, spent an hour in Sully on Monday afternoon, Aug. 1. The Iowa Propane Gas Association (IPGA) is hosting four of these town hall sessions with Iowa representatives rather than going to Washington, D.C., and hoping to catch the government officials. Deb Grooms, executive director of IPGA based in Des Moines, organized the meeting in cooperation with Key Cooperative. Besides Key Cooperative employees showing and explaining its propane autogas product, Zebulon of Des Moines was represented by Terress Farnham, the company's business operations manager. Zebulon sells propane conversion kits, and Farnham showed the vehicle she drove to the meeting, a Ford F150 pickup with a propane conversion kit.
Jim Magnuson, Key Cooperative general manager, gave opening remarks about propane autogas as an alternative fuel and introduced Loebsack to about 20 people gathered at Sully Community Center.
Grooms asked for Loebsack's support of a long term extension (five years) of the Alternative Fuels Credit and Refueling Infrastructure Credit, both expiring at the end of 2016. She also asked for his support of changes to EPA's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) policies to create a level playing field on federal emissions regulations. "A level playing field is so important to the continued development of all alternative fueled vehicles," Grooms said. Grooms also asked Loebsack to oppose excessive entry-level driver training rules.
Ken Van Soelen, director of transportation at Lynnville-Sully School, explained and demonstrated fueling school buses with propane autogas.
