Bold’s Gathering of Gratitude Holiday Party

December 21, 2017 by Ed Fallon
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Thanks to all who came last night to Bold Iowa’s Gathering of Gratitude Holiday Party. Great conversation about solar energy, too.   Thanks to Dave Brotherson for bringing his electric car and to all who persevere in the fight for our land, water, climate and liberty. (And thanks to Heather Pearson for these pics.)        

One Year Ago Today . . .

December 15, 2017 by Ed Fallon
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Dear Friends, One year ago today, Iowans rallied at the Polk County Courthouse to support landowners suing state government over the abuse of eminent domain to build the Dakota Access pipeline. That case now advances to the Iowa Supreme Court. Its ramifications for other eminent domain fights, climate change and water quality are significant. Today, one year later, Bold Iowa issued the following press release. Please take a few minutes to read and share it . . . and please make a donation to support 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 →

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
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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 →

Pipeline protester convicted of trespassing

October 5, 2017 by Shari Hrdina
499 comments
Land Protector Kriss Wells was arrested October 29, 2016 on Shirley Gerjets land at Bold Iowa’s Farmers Defense Camp in Calhoun county.  He pleaded not guilty, with the climate crisis and eminent domain as justification. Last Thursday he was found guilty by jury trial in Rockwell City. Erin Sommers from The Graphic-Advocate reports. Pipeline protester convicted of trespassing By Erin Sommers Graphic-Advocate Editor A second person who was arrested last fall for protesting the Dakota Access pipeline has been convicted of trespassing on the work 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 →

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 →

Delivery of Petition to Remove Lozier from the IUB

September 14, 2017 by Shari Hrdina
43 comments
On Friday, September 8 at 11:00 a.m. at the Iowa State Capitol, Bold Iowa, Indigenous Iowa, Iowa CCI and Bakken Pipeline Resistance Coalition held a brief press conference then delivered a petition to Gov. Kim Reynold’s office calling on removal of Richard Lozier from the Iowa Utilities Board. The event was in conjunction with the national #StopETP Day of Action. The petition: We call on Governor Kim Reynolds and other members of the Executive Council of Iowa (Paul D. Pate, Secretary of State; Michael L. Fitzgerald, Treasurer Continue reading →