Julie Kuntz, a Grafton-area farmer who is a member of Concerned Residents of Worth County, opposes the wind turbines, noting the impact on farmland and the noise they cause for local farmers. "We could make a lot of money signing up for this, but at a cost," Kuntz argued. "I’m contacting every landowner to give them information and polling them as I go, and I’m finding overwhelmingly that local farm owners are opposing this."

General Iowa

MidAmerican still gets 30 percent of its electricity from coal ..."The 100 percent renewable energy vision is a bit of a gimmick," said Josh Mandelbaum, an Environmental Law & Policy Center senior attorney, "It's pretty misleading if MidAmerican is giving customers the impression that's all they have to do."

Energy Policy Iowa

DEXTER, Ia. — The battle playing out over a second crop of wind turbines that MidAmerican Energy is proposing near this small town is like many playing out across Iowa and the nation.

General Iowa

A spokesperson for Blattner Energy–the contracted company building wind turbines for MidAmerican Energy at the North English wind farm in Poweshiek County–confirms a crane operator died as a result of an accident at a construction site.

Safety Injury Iowa

The Iowa Supreme Court has dealt another blow to three controversial wind energy turbines just east of Fairbank. The high court on Tuesday rejected a request from the turbine developers to review a district court order requiring the structures be removed by Dec. 9.

Legal Iowa

Wind-warped turbine sits still about a half mile north of E29 on Highway 65. One of the blades was bent like a rabbit ear due to storm-related winds that came through Central Iowa last week. It was the only one with this kind of damage in the pod of turbines.

Safety Structural Failure Iowa

General Iowa

"I don't want the wind turbines," said Dave. "I just don't want them. My wife's had medical issues and I don't want that creating worse migraines for her, and we like the skyline the way it is and we feel that Madison County hasn't proven that they need the turbines."

General Iowa

District Court Judge John Bauercamper ordered county officials and the wind companies to take steps to demolish the structures, but he put the order on hold while companies appealed his decision, subject to the posting of a $450,000 bond to cover removal costs. ...On June 12, Bauercamper issued his contempt ruling, noting in part the $450,000 bond was never filed. 

Legal Zoning/Planning Iowa

General Iowa

DAKOTA CITY — The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors decided to again revise a proposed ordinance governing wind towers at Monday’s meeting.

General Iowa

KEOKUK, IA — Three wind turbines impacted the Des Moines River Bridge in Keokuk Saturday morning just after 6:30 a.m. 

Safety Structural Failure Iowa

The action filed by attorney John Holmes details numerous reasons Youngblut believes the board’s action violated provisions of the zoning ordinance. Those include failure to provide unique and compelling evidence to rezone high-value agricultural land; failing to provide proper signed lease agreements with landowners; and excluding a definition of shadow flicker caused by turbine blades.

Legal Iowa

A massive wind turbine caught fire Thursday night near Beaver in Boone county.

Safety Structural Failure Iowa

The MidAmerican Energy Co. is investigating the cause of the Thursday night fire in a wind turbine in Boone County near Beaver.

Safety Structural Failure Iowa

A group of companies operating the turbines just east of Fairbank have asked Fayette County District Court to reconsider a 2016 order declaring the structures were built in violation of zoning laws and must be torn down.

Legal Iowa

The Iowa Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from a wind energy company previously told to remove three turbines near Fairbank. ...It leaves in place District Court Judge John Bauercamper’s ruling that Mason Wind and Optimum Renewables must take down the three 445-foot turbines they built in 2016 for an estimated $11 million.

General Iowa

DAKOTA CITY — The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved the wording in a proposed wind tower ordinance at Monday’s meeting.

General Iowa

The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday morning to appoint Diane Depken to fill a vacancy created by the recent resignation of Della Cafaro on the five-member Board of Adjustment. Depken was part of a 3-2 board majority later that night in voting to approve a special permit for the 35-turbine wind farm.

General Iowa

The Waterloo council chambers were packed beyond capacity for the public hearing. Opponents, who vastly outnumbered supporters at the hearing, shouted their disapproval at commission members after the 11 p.m. final vote.

General Iowa