CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — After a marathon meeting lasting more than six hours, members of Save Morgan Valley were rewarded with an answer they waited months to hear.
During the meeting that spanned Oct. 20 to Oct. 21, 2026, ending around 12:20 a.m., the Linn County Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected Alliant Energy’s rezoning request for the proposed Morgan Valley Energy Center on about 150 acres of farmland south of Highway 30 along Linn-Benton Road.
“We still have a big fight ahead of us,” Jon Lee, a leader of the grassroots group said, citing the Iowa Utilities Commission, which has scheduled a Dec. 7 hearing on Alliant’s request for the 720-megawatt gas-fired power plant. “But this is a step in the right direction.”
Lilly Lee holds a photo collage for her neighbor, Nate Sirotak, while Sirotak addresses the Linn County Board of Supervisors regarding his family living near the proposed Morgan Valley Energy Center. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
More than 40 people addressed the board during a public hearing preceding the vote, with just one person — from the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance — in favor of the proposal.
Nearby residents and others, citing environmental and health concerns among many issues, made their plea to the board after the previous night’s 3-3 tie with the same rezoning request in front of the Linn County Planning & Zoning Commission.
While the tie was initially considered a rejection of the request, Charlie Nichols, Linn County’s planning and development director, said the vote in actuality was forwarded to the board without any recommendation.
The crowd, with more than 175 people dwindling down as the meeting crept into its sixth hour, applauded as the three supervisors registered their “no” votes and offered their own reasons for rejecting the rezoning.
Linn County Board of Supervisors listen during the public hearing on Oct. 20, 2026. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Vice Chair Sami Scheetz cited water and wastewater among his major concerns.
“I won’t vote ‘yes’ in the hope someone will protect our residents later,” he said, referencing the state utilities commission. “I don’t believe this plant is good for our community.”
Brandy Meisheid noted that the proposal failed to meet 12 of 33 of the county’s comprehensive plan goals, including on important issues such as climate change.
Meisheid also was concerned about electricity rates for residential and small business customers of Alliant and removing prime agricultural land out of production.
“I’m not convinced they explored the full range of options,” she added, citing rooftop solar for the data centers that would be using the energy, and battery storage as examples.
Julie Witting, right, and Jane Scheer hug following the unanimous vote against rezoning for Alliant Energy’s power plant. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Chairperson Kirsten Running-Marquardt said she was told the site needed to be close to data centers that are being built nearby in the city of Cedar Rapids, or residents would be paying higher costs, a threatening tactic she called “unacceptable.”
She also cited high cancer and asthma rates in Iowa, with the gas-fired plant predicted to emit more than 1 million tons of pollutants annually.
“I’m putting our residents ahead of corporate profits,” Running-Marquardt said of her “no” vote.
Alliant had not been as transparent as the commission would have expected, she added.
“Too many responses have been generic,” Running-Marquardt said. “We’re just not getting the answers we deserve.”
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