WIUM Local
(2009-08-04)
Iowa Public Television currently owns the tower. It is located along Highway 2, between Fort Madison and West Point.
An investment group out of Wayland, Missouri recently purchased the land where the tower sits during a public auction. The firm, Quality Investments Plus, then told Iowa Public Television to either tear down the tower or purchase the land.
Lee County is now involved in the process because the county's emergency dispatch equipment is attached to the tower. The county has offered to purchase the land beneath the tower, but Quality Investments Plus did not respond in time.
That prompted the Lee County Board of Supervisors to schedule a public hearing on the eminent domain process for September 8. Supervisor Larry Kruse says the county must take the step because it cannot lose access to the tower.
Kruse says negotiations between the county and Quality Investments Plus will continue.
Lee County leases the space on the tower from Iowa Public Television. The county explored other options for its dispatch equiment, including water towers and building its own structure.
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