CCI confronts Rastetter at Cedar Falls meeting
Dozens of CCI members converged on the Board of Regents meeting in Cedar Falls on Friday, August 3 to demand the resignation or firing of Regent Bruce Rastetter.
A long time hog and ethanol baron in Iowa, Rastetter is currently pursuing a large land grab in Tanzania through his international energy company, Agrisol Energy.
CCI believes Rastetter, who worked closely on the project with staff from Iowa State University before and during his time as Regent, committed an ethics violation by failing to timely disclose his conflict of interest and even used that conflict to advance his interests in Agrisol.
Rastetter and Agrisol stand to make hundreds of millions of dollars off the land in Tanzania that they are seeking to lease at $0.25/acre for 99 years. Much of this land is currently home to over 160,000 Burundian refugees.
The Board of Regents had twice rejected CCI's requests to speak to the board in a public forum before appearing at the meeting in Cedar Falls.
Here's a full roundup of the press from the August 3 action in Cedar Falls:
Ames Tribune: Iowa CCI protesters removed from Regents meeting
KCRG: Protesters Call for Rastetter's Ouster From Regents
Des Moines Register: Protesters removed from Regents meeting at UNI
WCF Courier: ICCI protesters removed from Board of Regents meeting
Cedar Falls Patch: Protestors Calling for Regent's Firing Escorted from Iowa Regents Meeting
Cedar Rapids Gazette: Protesters disrupt Board of Regents meeting, want Rastetter removed
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