Senator Ernst Visits Abandoned Mine In SE Iowa

(Bloomfield, IA) — U-S Senator Joni Ernst has visited an abandoned mine in Bloomfield to push for federal funding to clean up more than 300 sites in this state.  The Republican spent Saturday in southeast Iowa, including stops in Jefferson, Davis, and Van Buren counties. She took a quick look at the abandoned Brian Wilson mine in Davis County while she was there. The old mines pollute water, harm the land, and can be dangerous when people try to explore. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is conducting a clean-up program, but it costs about 25 thousand dollars an acre. Ernst wants the federal government to cover some of that cost.