The issue of eminent domain as it pertains to a carbon sequestration pipeline project in Iowa has put Republicans at odds with one another, but Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Wednesday decision to veto a bill on the issue has amplified the tensions.

On a call with landowners opposed to the pipeline project and upset by the veto, Rep. Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison and one of the lawmakers leading eminent domain and pipeline-related legislation, said there will be “consequences for the governor’s agenda” moving forward.

“The governor’s lack of leadership is why we are where we are today, and it will affect her agenda going forward until the end of her term,” Holt said.

Landowners on the call were similarly upset by Reynolds’ decision, following years of silence on the issue. Peg Rasmussen, who owns land in Montgomery County, said “a true leader steps in when a problem arises” but “Reynolds did nothing.”

“The legacy you leave behind is one of bowing down to big business at the expense of Iowans,” Rasmussen said.

Landowners also directed their animosity toward Republican lawmakers who opposed the bill, namely at senators who failed to take up the issue for four years, then argued House File 639 was a bad bill.

“The fight for private property rights will continue,” Rasmussen, who was part of a group of landowners regularly lobbying at the State Capitol, said. “Iowa legislators and Gov. Reynolds, we’ll see you at the Capitol in 2026, and we can’t wait to tell our legislators how we feel about their votes in the 2026 election.”

Holt said the “leadership void” from the governor and “civil war” among Senate Republicans has exposed the difference between “country club Republicans” and “grassroots Republicans.”

Rep. Charley Thomson, a Republican from Charles City who wrote the now-vetoed HF 639, and who, with Holt, has led much of the legislation on the issue, said the opposing Republicans are part of the “anything-for-a-buck ‘wing’ of the party” and don’t represent the “vast majority” of Iowa Republicans.

“In the governor’s view, constitutional rights, such as eminent domain protections, should not be allowed to interfere with schemes to make money, especially if those schemes are being promoted by her friends, supporters, and contributors,” Thomson wrote in a statement.

Bruce Rastetter, founder of Summit Agricultural Group, which started Summit Carbon Solutions, has been a top campaign contributor to Reynolds’ campaigns, sparking some of the criticism leveled at the governor.

In her explanation of the veto decision, Reynolds wrote the bill had “vague legal standards” and would impact projects beyond just the use of eminent domain. Reynolds cited the permit limits clause in the bill and increased requirements for insurance as setting a precedent that “threatens” the state’s business reputation.

Senate President Amy Sinclair expressed the same beliefs on the bill. In a recent appearance on Iowa Press, Sinclair said HF 639 “was not a property owners rights bill” but rather a bill “that’s just going to facilitate activists.”

“To say I was a person who opposed property rights, that’s 100% false,” Sinclair said on the show.

Sinclair and other Republicans who were opposed to HF 639 voted for a re-write amendment to the bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, that would have allowed companies to avoid eminent domain and instead pursue voluntary easements outside of the project corridor. It also would have held operators responsible for damage to the land for the project’s lifetime.

Thomson said Reynolds’ stated concerns were a “polite window-dressing” for the governor’s “real message” that she will “veto any bill that Summit Carbon Solutions dislikes.”

In reaction to the veto, Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, vowed during a Radio Iowa interview to “work to kill every single piece of legislation that has (Reynolds’) name on it.”

The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the attacks from lawmakers.

Summit Carbon Solutions, in a statement following the veto, said it looks forward to “continued discussions with state leaders” as the project advances.

Thomson and Holt said they are supportive of House Speaker Pat Grassley’s call to petition for a special session in order to override the veto of the bill.

The motion for a special session, and to override the veto, would require support from both chambers, which Senate majority leadership indicated Wednesday would be unlikely.

Corey Cerwinske, a Bremer County supervisor attending the virtual press conference, said lawmakers should introduce articles of impeachment on the governor for her “malfeasance.”

Holt said while the veto “may violate” the constitutional rights of Iowans, the governor’s action “probably doesn’t rise to the level of impeachment.”

IUC announces plans for ‘increased commissioner engagement’

In her veto explanation, Reynolds asked the Iowa Utilities Commission to implement a section of the bill that required attendance at informational meetings and during live testimony.

