Authorities say a controversial livestock lot being built in northern Iowa near Mason City has become a target for vandals. The construction site of Andy Muff’s 24-hundred-90 head hog operation north of Ventura was vandalized Sunday night or early Monday, according to Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Kevin Pals.
Some of the construction equipment was hit by paintballs and a portable toilet was hit by a shotgun blast. Sheriff Pals says due to the nature of the confinement operation, investigators don’t think the vandalism was coincidental. He says “Anytime with a high-profile case like this, it would be highly unusual that this was just a random act of violence. People pass farm machinery daily out in the rural area and to find a spot that’s under construction, dirt-moving equipment there, to just let go with your paintball is unusual.”
Pals says there will be a higher law enforcement presence in the area. Muff’s confinement project has been the root of much debate this summer. Many feel the operation is too close to Clear Lake and should be prohibited, but because the confinement falls just below a 25-hundred-head threshold, Muff does not need to obtain a state construction permit.