Federal judge temporarily blocks plans for a power line in Mississippi River wildlife refuge

By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked plans to build a high-voltage power line across a Mississippi River wildlife refuge. American Transmission Company, ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative are building a 102-mile transmission line linking Iowa’s Dubuque County and Wisconsin’s Dane County. About a mile of the line would cross the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. A coalition of conservation groups sued in federal court earlier this month to stop the line, alleging federal officials didn’t follow proper procedures when they gave the utilities permission to build in the refuge. U.S. District Judge William Conley issued a preliminary injunction blocking construction on Thursday and extended the order indefinitely on Friday morning.