FAIRFAX, Iowa — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture candidate Chris Jones will hold a community
meeting focused on agriculture, water quality and the proposed Alliant Energy natural gas
power plant in Linn County.
The meeting, open to the public, is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. Sunday, May 10, 2026, at the Maple Grove Farm, 3388 73rd St., Fairfax. The site is across from the proposed Alliant power plant at the corner of Highway 30 and the Linn-Benton Rd.
RSVPs can be made on Facebook.
Save Morgan Valley, a grassroots community organization, is hosting the joint event.
Formed in response to Alliant’s proposed natural gas plant, the coalition of residents, landowners and concerned citizens from Linn and Benton Counties, is dedicated to protecting the community’s future.
Alliant’s project “threatens to transform high-quality farmland into a hyperscale industrial site,” Save Morgan Valley notes. “While this project is framed as necessary infrastructure, the reality is that our current local energy needs are already met. This facility is largely designed to fuel explosive
data center growth at a significant cost to the public.”
Related: Alliant’s gas-fired power plant met with blowback
“Save Morgan Valley is dedicated to ensuring that the voices of local families are heard
by county and state officials,” the group adds. “We believe in growth that benefits our community—not
projects that compromise our health, our environment and our rural heritage. We are advocating for our
neighbors because this plant risks depleting our shared water resources, increasing
local air pollution, and raising energy costs for everyday ratepayers.”
Learn more about Save Morgan Valley at: https://savemorganvalley.com/
A leading advocate for environmental justice in Iowa, Chris Jones has studied and
advocated for the improvement of the state’s water quality for decades.
At the University of Iowa, Jones worked as a research engineer, studying contaminant hydrology in
agricultural landscapes. Prior to that, he worked for the Des Moines Water Works and
the Iowa Soybean Association.
Jones has a PhD in analytical chemistry from Montana State University and a BA in Chemistry and Biology from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa.
In 2023, Jones published “The Swine Republic: Struggles With the Truth About Agriculture and Water Quality,” which was selected as Iowa’s representative for the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival.
In 2024, he founded Driftless Water Defenders, a nonprofit membership association, to confront industrialized agriculture’s assault on our water resources in the Driftless Area of northeast Iowa and
statewide.
Jones continues to write about water quality and related issues on Substack; articles that
are read by thousands in Iowa and across the country.
Learn more about his platform at: www.chrisjonesforiowa.com
No Comments Yet