RURAL MASON CITY – A local golf course owner was paid a visit by a deputy after a fiery post to social media about a chicken confinement that might threaten his business.
Cerro Gordo county sheriff Kevin Pals confirmed to NIT that a complaint was lodged by Adam Pope on Monday afternoon, April 17. The complaint was in connection to Pope’s impending 98,000 chicken confinement that will be built north of Mason City, not far from the Pine Creek Golf Course at about 320th Street and Highway 65. NIT has learned that a social media post was made prior to the complaint from Mr. Pope by Brian Buntenbach of Belmond, the owner of Pine Creek Golf Course.
Due to the complaint, a Cerro Gordo deputy went to a residence on 317th Street, near the Pine Creek Golf Course, to discuss the social media post. Mr. Buntenbach has been outspoken about his opposition to the chicken confinement, making a number of social media posts directed to Mr. Pope. In the most-recent post, he says “Take it elsewhere Adam Pope…Pine Creek Golf Club and our little community, have been out here 26 year’s and counting…You…0 years!!!”
In the post that Mr. Pope complained about, Mr. Buntenbach told NIT he “Just got a little carried away on Sunday, making a statement to Adam Pope on fb to get his (adjective deleted) chicken farm away, or its gonna be a Hell of a barbecue! … All is resolved regarding the sheriff.”
Mr. Buntenbach said some people “took it as a threat, as I was just voicing my opinion with some language.” He says the post has been removed.
There were no charges filed in the incident, but emotions are running high due to what some feel might be a negative impact from the 98,000 chickens that will roost nearby to the Pine Creek Golf Course and other residents in the area. Folks are attempting to organize and find out what their options are, but as some elected officials tell NIT, little can be done to stop the chicken confinement as the state’s matrix code doesn’t apply.
They re? – no such word ! (Their shows possession) the correct spelling is they are – we do not need your islam translation.
Note the apostrophe, dumbass, used to form a contraction.
“Use an apostrophe with contractions. The apostrophe is placed where a letter or letters have been removed”
Examples: doesn’t, it’s, ’tis, can’t, you’d, should’ve, they’re
they’re is a contraction
1.they are
You stated:
“DNR is not to be trusted – their owned by big business”
Care to look at that again numb-nuts?
Simple fact is Chamber of Commerce and local big shots don’t want any major manufacturing businesses in Cerro Gordo county – it would raise the hourly wage and then these controllers would have to up their hourly wage – Get over it – thats the way its been for 50 years – OH unless you want to wade in pollution then they want to come to see Meridith.
That should be “that’s” not thats.
Josh – give me a break – chicken farms all over Franklin county and south – majority of workers at these chicken far are from Mexico – your a troll for the chicken farm and CNN watcher. Fake News !
That should be “you’re” not your.
Remember the name POPE – He is the person to file a lawsuit against for personal injuries -such as smell – sickness – pollution – because he knew what would happen to nearby citizens and water quality BEFORE he started this chicken operation knowing in advance he was putting the local average citizens in harms way. -DNR is not to be trusted – their owned by big business.
That should be “they’re” not their.
Corporations and big money control our everyday life style – these politicians are in the game to get rich – not to help the everyday citizen – 80% of them are dirty one way or another and they can lie to you with a straight face easily – don’t trust them and get a lawyer or a group like Judical watch involved. Contact your OSBUDSMAN – THEY HAVE POWER.
This is a great example of why mason city will never be successful again. Chicken factories and confinements smell too much like chicken, tire plants… Well they smell like yucky tires. Casinos? Ya, they’ll prolly bring lots of criminals to town. Pork plants? Darn immigrants and criminals too. Let’s revitalize downtown with old history and maybe we can put a record store in there with a soda shop next to it. Maybe we could get a candle factory or nice safe cotton ball mftr in town too. Quick somebody call Blockbuster Video, that’ll be sure to bring business to this town. Ever look around and think how much this one horse town looks just like it did in the ’80’s with a few extra crappy metal “art” displays plastered in it (aka lipstick on a pig)?
How bout a new book store to liven things up? Could really use a place to fix my rotary phone and Swatch!
It is my understanding that the chicken house will be built almost 3/4 of a mile to the west of the golf course. Prevailing southern winds mean the smell (if any) during the summer will be blowing away from the golf course. The manure will be spread on the fields once or twice a year when there is no crop growing, i.e early spring, late fall, or winter. Mr. Buntenbach’s main income season is late spring, summer, early fall so I don’t see his concern about how this would ruin his business.