This was a problem brought up by landowners and lawmakers during the proceedings for the Summit Carbon Solutions permit. They alleged IUC would send representatives to meetings rather than commissioners, and that all three commissioners were not present during live testimony.

The IUC in a Thursday press release said it “fully supports” the “transparency goals” the governor requested and “will begin implementing” the practices. The release said the commission will also reinstate its public, monthly commission meetings beginning in August.

“The IUC remains dedicated to fair, transparent, and accountable governance of Iowa’s energy and utility infrastructure,” the statement read.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley joined an Iowa Farmers Union virtual town hall on Monday to discuss federal actions that have impacted farmers in Iowa, including freezes on grant programs and imposed foreign tariffs.

Aaron Lehman, IFU president who moderated the call, said farmers are feeling the effects of the top-down changes on their bottom lines and their ability to innovate as planting season approaches.

Grassley, who also serves on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, said Congress needs to pass a farm bill this year to give farmers certainty.

“Certainty for farmers, looking ahead five years is very important,” Grassley said. “And I hope that the new Congress can deliver a five-year farm bill.”

He said he expects fewer hearings this year to make sure the bill gets done soon.

Executive orders from President Donald Trump have put billions of program funding and grants on hold for farmers.

Lehman said members he has spoken with feel like  ”the rug’s being pulled out from underneath them” as they wait to find out if a contract they had already signed will be honored or not.

Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Lehman at the union’s annual conference Dec. 7, 2024 in Ames. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Grassley said the farm program freezes are set for 90 days while the expenditures are reviewed.

“Obviously if it was a total dilution, or elimination, of those monies that’d be catastrophic for conservation,” Grassley said. “It’d be catastrophic for the family farmers.”

The senator said he is supportive of the review process, which he commended for the exposure of some government spending. He said the country needs “a deep look at every penny that’s being spent in the federal government.”

Grassley said every administration has “some abeyance” of expenditures and hiring, but the second term for Trump has been “a little more abrupt.”

Lehman said farmers are feeling the crunch before planting season and hope the 90 days can come a little faster.

“ I’m going to tell everybody at the Department of Agriculture (that) in my part of the state, people start planting corn around April 15th, April 20th,” Grassley said in response.

Trade concerns

Lehman said Iowa farmers are also stressed in anticipation of increased input costs because of foreign trade issues.

Trump has tariffs in place on China and proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada, that are set to take effect Tuesday.

Grassley said he has usually been in the majority of his fellow lawmakers as a proponent of free trade, but now he finds himself in the minority with that opinion.

“ I’m very disconcerted,” Grassley said. “ I’m not going to give up speaking about the importance of trade, particularly for agriculture.”

Grassley said rather than focusing on the big countries “ where maybe we’ll never have satisfactory trading negotiations” the U.S. should look to the other dozens of countries  ”where we can make some progress.”

The senator said the “protectionist” stance taken by the first Trump administration and then the Biden administration has “turned members of Congress off” from considering free trade agreements, and he hopes to change that mindset.

Grassley said already he has met with Jamieson Greer, the newly appointed U.S. trade representative, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss the same topics.

He encouraged Iowans to reach out to his office and share the impact that federal policy has on their lives.

“When it comes to representative government, you can’t have too much communication,” Grassley said.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday the state’s first human case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza.

According to a press release from the department, the individual is a commercial poultry worker who was exposed by a flock in northwest Iowa.

Earlier this week, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced the 11th detection of the virus in poultry flocks this year, following a string of detections that began in early December.

The press release did not say from which county the individual worked, but the bird flu has been detected in Sioux, Palo Alto, Sac, O’Brien Monona, and Worth Counties this month.

The HHS release said the individual reported mild symptoms, received “appropriate treatment” and is recovering.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 64 cases have been detected in humans in the U.S., though the CDC website did not list the Iowa case as of Friday at 6 p.m.

At this time CDC and Iowa HHS have said the public health risk remains low as there is “no evidence” that human-to-human transmission is occurring.

