Judge sides with Iowa hog farm owners in S.D. dispute

Posted on Thursday, June 19, 2008

A federal judge refused to stop construction of an Iowan-owned hog farm west of Wagner after concluding it's on private land, not tribal.

Three American Indians on behalf of the Yankton Sioux Tribe's Head Start program filed the lawsuit against Longview Farm of Hull, Iowa.

The lawsuit claims the farm hasn't met various requirements and violates regulations dealing with children's health.

At a hearing today in federal court in Sioux Falls, the tribal members argued the farm is on tribal land.

A lawyer for the farm said it's on private property, and the judge agreed after looking at maps from a previous case he handled.

Longview filed a separate federal lawsuit yesterday that asks the judge to prevent tribal court from getting involved.