Transmission Line Gets Approval In Iowa

State regulators in Iowa have given their approval to a proposed high-voltage transmission line that will run from Dubuque to Dane County. The Iowa Utilities Board authorized construction of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek project. Members of the agency said in a statement Wednesday that the line is needed to serve the public. The plan, which has drawn opposition in southwest Wisconsin, would install a roughly 100-mile transmission line. Only about 15 miles of that line would be in Iowa, going through parts of Dubuque and Clayton Counties before crossing the Mississippi River at Cassville. The Wisconsin Public Service Commission gave its approval last fall to the nearly $500 million project by American Transmission Company, ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative. The joint venture is still awaiting approval from two federal organizations – who will likely issue a ruling by late summer.