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Residents push Prairie County to halt turbine permits; commissioners schedule public meeting on road approaches
Summary
At a Sept. 3 session residents urged Prairie County commissioners to enact interim zoning and deny approach permits tied to NextEra wind projects, citing a Department of Commerce inquiry; commissioners scheduled a Sept. 30 public meeting and discussed road policy and approach fees.
Residents at the Prairie County Board of Commissioners meeting on Sept. 3 urged the board to impose interim zoning and to stop signing permits or agreements related to proposed wind-turbine development by NextEra.
Shane Eaton supplied the commission with a letter he said was from the U.S. Department of Commerce describing investigations into wind turbines and national-security concerns, and he urged the county to halt permitting. Eaton told the board the approach applications submitted by NextEra "are not lawful permits" and urged commissioners to deny them. Commissioners did not vote to deny permits at the meeting; they said petitions submitted to the county were being certified and verified.
Road Supervisor Todd Henry joined the meeting to discuss operations and the department’s Sales and Service pricing. Henry said the applications he received contain the materials he was given but noted limits to county authority: he stated the county cannot lawfully authorize widening of turns outside the county right-of-way. Henry also recommended changing the approach fee from a flat $150 to a charge based on cost and materials. The commissioners agreed that sending three road employees to training in Sidney on Sept. 16–17 would be worthwhile and scheduled a public meeting on Sept. 30 to collect further input and consider road-policy changes and approach permits.
Other public commenters voiced competing views: a participating landowner, Lisa Everett, spoke in favor of the project and said many supporters may not attend public meetings; other residents cited studies they said show negative effects of turbines and raised concerns about property values and decommissioning costs.
No formal action denying permits or creating interim zoning was recorded at the Sept. 3 meeting. The county scheduled a Sept. 30 public meeting to continue the conversation; the transcript does not show a final decision or a date for any zoning action.
Sources: Prairie County Board of Commissioners meeting transcript, Sept. 3, 2025.
