A town meeting last night in Iowa Falls pitted backers of a beef-packing plant against its opponents. About four hundred area residents packed the high school gym for a two-and-a-half hour meeting with officials from Excel, the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and the state. Excel officials said they hope to pick a site for a new, state-of-the-art beef packing plant later this year. Excel communications director Mark Klein says there is no definite time-line.Two other potential sites are in contention for the plant, which will be partially owned by livestock producers.Members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement held a protest before the meeting.
