Des Moines, Iowa — It looks like a bill designed to keep the Iowa Department of Natural Resources from bidding on land in an auction will not be passed this year.
District 3 State Senator Lynn Evans of Aurelia represents all of O’Brien, Osceola, and Buena Vista counties and portions of Clay and Cherokee counties. He tells us a little about the bill.
He says it has happened in our area.
He says he doesn’t think that the government should be bidding against its own citizens. But he says it doesn’t mean the DNR can’t acquire property in other ways.
We also talked to District 5 State Representative Zach Dieken. He says he thinks the bill is probably dead this year, but at this point, he thinks he’d be for the bill. He does say, however, that he’d listen to both sides before voting.
Both legislators say if the bill doesn’t come up for a vote this year, a version of it may come up again next year. The bill’s opponents say it would cripple the DNR and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.
