I am writing this letter in reference to Senate Study Bill 1221. I am sorely disappointed that this bill could even be introduced in our state. Our state has such a small amount of public lands that are open to all Iowans. We need more land for public parks, not less.

I have seen our state environment change from one of clean air and water to the disaster it is today. When I was a kid we could drink out of the streams around Ackley and you weren’t gagged by the air of hog confinements. Now, these same people who have done all this damage to our environment want to stop us from protecting what little is left of our unspoiled land.

One of their excuses is parks don’t pay taxes. Well from what I gather, hog confinement taxes are very low compared to their cost. Maybe they should be raised. The Farm Bureau is a big backer of this bill. They used to be for the little guy, but now they are in the pocket of the Iowa Select Farms and other big confinement company’s. I have always wondered why they think all the hogs to feed the world have to be raised in Iowa.

Why are we letting them turn our state into a huge, polluted, stinking hog confinement? Greed is what drives all of this and greed is what this bill is about. Call or write your representative.