“Crossing the Divide” Documentary

March 7, 2018 by Shari Hrdina
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A film crew captured this story from the 2017 Climate Justice Unity March. A reactionary Iowa farmer has a change of heart when climate activists march into his tiny town. Disrespect is poisoning American society, jeopardizing informed debate and destabilizing democracy. This is a story about how two groups on either side of the political divide get caught up in a firestorm of disrespect, sparked by a Confederate flag and an attack video funded by a pipeline company. Then, almost miraculously, they find common ground. Their Continue reading →

U.S. Bank Protest in Minneapolis: Activists March Against Pipeline Funding

February 4, 2018 by Ed Fallon
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Link to original article: https://heavy.com/news/2018/02/us-bank-protest-minneapolis-pipeline-photos-super-bowl/ Coverage by Heavy.com, New York, NY, February 3, 2018 Excerpt: Activists Say U.S. Bank Is Still Funding Pipelines By Giving General Financing to ETP & Other Clients Some activists are saying that the bank is still financing the pipelines indirectly. And because of this, hundreds showed up for the protest in Minneapolis the day before the Super Bowl, shutting down an intersection in the city: Hundreds of water protectors just shut down this intersection in Minneapolis, protesting @usbank’s funding of Continue reading →

Iowa pipeline protesters target Super Bowl stadium

February 1, 2018 by Emma Schmit
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Link to original article: www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2018/02/01/iowa-environmentalists-heading-super-bowl-protest-dakota-access-pipeline/1087402001/ Coverage by The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, February 1, 2018 Iowa environmentalists will flock to the site of Super Bowl LII this weekend to protest the Dakota Access pipeline. Bold Iowa director Ed Fallon said his group would join Indigenous Iowa and others from across the Midwest to protest the four-state pipeline ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl LII game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The activists are accusing U.S. Bank of financing the $3.8 billion pipeline project, which Continue reading →

Jury finds two protesters guilty of trespass during pipeline construction

October 24, 2017 by Emma Schmit
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Link to original article: http://thegraphic-advocate.com/content/jury-finds-two-protesters-guilty-trespass-during-pipeline-construction Coverage by The Graphic-Advocate, Rockwell City, Iowa, October 24, 2017 A six-person jury deliberated more than two hours Thursday evening before finding a Rockwell City woman and an Omaha man guilty of trespassing on a pipeline construction easement. Emma Schmit, of Rockwell City, and Tosun Mahmud Fitil, of Omaha, said they were disappointed with the verdict, which their attorney plans to appeal. “This is a clear case of the 1 percent versus the 99 percent,” Schmit said, referring to descriptions Continue reading →

Pipeline protester convicted of trespassing

October 4, 2017 by Emma Schmit
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Link to original article: http://thegraphic-advocate.com/content/pipeline-protester-convicted-trespassing Coverage by The Graphic-Advocate, Rockwell City, Iowa, October, 4, 2017 A second person who was arrested last fall for protesting the Dakota Access pipeline has been convicted of trespassing on the work site. A jury convicted Kriss Wells, 65, of Minneapolis, on the misdemeanor charge after a brief deliberation. Five witnesses, including Wells, took the stand in the trial – three were law enforcement officers who testified about how Wells stepped on to the disturbed soil within Dakota Access pipeline’s Continue reading →

Anti-pipeline activists across the country unite to #StopETP

September 11, 2017 by Emma Schmit
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Link to original article: www.wagingnonviolence.org/2017/09/anti-pipeline-activists-stopetp-energy-transfer-partners/ Coverage by Waging Non-Violence, September 11, 2017 The company behind the Dakota Access pipeline and many other damaging fossil fuel projects — Energy Transfer Partners — was the focus of nearly 20 actions spanning 10 U.S. states last week. The #StopETP protests, which took place on Friday and Saturday, included a flotilla on a Louisiana bayou, a blockade of pipeline construction equipment in Pennsylvania and a demonstration outside the Texas home of CEO Kelcy Warren. “It’s been impressive to see Continue reading →

Sierra Club, Bold, vandals all named in ETP lawsuit

August 23, 2017 by Emma Schmit
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Link to original article: www.messengernews.net/news/local-news/2017/08/sierra-club-bold-vandals-all-named-in-etp-lawsuit/ Coverage by The Fort Dodge Messenger, Fort Dodge, Iowa, August 23, 2017 The Sierra Club is one of several environmental groups named in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Energy Transfer Partners, the firm that developed the Dakota Access pipeline that crosses Iowa. However, while the club is listed as part of an alleged “criminal enterprise” ETP says worked against it, it’s not named as a defendant in the suit. “Sierra Club is not named as a party defendant, just as Continue reading →

Iowa protest groups accused in federal lawsuit by Dakota Access pipeline developer

August 22, 2017 by Emma Schmit
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Link to original article: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2017/08/22/dakota-access-pipeline-federal-lawsuit-iowa-groups/590538001/ Coverage by The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, August 22, 2017 The developer of the Dakota Access pipeline has filed a sweeping federal lawsuit that includes allegations of participation in a criminal enterprise against three Iowa activist groups, including the Sierra Club, Bold Iowa, and Mississippi Stand. Energy Transfer Partners of Dallas, Texas, listed the lawsuit’s defendants as Greenpeace International, Earth First!, BankTrack, and other organizations and individuals. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in North Dakota and seeks damages of not less than $1 billion. Continue reading →

Activists: $1M rally insurance policy puts First Amendment rights ‘in peril’

August 15, 2017 by Emma Schmit
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Link to original article: http://www.kcci.com/article/activists-oppose-rule-mandating-dollar1m-insurance-for-rallies/12014028 Coverage by KCCI, Des Moines, Iowa, August 15, 2017 Activists in Des Moines are pushing back against a rule by the Iowa Department of Administrative Services requiring groups to obtain a $1 million insurance policy before rallying at the Statehouse. Groups are afraid that if monetary restrictions are put on who can rally at the Statehouse, smaller groups with important messages will get lost. “If they really want to push this there’s going to be a huge fight on their Continue reading →