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Humboldt Supervisors approve Prestage Farms application

The plan is for one additional building to house 2,495 hogs.

DAKOTA CITY — The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved a building permit for Prestage Farms of Iowa LLC at Monday’s board meeting.

Prestage Farms, Ames, has filed a construction permit with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to expand an existing finisher site in section 18 of Wacousta Township, three miles southwest of Ottosen. The plan is for one additional building to house 2,495 hogs.

The board of adjustment met Thursday to review the master matrix for the site, interim Planning and Zoning Director Brian Skow told the board. There were no members of the public in attendance at that meeting, but company representatives were present. There has been no written objections received, Skow said.

“The board really didn’t find anything wrong with the matrix. There were just a few items that had not been recorded,” he said.

The site survey had just been completed and a copy was not available at the time. A purchase agreement has not been closed yet. Also, the manure easements have not been recorded in Humboldt yet.

“The board approved it conditional upon those items being taken care of in a timely fashion,” Skow said. All those items will be recorded, he said.

“Everything looked good to me,” said Supervisor David Lee, who serves on the board of adjustment. “It’s a nice clean site.”

In the past, the board and another firm, Iowa Select Farms, have been at odds over Iowa Select sites within the county. The day after the board of adjustment meeting, Skow said he was contacted by Iowa Select public relations wanting to know everything they need to do to be in compliance and make things work smoothly.

“They are trying to work with us,” Lee said. Board Chairman Bruce Reimers said he was contacted as well.

The Board of Supervisors approved the permit. Supervisors Carl Mattes and Erik Underberg were absent.

In other business, Reimers asked County Engineer Ben Loots about the status of the bridge replacement on Iowa Highway 3 over the East Fork of the Des Moines River east of Humboldt. People have been asking about the bridge, Reimers said.

The Iowa Department of Transportation closed the bridge in March to replace it. The bridge was scheduled to open October 31 but work is running two months behind schedule, Loots has heard. The IDOT is thinking of bringing in an additional crew. According to the IDOT, the prime contractor in the $2 million project is United Contractors of Johnston.

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