Evans: Iowa lawmakers should slap down intimidation lawsuits

A public policy dispute over plans for about 1,000 miles of carbon dioxide pipeline across Iowa took a concerning turn last mont. The pipeline company's latest tactic demonstrates why Iowa should finally pass an anti-SLAPP statute that has been floating around the Legislature for a few years.

Summit Carbon Solutions, an Ames company founded by businessman Bruce Rastetter, sent letters to six opponents of its plans to use eminent domain authority to build the pipeline, the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. With eminent domain, Summit could force landowners along the route...