Support Bold action to stop Trump, Keystone XL and Dakota Access

December 21, 2016 by Mark Hefflinger
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While many of us are looking forward to putting 2016 behind us, we here at Bold are reflecting on what was an amazing year of growth for us — and gearing up for big battles to come in 2017. In 2016, the Bold Alliance launched nationwide, expanding on Bold Nebraska’s successful organizing model of unlikely alliances protecting the land and water. We grew our team from three to eight Bold staff members in Nebraska, Iowa, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Bold worked with union and progressive partners Continue reading →

Dec. 15 Court Hearing to Highlight Eminent Domain Issue for Dakota Access

December 14, 2016 by Ed Fallon
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The battle against the Dakota Access pipeline has morphed into a conflict bigger than anyone ever imagined. Sure, it’s a critical element of the growing movement to push back against climate change. But it also has become a pivotal issue on two related fronts: (1) The rights of Native communities, and (2) The rights of farmers and other property owners subject to the eminent domain. Thursday, December 15 marks a significant event in the struggle to protect Iowa landowner rights. It’s important for those of Continue reading →

Week with Water Protectors at Standing Rock

December 8, 2016 by Ed Fallon
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Dear Friends, For me, the week that Lyssa Wade and I spent at Standing Rock was a life-changing experience. If you missed any of my daily blog posts, you can read them here: Day 1: Our Arrival Day 2: Surviving the Blizzard Day 3: Building Standing Rock Day 4: Dakota Access’ Smiling Faces Day 5: Building Solar Barns Day 6: Water is Life (Lyssa wrote a daily blog as well, and you can read those here.) The other life-changing experience for me during this pipeline Continue reading →

Sign the Petition: Stop Eminent Domain Abuse

December 5, 2016 by Mark Hefflinger
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Many Iowa farmers and landowners in the path of the Dakota Access “Bakken” Pipeline have been forced to surrender their land against their will for the pipeline, because of the abuse of “eminent domain” law by the state of Iowa. The law of eminent domain was originally intended to enable the construction of large projects that promote the “public good” — think interstate highways, railroads, and schools. But now eminent domain is being abused for corporate greed by Big Oil in Iowa and across the Continue reading →

Dec. 10: DAPL + Eminent Domain Community Meetings in Newton, Storm Lake & Grinnell

December 3, 2016 by Mark Hefflinger
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Bold Iowa to Host Community Meetings on Dakota Access Pipeline in Advance of Dec. 15 Landowners’ Hearing on Eminent Domain  Dec. 10 meetings in Grinnell, Newton and Storm Lake will update supporters on Iowa farmers fighting eminent domain seizure of their land for private profit pipeline Des Moines — Bold Iowa will host a series of community meetings on Dec. 10 to provide an update on the Iowa farmers and landowners still engaged in a legal fight challenging the granting of eminent domain authority to Continue reading →

Week at Standing Rock Day 6: Water Is Life

December 2, 2016 by Ed Fallon
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Friday, December 2, 2016. Every morning, my wake-up call comes not from the alarm on my phone but from the voices of water protectors 200 yards away, across the Cannonball River chanting, “Mni Wiconi! Water is Life!” The words drift across the frozen river, where over 100 people gather at sunrise each day for a water ceremony. Campers on our side of the river stand in silent reverence, watching the ceremony, participating in their own quiet way. This prayerful start to the day is a Continue reading →

Week at Standing Rock Day 5: Building Tiny Solar Barns

December 1, 2016 by Ed Fallon
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Thursday, December 1, 2016. We spend an hour today visiting with Manape LaMere, one of the seven tribal leaders at Oceti Sakowin. We discuss what is likely to happen when the veterans arrive on Sunday, and I give him an update on the pipeline fight in Iowa. I share the sad news that Dakota Access today dragged pipe under the Des Moines River. There is also the positive news that pipeline fighters in Iowa continue to push back on every possible front. Manape is a Continue reading →

Week at Standing Rock Day 4: Dakota Access’ Smiling Faces

November 30, 2016 by Ed Fallon
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Wednesday, November 30, 2016. With the unexpected availability of a hotel room last night, Lyssa and I catch a much-needed break — both from the blizzard and from each other. Lyssa and I are good friends, and fellow travelers when it comes to our shared passion for sustainable food, clean water and climate justice. But sure, after living and working together 24-7 for four days straight, some space is needed. I plug away on my computer, working late and catching up on a chunk of Continue reading →

Week at Standing Rock Day 3: Building Standing Rock

November 29, 2016 by Ed Fallon
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Tuesday, November 29, 2016. On any given day, an estimated 10,000 people live at the Oceti Sakowin camps at Standing Rock. To put the enormity of this community into perspective, if this were a city in Iowa, Oceti Sakowin would rank 39th out of 950 — bigger than Fairfield, Grinnell or Mount Pleasant. The fact that so many passionate people have come together so quickly under such adverse conditions is almost hard to imagine. Even more impressive is that the infrastructure essential to a functioning Continue reading →

Week at Standing Rock Day 2: Surviving the Blizzard

November 28, 2016 by Ed Fallon
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Monday, November 28, 2016. I have a knack for timing: our first night in a tent at Standing Rock coincides with the first snowstorm of the season. It’s a soft, wet, gentle snow. Yet it clings to the walls of our tent, threatening to collapse the fragile structure. Repeatedly during the night, we pound on the tent walls to free them of snow. There’s little wind, so the sounds of camp nightlife are audible and drift towards us from all directions. The sounds are abundant Continue reading →