Story Co. CCI members facing off with Kyle Mens once again

Last year, CCI members across Story County were infuriated when we found out that a developer was applying to build a factory farm just down the road from Hickory Grove Lake, the most popular park in the county. We banded together and told the developer, Kyle Mens, that we didn’t want his corporate manure in our lake.

Thanks to our pressure, Mens withdrew his plans. Saving the lake from millions of gallons of corporate manure was a huge victory that demonstrated the power a community has when it stands together. But Mens didn't get the message -- this summer, he applied again to build a similar facility, this time near Collins, almost on the county line between Story and Jasper Counties.  Mens may have thought that the location change will take the heat off of him, but this new plan is just as bad as the one he proposed last year -- the 2,480 head site would be built in the middle of a tight-knit rural community and would destroy the quality of life for the dozens of neighbors within two miles. And all this is to say nothing of the damage the facility would bring to Wolf Creek, Mud Creek, Indian Creek, and all the larger waterways those local streams lead into.

This is a terrible plan. That's why CCI members and other neighbors have been standing up, speaking out, and fighting back against the proposal. Last week, over 30 neighbors attended a planning meeting to share information about the proposal and put together a strategy to stop it. The very next day, more than 50 concerned citizens attended a Story County Board of Supervisors meeting to oppose the plan. Then, just this Monday, 125 people crowded into the Collins Community Center for a public forum on the proposed hog factory. Of that number, only four were in favor -- the community is united in its opposition to Mens' application.

We've got huge momentum on our side. On Tuesday, the Supervisors voted to send the plan on to the DNR, who has the authority to deny this bad plan.

The DNR faces a simple choice: to stand with the people of Iowa, or with the massive out-of-state corporation that will profit from this plan. Neighbors and other Story County residents are contacting the DNR urging them to do the right thing -- stay tuned for updates on this crucial campaign.

We beat Mens last year -- if we stay organized and keep fighting hard, we can do it again this time.