WINONA, Minn. – The Daley dairy farm upped legal pressure on opponents of its plan to quadruple its herd at the operation outside Lewiston. This time the Daleys, already with 1,500 cows, are suing three Winona County commissioners individually. The Daleys also are suing the Land Stewardship citizen group that lobbies against factory farming. The county repeatedly has denied the Daley request to expand its herd to 6,000 cows. Targeted in the new suit are county commissioners:

Marie Kovecsi, of the Second District, which covers Winona’s East Side, and whose terms ends in January.

Chris Meyer, of the First District, which covers Winona’s East Side, and who is up for re-election in two weeks.

Greg Olson, of the Fourth District, which covers Winona’s core area, and whose terns expires in 2024.

Not named are rural commissioners Steve Jacob and Marcia Ward. They consistently have favored the Daleys in years of litigation and appeals.

The latest Daley suit alleges that the three county commissioners  —  Kovecsi, Meyer and Olson — intentionally appointed people to the Winona County zoning board who had prejudged the Daley expansion. It was a conspiracy, the suit says, involving these Land Stewardship people:

> Cherie Hales, of St. Charles, a Land Stewardship activist who was a member of the county zoning board.

> Bobby King, of Minneapolis, former Land Stewardship state executive director.

> Doug Nopar, of Wilson, a Land Stewardship activist

> Johanna Rupprecht, of Winona, a Land Stewardship organizer.

>Barb Sogn-Frank, of St. Paul, a Land Stewardship program chief.

>Kelley Stanage,  of Houston. a Land Stewardship activist.

So what was th conspiracy? To deprive the Daleys of a constitutional right to a fair hearing before impartial and unbiased decision makers, according the lawsuit. In the suit the Daleys call the expansion “a modernization project.”  The project would require an override of a 1998 county ordinance that caps farms at 1,500 animal units. The Daleys want 6,000.

Earlier: County to Daleys: Let’s spell it out: N-O

Earlier: County’s attorney: Dead-end ahead for new Daley suit

Earlier: County’s attorney: Dead-end ahead for new Daley suit

Verbatim

Ben Daley of Daley Farm:: “When any person approaches their government for a permit or variance to conduct a lawful business or activity, that person is entitled to a fair hearing before an unbiased judge. This fundamental right is well known and should be universally respected by everyone, regardless of political or personal beliefs about a particular issue. In appealing the denial of our variance application, however, we uncovered direct evidence that Land Stewardship Project conspired with three county commissioners — Marie Kovecsi, Chris Meyer, and Greg Olson — to ensure that the Board of Adjustment was stacked with people who had already made up their minds, without hearing or considering any of the evidence, and were publicly opposed to our project. This is not the level of integrity that we should expect or tolerate from our public officials. After much contemplation, we decided to move forward with this lawsuit to hold these people accountable for their actions.”