Use of eminent domain for pipeline still questioned

August 22, 2018 by Shari Hrdina
14 comments
Link to original article: http://www.messengernews.net/news/local-news/2018/08/use-of-eminent-domain-for-pipeline-still-questioned/ Covered by The Messenger, Fort Dodge, Iowa, August 22, 2018 Excerpt: Landowners, environmentalists will march before Supreme Court hearing with stops in Pilot Mound, Dayton, Otho and Fort Dodge by Joe Sutter Landowners who tried unsuccessfully to keep an oil pipeline from being built through their land will get their day before the Iowa Supreme Court in September. Nine landowners are named in the suit, and claim eminent domain shouldn’t have been used to take their land for use by the Continue reading →

Campsites and Daily Community Forums

August 22, 2018 by Ed Fallon
21 comments
Community Forums for the First Nation – Farmer Climate Unity March will be held at the campsites every evening from September 1 to 7, starting at 5:30 p.m. Bring your own tableware and join us for dinner (dinner is on us) and a community forum. A Celebration of March will be held on September 8 at 1:30 p.m. Aug 31 – Union Park, close to 2100 Saylor Rd, Des Moines.  Just north of the Carousel and Rocketship Slide. Parking is just south of Guthrie Ave Continue reading →

Ninety-mile march to raise profile of DAPL lawsuit

August 8, 2018 by Ed Fallon
304 comments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, August 8, 2018, 9:00 a.m. CT Contact: Ed Fallon at (515) 238-6404 or [email protected] Contact: Christine Nobiss at (319) 499-8039 or [email protected] Groups announce First Nation – Farmer Climate Unity March Natives, farmers, environmentalists to walk 90 miles following DAPL route Indigenous Iowa and Bold Iowa today announced that thirty opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline will march ninety miles from Des Moines to Fort Dodge to raise awareness about the landowner/Sierra Club lawsuit, which will heard by the Iowa Supreme Court on Continue reading →

United, We Are Strong

August 7, 2018 by Ed Fallon
150 comments
Dear Friends, I’ve been an activist for 33 years and continue to learn something new every day. Often, I learn from my mistakes, so I’m hardly above criticism. In fact, I value it. With that in mind, I need to clarify some things I wrote last week. I first encountered M.K. Gandhi’s writings when I was 21. I knew immediately that I’d found a mentor who would inspire me the rest of my life — despite aspects of Gandhi’s character that are troubling and deeply Continue reading →

Judge’s ruling against pipeline company bodes well for Bold Iowa

July 26, 2018 by Ed Fallon
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2:00 p.m. CT, July 26, 2018 Contact: Ed Fallon at (515) 238-6404 or [email protected] BOLD IOWA RESPONDS TO JUDGE’S RULING ON “SLAPP” SUIT Judge’s decision on one plaintiff likely to vindicate Bold Iowa, others as well Des Moines, IA —  US District Judge Billy Roy Wilson today dismissed criminal racketeering claims levied against BankTrack in a lawsuit filed last August by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP). BankTrack is a nonprofit that encourages people to divest from financial institutions that provided funds for ETP and the Continue reading →

Raising awareness for effective action

July 25, 2018 by Ed Fallon
343 comments
Dear Friends, I’m a big believer in pacing oneself. We’ve got to take time to smell the roses even in the midst of intense struggle. Yet sometimes — often, in all honesty — the demands of fighting for justice require some pretty exhausting days. The First Nation – Farmer Climate Unity March will be a string of such days. But the importance of this march — raising awareness about the historic lawsuit that could stop the flow of oil through the Dakota Access Pipeline — Continue reading →

A year later, still no federal charges against ‘saboteurs’ of Dakota Access Pipeline. Why?

July 23, 2018 by Shari Hrdina
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Link to original article: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/07/23/dakota-access-pipeline-iowa-sabotage-no-federal-charges-jessica-reznicek-ruby-montoya/801287002/ Covered by The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, July 23, 2018 Excerpt: by William Petroski It’s been one year since two Iowa environmental activists claimed responsibility for deliberately causing millions of dollars in damage to the Dakota Access Pipeline project, but federal prosecutors haven’t filed charges against them. The activists — Jessica Reznicek, 36, and Ruby Montoya, 28 — have gone into hiding. The lack of federal prosecution has some Iowans wondering whether charges will ever be filed. “As Continue reading →

Penalties increased for future pipeline ‘sabotage’ in Iowa

July 23, 2018 by Shari Hrdina
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Link to original article: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/07/23/iowa-lawmakers-enact-tough-penalties-future-pipeline-sabotage-access-pipeline-standing-rock-native/805866002/ Covered by The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, July 23, 2018 Excerpt: by William Petroski Criminal sabotage of Iowa pipelines, telecommunications facilities, water treatment plants and other critical infrastructure could result in long prison sentences and large fines under a new state law approved by the Iowa Legislature in its 2018 session. The measure was drafted by state homeland security officials in the wake of millions of dollars in damage that protesters inflicted on Iowa sections of the Dakota Access Continue reading →

Advocates search for oil spill info

July 21, 2018 by Shari Hrdina
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Link to original article: http://www.nwestiowa.com/news/advocates-search-for-oil-spill-info/article_5fc72796-8c68-11e8-9df1-ef2d89818d57.html Covered by The N’West Iowa REVIEW, Sheldon, Iowa, July 21, 2018 Excerpt: By Lana Bradstream DOON—There are no protesters, but that does not mean people do not care about the oil spill near Doon. Three Iowa environmental advocates — Bold Iowa members Ed Fallon and Christine Nobiss of Des Moines and David Thoreson of the Iowa Great Lakes — traveled to Doon and Rock Rapids on Tuesday to inquire about and investigate the June 22 BNSF Railway derailment, which resulted in Continue reading →

Investigating the Doon tar sands oil spill

July 19, 2018 by Ed Fallon
380 comments
Dear Friends, Christine Nobiss, David Thoreson, and I traveled to northwest Iowa this week to investigate the June 22 tar sands oil spill near Doon (check out our livestream). We spoke with Iowa DNR and Lyon County officials, a landowner, an engineer working at the site, a reporter with the N’West Iowa REVIEW, and KSFY TV (check out KSFY’s story here). We learned a lot! — Lyon County officials did an excellent job as first responders during the hours and days immediately following the spill. Continue reading →