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Eminent Domain Veto Not Right for Iowans

Betty Athy

The Gazette

June 12, 2006

How can it be right for the state to take someone’s property against his or her will for someone else to make a profit? This was not a brave move. Is the governor for the people of Iowa or the economic developers? The The Carl and Mary Koehler History Center comes to mind, the proposed rain forest . . ..
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    Homers: what’s going right, . . . the Iowa Senate and House did overwhelming pass legislation concerning condemnation and eminent domain rights. The Senate and House represent the people of Iowa. Gov. Tom Vilsack’s veto of this important legislation is wrong on many levels. This bill goes beyond blighted areas in cities across this state. It will affect farm ground, not scrub ground but crop ground. Century Farms in southwest Iowa, thousands of acres Vision Iowa wants to acquire for a recreational lake. People connected to the governor have bought scrub ground south of Des Moines for a song that will be ‘‘lakeside property’’ when the proposed lake in Madison County acquires its ground.

    Homers states, ‘‘He obviously heard the opposition from city and county government officials and economic developers.’’ How can it be right for the state to take someone’s property against his or her will for someone else to make a profit? This was not a brave move. Is the governor for the people of Iowa or the economic developers? The The Carl and Mary Koehler History Center comes to mind, the proposed rain forest along with RiverRun and the kayak course in Waterloo. If developers can’t make a project work without condemning land, maybe it wasn’t a good idea to begin with. This was nothing but backroom politics. Are these the same economic developers that could back the Iowa governor in his future presidential campaign? Someone is developing a presidential campaign not the economic development of Iowa.

Becky Athy
Cedar Rapids