Large Crowd Gathers for Anti-Wind Farm Meeting in Edina
By Echo Menges
The Wind Energy Impact Public Informational Meeting was held in Edina at the Knox County Community Center on Thursday, March 28, 2021.
Co-organizers Ben Bradley and Michelle Davis of Knox County spearheaded the meeting enticing local landowners to hear the downfalls of bringing a wind farm to the county.
The meeting was well attended by approximately 135 people and featured a lineup of speakers railing against Tenaska’s Knox County Wind Project.
The meeting was opened with an invocation by Ben Bradley who also served master of ceremonies announcing each speaker before they gave their presentation.
Janet Taylor of Adair County gave a testimonial about being a non-participating landowner near the High Prairie Wind Farm.
Don Kutcher, a retired USDA Soil and Water Technician, gave his concerns about damage to local roads in Adair County following the High Prairie Wind Project.
Jenny Bradley of Knox County gave a presentation about the project decreasing residential property value, pushing people out of the county, and the negative affects of the construction of the project.
Bradley also discussed the possible drawbacks to farming.
Kris Peterson of Knox County presented about the possible effects turbines have on livestock.
Carrie March and Nakila Blessing of Schuyler County talked about their experiences being non-participating landowners neighboring the High Prairie Wind Farm, showing slides of before and after the turbines were built, discussed the damage and disrepair of the roads in Schuyler County during the after wind farm construction and showed videos with audio of the sounds the turbines make.
Michelle Davis of Knox County discussed the possible health consequences of living near turbines.
Johnnie Walker of DeKalb County presented about his experiences fighting against wind energy since 2016.
The meeting lasted approximately two hours with the last thirty minutes being dedicated to a question and answer session.
Representatives from Tenaska were also on hand with printed information and offers to discuss people’s concerns about the project, though they were met with an unfriendly crowd and jeers during the meeting.
The crowd became noisy when Tenaska representatives attempted to answer some of the questions.
The meeting was live-streamed on the NEMOnews Facebook page. The video is available online.