The first severe case of the bird flu in a human in the U.S. was detected in Louisiana on Wednesday.

Earlier on Friday, pathologists from the College of American Pathologists discussed ongoing work to monitor the H5N1 avian influenza as it continues to replicate and mutate in various hosts. They noted the actual number of human cases is likely higher than what has been detected by CDC.

“Iowa has monitored the spread of avian influenza closely since it was first detected in poultry in the state in 2022, and our state is prepared with the established knowledge, strong partnerships, and effective tools to mitigate its impact on our community,” State Medical Director Robert Kruse said in the HHS press release.

Iowa HHS urged individuals who are in direct contact with sick or dead poultry or dairy cattle to wear personal protective equipment.

Individuals in direct contact with poultry or cattle should also visit their doctors if they develop flu-like symptoms or an eye infection.

State and federal agencies maintain there is no risk in eating poultry or dairy products but remind consumers to cook poultry to an internal temperature of 165 and consume only pasteurized dairy products.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced Friday it had “depopulated” birds from Pure Prairie Poultry, Inc., which had previously informed the department it was unable to purchase feed for its broiler chickens and closed its processing plant in Charles City.

Fearing animal welfare concerns, the department intervened Oct. 2 and took over the care, custody and control of the 1.3 million birds, located across 13 Iowa farms. The same day, Pure Prairie Poultry Inc. shuttered its Charles City processing plant and laid off its employees.

Pure Prairie Poultry received $45.6 million from U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2022 to expand the Charles City processing plant. Iowa’s USDA Rural Development office celebrated the expansion with a ribbon cutting in July 2024, just two months before it filed for bankruptcy.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the situation in a statement Friday:

“This is an incredibly unfortunate situation and raises serious questions about USDA’s oversight of taxpayer dollars. Congress should exercise its oversight authority to ensure that something like this does not happen again and that those responsible are held accountable.”

USDA Rural Development state director for Iowa, Theresa Greenfield, did not respond to requests for comment before the publication of this article.

The closure of the plant sent the department searching for a buyer and processor, which was difficult, “due to the structure of the broiler industry,” the press release from the department said.

Pure Prairie Poultry, Inc. received $45.6 million in USDA funding in 2022 to expand its processing plant in Charles City. (Photo courtesy of USDA)

According to court filings in the Third Judicial District Court of Iowa located in Sioux County, IDALS reached an agreement with Tyson Foods. It stipulated that IDALS would cover care costs for the chicken until they reached market weight, then Tyson would handle catching, loading and transportation of the birds to a processing plant. The filings state Tyson would have purchased the birds for 50 cents per bird, which was half of the company’s original offer.

“Tyson’s offer represented a global resolution, limiting the uncertainty of what happens to the chickens moving forward and how the chickens would be fed and cared for,” the court filing read.

Some of the growers contracted by Pure Prairie Poultry indicated they would argue their lien rights on the birds, which the court filings said, “caused Tyson to reconsider the agreement for fear of future litigation” and eventually rescinded its offer.

With mounting costs of caring for the 1.3 million birds, IDALS asked the court to authorize the department to pursue depopulation, or culling the birds.

“While IDALS believes depopulation should be a last resort … depopulation provides the State, and everyone, with finality to this unfortunate circumstance and limits the costs to the citizens of Iowa,” the filings read.

Culling of the birds began Oct. 17 by licensed veterinarians employed by the department and concluded Oct. 25.

The department has spent over $1 million in dealing with the birds so far, but Don McDowell, IDALS communications director, said the anticipated figure is over $2 million, as many of the expenses have yet to be paid.

McDowell said these costs include feed, farmer contracts, depopulation, disposal, personnel expenses, and mileage.

The IDALS press release from Friday said it would, “pursue all available avenues to recoup taxpayer costs … including through possible future legal remedies.”

The court ordered on Oct. 11 that, “defendants with any ownership interest in any of the livestock” must pay the department for expenses incurred with feeding and maintenance.

It also ordered IDALS to submit a final report detailing the depopulation and detailed accounting of the state’s costs through situation.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and X.