He is complaining about the smell of livestock yet I think there are horses about an 1/8 of a mile to the Northeast, Horses across the road to the West, a cattle pasture to the South and Southwest. Their shit don’t stink? Plus the guy who has the outside wood burning furnace across the road who is stinking up the neighborhood all winter long. No complaint against that guy.
What about the chemicals he sprays on his golf course? Much more of a health concern than the smell he thinks is going to smell. Plus the run off of these chemicals from his golf course into the creek when it floods. Where is his environmental concern over this?
If I was Mr Pope I would talk to the farmers who have the land around this little “rural utopia” and have them knife in some liquid hog manure in the fields nearby, Mr. Buntenbach and others would find out what stink really smells like and a occasional smell from the chicken house wouldn’t seem so bad.
How could Barney Fife kill all those chickens with 1 bullet ?
I hear worth county wants it – upper Iowa plucker inc.
Yahoooo ! – count me in for 20 bucks – big business buys the laws.
The local residents AND the golf course were established long ago – SO the have preference over what happens to their quality of life and businesses – Get a court order to stop the chicken farm and force it to a vote – DNR and sheriff do not make the rules on quality of life – SUE THE HELL OUT OF THEM . Take up a fund drive and you would be surprised at the results. People are tired of this chicken chit bullying.
adapt or die. isn’t that the american way? Build a hundred more so those of us who work our asses off can still have a place to work ten years from now. look, people need to eat, and the population is growing ever increasingly year to year. build them elsewhere? soon there’s going to be no place to build them, and some pretty hungry people. I say get with the times and adapt Buntenbach.
American isn’t significantly increasing meat consumption anymore. Both population and per capital consumption has stabilized here. Increased American meat production goes to Asia. Why should we change our ways so they can stuff their bellies? Let them produce their own food. Or better yet starve their over populated countries down to sustainable levels. America first.
1 question . Is Pope going to live on this place or miles away?
If he lives there I support him 111%.
“Please LIKE and SHARE THIS PAGE TO LET THIS FARMER NO OUR FEELING’S ON THIS SOON!!! Thank you…”………. I guess Buntenbach wanted to show off his language skills with this comment by using the word NO, instead of KNOW in this sentence.
Dumb ASS. We live in Iowa. If you don’t like it leave. Stick your golf balls up your ass.
?????
No one should be able to infringe on some else’s quality of life. A business that smells bad will affect property values and put hardship on surrounding properties. Not right.
like the post below says, the area is zoned agricultural, so the silly golf course must respect the rights of his neighbors. It’s not like that golf course is any good, just built in a swamp hole
Thanks for checking in and agreeing with your own post, Adam.
Jerk
Totally agree with Buntenbach
I can certainly understand his concern. It is his living and it is being threatened. It does seem to be a very poor choice of location for this type of business.
If you are in rural Iowa, you should expect that farming is a business and that includes livestock, fertilizer, herbicides, dust etc. After all would you set up a residence in the middle of a city zoned for industrial use? Time these people who move to the country expecting a residential neighborhood be stood up to and told that it is zoned agricultural which means livestock, crops, etc. not a pretty little residential setting that the y may find in a city.
CAFO’s are not farming they are industry and the pollution they create is of industrial proportions. Air, water and earth! When these factories pollute at the rates of a comparable city, then they need to be held to the same standards as industries in urban areas!
livestock is agriculture. you are confusing the definition of industrial.
take a trip to the local landfill where thousands of tons of your garbage is dumped daily. Travel to the top of the heap and stay for a few hours and take deep breaths. It’s far worse than the livestock smell and what is really comical is that the prevailing winds blow that smell over Mason City on a regular basis. Guess your used to the smell and do not notice it anymore. LOL
Yes, one expects certain things if they want to live in a rural area. However, 98,000 chickens and the smell of all the resulting chicken shit, is not one of them. That is not farming. That is setting up a factory. The area is designated ‘agricultural’ not ‘industrial’. Also, we are not feeding Iowans through this and other chicken and hog factories (CAFOs). We are feeding the growing middle class demand for meat in places like China. The environmental degradation of their own countryside is so beyond disastrous, that they’ve decided to buy up corporations like Smithfield so that they can treat Iowa (and other places) like their own personal toilet. If you look around, read articles and reports, Iowa is well on its way to a natural resources disaster!
so since we export corn and soybeans to feed others around the world we should stop raising these crops also? reading is a passion of mine and I know that there are solutions coming to resolve, handle and correct issues of pollution in the state and country. I also know that many of the people against said livestock production love to embellish and dramatize their stories by using misleading facts. Maybe you should subscribe to some farm magazine publications and get updated on the facts of the issues and read about the solutions being developed.