Four big, plywood cows are leaving the Des Moines area and are headed for a new home near Iowa City. The six-foot-tall brown cows are Burma Shave-style signs that try to send a message about urban sprawl — the rapid development of cities atop valuable farmland.State Representative Ed Fallon, a democrat from Des Moines, is helping promote the signs and the fact urban sprawl is robbing Iowa’s fertile soil for the sake of strip malls.Fallon says urban sprawl gobbles up 26-thousand acres of Iowa farmland every year. He says the cow signs have been posted in Polk County since July and it’s time they’re moved to a new location to enlighten a new audience. Fallon says the big cows have been very popular as tourist have even stopped to take pictures of them. The statewide non-profit group “1000 Friends of Iowa” aims to educate Iowans about the long-term benefits of halting urban sprawl. Contact them at (515) 288-5364 for more information.
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