Tag Archives: Dakota Access Pipeline

Wanted: Bold Iowans

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 →

Illinois Supreme Court gets it right on eminent domain

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

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

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 →

Call on Gov. Kim Reynolds to Remove Richard Lozier from the IUB

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10:00 a.m. CT, September 7, 2017 Contact: Heather Pearson at (402) 452-0534 or [email protected] Ed Fallon at (515) 238-6404 or [email protected] CALL ON GOV. KIM REYNOLDS TO REMOVE RICHARD LOZIER FROM THE IUB Citing “gross partiality” as referenced in the Iowa Code Des Moines, IA — Bold Iowa and its partners call on Governor Kim Reynolds and other members of the Executive Council of Iowa (Paul D. Pate, Secretary of State; Michael L. Fitzgerald, Treasurer of State; Bill Northey, Secretary of Agriculture; and Mary Continue reading →

Another Pipeline??

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 →

Oil is flowing in the Dakota Access Pipeline, but Iowa opponents still think they can shut it down

Link to original article: www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/06/oil-flowing-dakota-access-pipeline-iowa-shutdown/373315001/ Coverage by The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, June 6, 2017 Although oil has begun flowing through the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, Iowa activists aren’t giving up their battle against the $3.8 billion project. The 30-inch diameter pipeline started commercially shipping oil on June 1 and has a capacity to transport about 520,000 barrels of oil daily. But appeals are still pending with the Iowa Supreme Court that opponents see as offering glimmers of hope that the pipeline can still be shut down. “If any of these Continue reading →

Spies Validate Our Success

If you spend 20 minutes reading anything this week, let it be this incredible story by The Intercept. In an age when independent investigative journalism is rare and threats against our liberty are growing, this is a must read. The story reveals how a “shadowy international mercenary and security firm known as TigerSwan targeted the movement opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline with military-style counterterrorism measures”. Spying and infiltration focused on pipeline opponents mostly in North Dakota and Iowa. The story exposes how “TigerSwan spearheaded a multifaceted private security operation Continue reading →

Military-style tactics used against Dakota Access Pipeline protesters

Link to original article: www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/28/report-military-style-tactics-used-against-dakota-access-pipeline-protesters/351734001/ Coverage by The Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, May 27, 2017 An international security firm targeted protesters opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline with military-style counter-terrorism measures and closely collaborated with law enforcement authorities in five states, including Iowa, according to a report published Saturday by a non-profit watchdog journalism organization. The Intercept, a publication of First Look Media, reported that TigerSwan, founded by retired members of the U.S. military’s Delta Force unit, was employed by Energy Transfer Partners, the parent Continue reading →

New IUB Conflict Revealed as DAPL Request Denied

To those who say, “The fight against the Dakota Access pipeline is over, so just move on,” we pipeline fighters and water protectors say, “Not so fast!” Tuesday, the Iowa Supreme Court sided with nine Iowa landowners and the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, rejecting Dakota Access’ request to have the landowners’ lawsuit dismissed! The Court’s order reads: “Dakota Access contends this appeal should be dismissed because the appellant, Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, has failed to establish proper standing in this matter and the remaining appellants’ Continue reading →