Boone County landowner wins $250,000 in pipeline lawsuit
“A central Iowa landowner who claims she wasn’t paid enough by oil pipeline builder Dakota Access to compensate for the value of her farmland has won a $250,000 jury verdict. Judith Lamb, who owns…
Beyond Standing Rock: As Pipelines Proliferate Across the U.S., So Do Protests
“Hundreds of miles from the North Dakota pipeline protests that garnered headlines this fall, a woman in Iowa stood in her soy bean field, trying to block industrial mowers about to cut down her crops….
No, Eminent Domain Is Not an ‘Obscure Legal Issue’
“Eminent domain is not an obscure issue unless you’ve never had to pay any attention to municipal government, where it comes up frequently. What is unusual, though, is that it is indeed an issue being…
Proposed bill to restrict authority of IUB
“A recent bill referred to the Government Oversight Committee in the Iowa Legislature would limit the authority of the Iowa Utilities Board in granting franchise for the construction of transmission lines in Iowa. According to…
Farmers on both sides of eminent domain debate
“A number of pipeline and power line projects have been proposed in Midwest states in recent months, and there are farmers lined up on both sides of the issue. The projects themselves are in various…
The tiff over TIF: Is it a bad bargain for taxpayers?
“Tax-Increment Financing (TIF) districts have been around for more than 50 years in the United States. However, only recently have citizens and politicians started to question their effectiveness locally. Local governments develop TIF districts by…
City schooled in Tax Increment Financing
“ax Increment Financing has long been recognized as a tool for economic development. Monday night, the Ottumwa City Council received a lesson on Tax Increment Financing, also referred to as TIF, from Alan Kemp, the…
Iowa Supreme Court agrees to hear CCRC appeal
“The Iowa Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal filed by local Clarke County landowners against Clarke County Reservoir Commission (CCRC). The appeal is about if CCRC has the right to the power of…
Wastewater project scrapped after Watchdog reader balks
“Ginger Harry of Knoxville was so happy about the news she received Friday that she dashed home to start baking Christmas cookies. The news: The Central Iowa Water Association had lost its authority to take…
RICL files for separate eminent domain hearing in iowa
“It comes as no surprise that within a few weeks of making application to construct a high-voltage transmission line across Iowa, Rock Island Clean Line (RICL) initiated the process of seeking eminent domain authority. They…