RELEASE: Pipeline “Sabotage” Bill Called Legislative Extremism

January 26, 2018 by Ed Fallon
348 comments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, January 26, 2018 — 2:00 p.m. CT, Contact Ed Fallon at (515) 238-6404 or [email protected] Pipeline “Sabotage” Bill Called Legislative Extremism Proposed bill could render peaceful protest against oil pipeline impossible Bold Iowa today strongly criticized legislation that passed unanimously out of a Senate subcommittee on Thursday. The legislation — Senate Study Bill 3062 — defines “critical infrastructure sabotage” as an “unauthorized act that is intended to or does in fact cause a substantial interruption or impairment of service rendered to the public related to Continue reading →

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

January 22, 2018 by Ed Fallon
322 comments
Dear Friends, This weekend, an estimated five million people turned out for 673 Women’s March events across the U.S. and around the globe. I attended the Des Moines rally where an estimated 6,000 people showed up at the Iowa State Capitol. The organizing team — including former congressional candidate Kim Weaver, West Des Moines City Councilwoman Renee Hardman (at right) — did an incredible job in a short span of time. I was encouraged to see the voices of Indigenous women featured prominently in rallies Continue reading →

A New Year, A New Bold

January 11, 2018 by Ed Fallon
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Dear Friends, Things may appear the same on the surface, but Bold Iowa is a markedly different organization than it was last year. Regrettably, the story is filled with broken promises. Bold Iowa’s supporters deserve to know what happened. So here goes. In 2014, Bold Nebraska’s Jane Kleeb and I worked together when the Great March for Climate Action crossed Nebraska. In 2015, Jane joined me for a portion of the Pipeline Walk across Iowa. She approached me about expanding Bold here, and in March Continue reading →

Vote Next Tuesday!

November 2, 2017 by Ed Fallon
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Dear Friends, Kirsten Anderson is my guest on Monday’s Fallon Forum at 11:30 a.m. Kirsten’s the former Iowa Senate Republican caucus staffer who received a $1.75 million settlement in the high-profile lawsuit that exposed the “boys’ club” environment beneath the golden dome, where rampant sexual harassment was ignored by Republican supervisors and lawmakers alike. Watch or listen to our conversation on Facebook, online, or at 1260 AM and 96.5 FM in the Des Moines metro. And on November 7, wherever you live, please vote! Local elections don’t get nearly the amount of coverage as, say, an unhinged Continue reading →

Wanted: Bold Iowans

October 19, 2017 by Ed Fallon
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Dear Friends, I’m writing with an urgent appeal. Since March of 2016, Bold Iowa has been a key leader on climate change and eminent domain. In fact, our work is recognized not just in Iowa but across the country. Yet for Bold Iowa to continue, we need your help NOW! We’ve built a powerful rural-urban network of environmentalists, farmers, Indigenous communities, landowners, and property-rights advocates. But our funding is perilously tight, and we truly need your support NOW! If even 10% of those receiving this message contribute $25, that would Continue reading →

Sinking the Santa Maria

October 11, 2017 by Ed Fallon
32 comments
Dear Friends, [Please come to the trial for Emma Schmit and Mahmud Fitil, pipeline fighters arrested last fall for blocking construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline during Bold Iowa‘s Farmers Defense Camp. For more detail, check out this excellent video by Rodger Routh. We’ve been asked not to wear pipeline shirts in the courtroom.] I’ve never understood why Christopher Columbus was given a holiday. [Listen to Donnielle Wanatee on this week’s Forum.] I get why we celebrate the impressive lives of men (yeah, they’re all men, but Continue reading →

Illinois Supreme Court gets it right on eminent domain

September 29, 2017 by Ed Fallon
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Dear Friends, As the battle against the Dakota Access pipeline moves from countryside to courtroom, from protest to litigation, pipeline opponents in Iowa have yet another reason to be optimistic. Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled against Rock Island Clean Line (RICL) — the Texas company proposing a 500-mile wind transmission line across Iowa and Illinois. The Court ruled unanimously that RICL is not a public utility and does not have the right to use eminent domain. Click here to read the entire ruling. Continue reading →

Fleeing Irma

September 15, 2017 by Ed Fallon
80 comments
Dear Friends, Sometimes I just wanna scream. (OK, sometimes I do, though never loud enough to wake the neighbors or chickens.) HOW MUCH MORE EVIDENCE DO WE NEED!!? (Caps, bold, italics and underline intended) Consistent with what climate scientists have forecast: * Storms are getting stronger — never before have two Category 4 hurricanes hit the U.S. in the same year. * Unprecedented wildfires continue to rage in ten Western states, with 21,000 firefighters working to contain them. * Heck, there was even a large wildfire Continue reading →

National Call to #StopETP

August 30, 2017 by Ed Fallon
394 comments
Dear Friends, I’m so excited about my new flock of chickens! Over the past two months, they’ve made solid progress toward becoming fully enrolled members of the Des Moines Society of Colorful Egg Layers. Like an overly protective parent, I worry about them when I leave town. But fortunately, I have two wonderful friends, Emily and Johanna, who mind them in my absence. (Emily, Johanna, in terms of chicken sitters, you’re the best!) On the other end of the chicken-sitter spectrum is Mr. Fox. If my only option were to put Continue reading →

Another Pipeline??

August 4, 2017 by Ed Fallon
491 comments
Dear Friends, This week, two Boone County landowners contacted me when they noticed a large amount of pipe arriving at the staging area used last year to stockpile materials for the Dakota Access pipeline. Ever suspicious of Dakota Access’ activities and motives, folks in Boone County were rightfully on guard. So, I dug into it a bit. I contacted officials with both the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). I learned that the pipe is for the Northern Natural Gas (NNG) Continue reading →