Letter to the Editor: ALERT! The State of Iowa Wants Wind Turbines in Benton Co.

Dear Editor,

SF Bill 376, introduced by Senator Mike Klimesh, is currently in the Senate Commerce Committee. If passed, it will remove ALL local control for siting wind turbines throughout the State. No County will be allowed to deny a commercial wind company a permit. No County will be allowed to limit the number of turbines put in that County. No County will be allowed to use Corn Suitability Rating to stop fertile soil from becoming a turbine field. No County can require the distance from a turbine to your non-participating home to be more than 3 times the turbine height. No County can require the distance of a turbine from your property line to be more than 1.1 times the turbine height. Turbine blades have already been thrown much farther than this.

This Bill also goes directly against Iowa Code 352.1: "It is the intent of the general assembly to provide local citizens and local governments the means by which agricultural land may be protected from nonagricultural development pressures."

If you value having a say in the decisions of your County, please do everything you can to stop SF Bill 376 in its tracks. This Bill was, no doubt in my mind, written by a wind company. If it passes, they will hold all the cards and ALL Counties will be overrun with turbines. There will be no taking it back. If it passes, what right will the State take away from local control next time?

Please write your local representatives and senators. Tell them to vote NO on SF376. Write President Donald Trump and remind him of his promise to rescind federal subsidies on all wind turbine projects, including on land projects. This Bill affects everyone who lives in Iowa. It needs to be stopped now.

If you'd like to read SF Bill 376 for yourself, here is the link: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=91&ba=SF376

If you'd like more information on wind turbines, please visit https://bucoa.org/ (Buchanan County Alliance)

Bonnie Urban

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DL February 26, 2025, 3:45 pm You want to prevent people from selling their own land? Can't get more fascist than that.

JS February 26, 2025, 5:20 pm We cannot relinquish local control.

This is stupid. Wind is not the answer, nuclear is. Modular nuclear plants are. Stand up to stupid ideas.

Property rights should still be honored. Government can be evil or good. LIBERTY - don't relinquish to the state.
John

GB February 26, 2025, 8:51 pm I would be surprised if it gets out of committee and doesn't die there with other stupid ideas from the Left.

JG February 27, 2025, 10:39 pm Mike Klimesh is a Republican senator.

GB February 28, 2025, 7:01 am Not really, he is a Rhino.

CU March 2, 2025, 9:56 pm A few years ago Benton County did an admirable job keeping wind turbines out. In 2024 Buchanan County followed by keeping them out also. Now we have SF 376 which will make all of this hard work for naught. SF 376 is a wind developer's dream. They couldn't hope for anything better. The County will get absolutely nothing except the short end of the stick. After reading SF 376, it would seem quite obvious that it was written by a wind developer. Please ask your local politicians to vote NO on this horrendous power grab.

Opinion : Letter to the Editor: ALERT! The State of Iowa Wants Wind Turbines in Benton Co.

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