Dt: December 6, 2021 To: IUB staff and board members Fr: Ed Fallon on behalf of Bold Iowa Re: Eminent domain Bold Iowa is deeply concerned about the appropriate use of eminent domain. The issue is important to me personally as well. As a former state lawmaker, preventing the misuse of eminent domain was one of my top legislative priorities. On at least two occasions during my time at the Statehouse, legislators voted with little dissent to add to the Iowa code further protections for Continue reading →

The Des Moines Food Security Task Force was conceived in 2020 by Bold Iowa leaders Ed Fallon and Kathy Byrnes. The City Council voted unanimously to establish a task force with an initial focus on residents wanting to raise food at their homes. These are the stated goals of the first round of Task Force meetings: Work with City Manager to develop and promote urban agricultural practices. Research best practices related to urban agriculture in other urban areas, compare them to City practices, and make Continue reading →

WATCH THE FULL NEWS CLIP HERE. Author: Carson J. S. Reichardt Published: 4:53 PM CST November 8, 2021 Updated: 5:23 PM CST November 8, 2021 DES MOINES, Iowa — It’s another day on the farm, but Birds & Bees Urban Farm probably doesn’t look how you expect. You won’t find acres and acres of cornfields. Everything at fits in one backyard. “It’s a very old-fashioned thing … it’s kind of like a subsistence farm. But it’s an opportunity for us to teach other people to Continue reading →

In addition to working to stop the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, Bold Iowa is equally concerned about the need to prepare Iowa communities to survive and thrive in the New Climate Era. As the impacts of climate change worsen, food systems will be increasingly compromised. It’s essential that communities plan now for greater reliance on local sources of food production. This not only assures stability as climate change hits us harder, but it means jobs for farmers and producers, and healthier food for community Continue reading →

IUB Sets 37 Public Informational Meetings for Proposed Navigator Pipeline Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2021 Meetings scheduled in 36 counties to inform landowners of project  (Des Moines) – The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) has issued a letter approving dates and locations for a series of public informational meetings to inform landowners in 36 Iowa counties about a proposed large-scale carbon capture pipeline by Midwest-based Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC. Navigator filed its request for the meeting dates with the IUB on October 19 and 26, 2021, in Docket Continue reading →

CO2 pipeline rupture hospitalized 49 people Posted on September 15, 2021, by Ed Fallon Dear Friends, CALL TO ACTION #1: Share with three other people this week’s FALLON FORUM PODCAST about the poisoning of Satartia (conversation starts at the 1:51-minute mark). The podcast also discusses greenwashing, COVID, Texas’ abortion law, and more. You probably haven’t heard of Satartia, Mississippi. Dan Zegart knows it well. He’s a senior investigator with the Climate Investigations Center. He spent 19 months digging into the story of a carbon dioxide Continue reading →

Step 1: Go to the IUB’s website. Step 2: Where it says “Quick Links,” click on “File a comment or objections in an open docket.” Step 3: Scroll down and fill-in the detail where it says “Consumer information.” Step 4: Under “List of IUB dockets,” “HLP-2021-0001” for Summit, “HLP-2021-0003” for Navigator. Step 5: Make your comments in the space provided. Step 6: Answer the Captcha question and hit “Submit.” Bold Iowa is opposed to the use of eminent domain to build privately-owned pipelines transporting carbon dioxide Continue reading →

Here’s the list of public hearings set up by the Iowa Utilities Board to allow the company proposing to build the pipeline, Summit Carbon Solutions, to explain what they want to do and give the public a chance to ask questions: Hardin County – September 13, noon, Timbers Edge, 19493 Co Hwy S56, Steamboat Rock Story County – September 13, 6 p.m., Gateway Hotel & Conference Center, 2100 Green Hills Drive, Ames Lyon County – September 15, noon, Rock Rapids Community Center, 404 First Ave, Rock Rapids Sioux Continue reading →

On a public affairs program in October, 2021, sponsored by the Mason City Globe Gazette, Nathan Kontz and Jarod McNett ask Senator Chuck Grassley about the CO2 pipeline proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions. That conversation can be heard HERE and runs from the 1:40-3:20 minute mark. Some impressions of the interview: FIRST, even though eminent domain is a function of state government (as Grassley notes), Iowans deserve to know whether it’s right to use eminent domain to benefit a private corporation. As the state’s highest-ranking senior Continue reading →

Former state lawmaker Ed Fallon, who runs the nonprofit Bold Iowa, said he hopes Biden will act to block a proposal to double flows in the Dakota Access pipeline, which crosses Iowa. During the campaign, Biden told Iowans he had opposed the pipeline.  “Given President Biden’s clear and strong statements in opposition to (Dakota Access), he needs to step in immediately and prevent the proposed expansion,” said Fallon. “He gave us his word.”