CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Sonja Hadenfeldt took note of several Cedar Rapids police officers at an open house held by Alliant Energy to answer questions about the proposed Morgan Valley Energy Center.
Even more officers had been present at Alliant’s meeting earlier in the day, Hadenfeldt said, both held at the IBEW Local 405 Hall, 1211 Wiley Blvd. SW.
“If you need that many police officers to keep you safe, maybe that’s a sign you shouldn’t be doing this,” she said of the proposed 720-megawatt, natural gas power plant near the corner of Highway 30 and the Linn-Benton Road.
Like other advocates of Save Morgan Valley — a grassroots community organization — Hadenfeldt, who lives just 1.5 miles from the proposed site, attended the meeting on July 30, 2026, looking for answers, and Alliant representatives said there was no specific threat, but the officers were there “to keep the community safe.”
Related: Morgan Valley advocates address Cedar Rapids City Council
A police officer patrols the hallway in front of Alliant Energy’s open house on Thursday, July 30, 2026. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Turnout was scant, with some attendees saying they still were not getting answers under the open house format, which featured tables staffed by Alliant experts, rather than a question and answer session that Morgan Valley advocates would have preferred.
“I think we should be using green energy,” said Cindy Boland, who lives west of Fairfax and is concerned about the health implications of the proposed plant.
Hadenfeldt, too, is concerned about the plant’s emissions and their effects on people and wildlife, including eagles that nest in the area and northern harriers, a bird of prey that migrates through Iowa.
“We already have high cancer rates and let’s plop this right here,” she said. “It’s all going to blow into Cedar Rapids.”
Alliant Energy representatives and police officers outnumbered members of the public at the second of Alliant’s two open houses at the IBEW Local 405 Hall in Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Justin Foss, resource development manager for Alliant, said the location is best-suited for a gas-fired plant, rather than solar or wind.
“As a regulated utility, we have an opportunity and an obligation to serve all of our customers,” Foss said, when asked if the plant would serve any forthcoming data centers in the area. “We don’t build generation for individual customers. We’re already tight on electricity, so we need to continue to generate more.”
Foss said Alliant is still moving toward clean energy.
“We’re also taking an all-resources approach,” he said, noting that while wind and solar are less expensive than a gas-powered plant, the 160 acres available would be insufficient for those options.
Justin Foss, center, gestures while speaking to attendees at Alliant’s open house. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Andrew Heidt, senior manager of strategic projects for Alliant, said the power plant will use 55 acres of the 160 acres Alliant is buying.
To generate 720 megawatts of electricity using solar, 5,000 acres would be needed, he said.
Health experts have said the gas-powered plant would generate the equivalent of 330,000 cars in emissions annually.
The American Lung Association’s State of the Air report recently gave Linn County failing grades for unhealthy levels of air pollution, with an “F” for high ozone days and a “D” for particle pollution.
Infants, children and teens are especially vulnerable to the health harms of breathing air pollution, the report noted. “Their lungs are still developing, they breathe more air for their body size than adults, and they frequently spend more time outdoors.”
See more: American Lung Association report
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