Colwich News

Alderman, Nicholas L., Kansas City, Mo., and Willis, Emily M., Manhattan. Allen, Brent R., and Button, Haley L., both of Wichita.

“It is exciting, it's joy-filled, but it also, that child, represents a lot of work and sacrifice, service, expense.”

The Catholic Diocese of Wichita today announced the establishment of its first new parish in 10 years, St. via Kansas.com

“During recent quarterly employee luncheons, I have addressed the volatile market conditions that have persisted, such as commodity market concerns and the projects slowdown.”

ICM Inc., the nation's leading designer of ethanol plants, has laid off 105 employees. via Kansas.com

The ICM ethanol plant in Colwich is laying off 105 workers, the company announced Wednesday. via KSNW-TV

What do you think mega-mergers such as the Delta-Northwest Airlines deal will do to air fares? 1. They'll go way up. via WIBW-TV Topeka

The nation's leading designer of ethanol plants has laid off 105 workers. ICM Inc. via Topeka Capital-Journal

“It's a chance for women to come out and find out they can make a difference in ending poverty housing. They can pick up a power tool and learn how to run it.”

Wichita Habitat for Humanity volunteers have begun construction on the group's first two houses of the year -- a year in which the nonprofit expects to build its 100th home. via Kansas.com

“I don't think we have enough eggs at the market. They always sell out quickly”

It's spring on the Spexarth farm near Colwich, and the hens are a-laying

I loved it when Carolyn Spexarth told me this week that in the wintertime chickens depend on sunlight to lay eggs. It's one more piece in the puzzle of nature that fits. And visiting the Spexarth farm outside Colwich, aflutter with chickens and roosters, bunnies and puppies the first week of spring, just before Easter, fit too.

The grass was greening up, the children were running around in short sleeves, the baby animals were playing, the sun was shining -- and yes, the hens were laying. It had been a long winter without the dark orange that yolks display when chickens can feed on grass. Read more

Fuel pump supplier Gilbarco has introduced the industry's first alternative fuel blending dispensers . via Domestic Fuel

“Coskata's thermal biomass conversion process offers promising technology”

Colwich-based ICM has entered a strategic alliance with Coskata, a developer of next-generation ethanol, to design and construct a commercial ethanol plant using Coskata's biological fermentation technology. via Kansas.com

“Cleantech.com has the best written, most informative articles on cleantech. I've upgraded my subscription and have been telling others about it. Keep up the great work!”

The facility, using Coskata's biological fermentation technology, is expected to open in late 2010. via Inside Greentech

Colwich, KS- ICM, Inc . is thrilled to announce it was among four small-scale biorefinery projects selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to lead biomass-to-ethanol research efforts by utilizing numerous ... via Milling Journal

“The next generation of renewable fuel production will involve cellulosic sources, so I applaud ICM, Inc. for positioning itself to be a leader in this arena and in the Midwest, where sources of cellulose are readily available”

Sebelius praises Kansas company for landing federal grant for biofuels research project Pratt, KS - infoZine - Kansas continues to lead the nation's evolution from grain-based ethanol production to ethanol ... via Kansas City InfoZine

“I am very pleased that ICM, a Kansas-based company, has received this important Department of Energy grant”

' U.S. Senator Sam Brownback applauded the Department of Energy's decision to award a grant to ICM Inc., headquartered in Colwich, Kansas, to fund a small-scale biorefinery project. via WIBW-TV Topeka

ICM Inc., the Colwich-based designer of ethanol plants, is the developer of one of four projects chosen to receive about $114 million in federal funds to help pay for the research and development of cellulosic ethanol technology, according to an announcement today by Samuel Bodman, U.S. Secretary of Energy.

ICM's share of the money will be used to develop a small-scale cellulosic plant in St. Joseph, Mo.

Other projects receiving a share of the funds are Stora Enso, recently acquired by NewPage, for a facility in Wisconsin; Pacific Ethanol for a facility in Oregon, and Lignol Innovations for a facility in Colorado. Read more

Dan Peters, superintendent of the Renwick school district, says the district is expanding its schools to accommodate all-day kindergarten. via Construction News

Colwich-based Legacy Bank has licensed a LendingTools.com product that allows the $178 million bank to offer remote deposit. via Kansas.com

“Kansas is somewhat unique in that we have a variety of plant breeding research”

Key members of the Agribusiness Alliance began discussions Tuesday on ways to build on the momentum created by the BioNxt Conference last month, with a goal of establishing Wichita and south-central Kansas as a ... via The Wichita Eagle

“The lower prices also make it uneconomical to import ethanol”

After months of rock-bottom prices, ethanol is making a rebound.

Prices are up 35 cents a gallon since mid-November on one of the nation's largest bulk markets in Chicago, bringing the biofuel to within 10 cents of the wholesale price of unleaded gasoline.

'It's a little bit of a surprise to see how much the market has rebounded,' said Dave VanderGriend, president of ICM at Colwich, one of the nation's largest designers and builders of ethanol plants.

'There's still an oversupply to work through, but certainly this price rebound is helping stabilize the industry.' Read more

Thousands spent nearly four hours this morning without electricity. Weststar says a transmission problem was to blame for putting 15-thousand in the dark. via KSNW-TV