A bridge that was closed in northern Cass County early last month, is once again open to traffic. On April 6^th, Cass County Engineer Charles Marker told the Board of Supervisors high truss bridge #440, located a couple of miles south of Interstate 80 in Pymosa Township near the Buck Creek Church was closed, after an inspection revealed a wooden “pile cap” on the northeast corner of the bridge had shattered, making it unsafe. The repairs to that bridge have since been completed.

Marker told the Board of Supervisors during their meeting this (Wednesday) morning, inspections have revealed two other bridges, however, must be closed. One of those is Bridge #17, which is located about 5-miles south of Massena on Highway 148 and three-quarters of a mile west, on Yankton Road. Marker said the wood bridge pilings are continuing to decay. The bridge is posted for vehicles with a maximum gross weight of three-tons, but Marker says he’s heard from residents in the area, semis are crossing the bridge. He said they’re concerned if it continues to be used in that manner, a vehicle may end-up in the creek.

Bridge 17 is one of two bridges in the County scheduled to be repaired, with the bid-letting to take place in August. The other is Bridge #42 near the Cass/Adams/Montgomery County corner. Marker says the pile cap has begun to rotate, or twisted to the point where it is in danger of collapsing. The bridge is located along a Level B road.

He said also, Gus Construction has completed the concrete pour on a culvert for Bridge #20, located about two-miles south of Highway 92 on County Road N-28, south of Cumberland. Weather permitting, the project, including paving, should be completed by mid-July.

Governor Terry Branstad says he hopes some other Iowa city is able to land a new Prestage Farms pork plant after Mason City took itself out of the running. “I think they made a mistake,” Branstad says. “…First of all, Iowa is a leading pork producing state. It makes sense to process those pigs in Iowa.” The Mason City Council cast a tie vote on a development deal with the company in early May, rejecting the proposed 240-million dollar pork processing plant.

Branstad says he “was impressed” with Prestage when he met with the company’s executives. “It’s a family-owned business. They’ve had a great reputation in North Carolina,” Branstad says. Critics raised environmental concerns about wastewater from the plant and the odor from hog confinements that likely would be built or expanded to supply the plant. Others cited extra costs for the community, including the hiring of new school staff to teach the children of plant employees who do not speak English.

The C-E-O of Prestage says as the company examines other locations, he’ll be better prepared to deal with critics of the project, who he calls “kooks”.  “What I’m concerned about is South Dakota and other states would like to have them,” Branstad says. “We hope that we could get this in Iowa because I think it would be good for the Iowa independent pork producers and good for the Iowa economy.”

Prestage Farms officials say “dozens” of cities in Iowa and elsewhere have expressed interest in their project. The Prestage Farms C-E-O says he’s open to building anywhere in the upper Midwest, but Iowa is still his “preference.” Mason City officials initially offered a more than 11-million dollar package of local incentives to land the deal. A petition drive is underway in the community to try to get the city council to reverse its rejection of the project.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement led the lobbying effort against the deal and the group vows to organize in other Iowa cities where Prestage might consider locating.

(Radio Iowa)