(Emmetsburg)– The Iowa Court of Appeals has resolved a decades-old battle between property owners at Five Island Lake and the city of Emmetsburg.
At issue was land created by dredging the lake from 1909 to 1920. The city claimed in a 2004 court filing that it owned the additional shoreline created by the dredge material, while about 30 property owners said the property was theirs.
After a trial in Palo Alto county, the judge ruled the state was the rightful owner, concluding that the legislature in 1909 authorized dredging for a public purpose.
The appeals court overturned the ruling, saying that at the time the fill was placed along the shoreline, the property owners became the owners.
(Story from the Associated Press.).
