For the good of our communities, oppose the railroad merger

There are issues flying under the radar in our neck of the woods. Last year, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern launched a corporate merger under the purview of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), a totally autonomous federal agency. As a result, the two railroads will triple their traffic through eastern Iowa – mostly crude oil from Canada headed for refineries in Mexico. As the regulatory process continues forward, not nearly enough Iowans are aware of the proposed merger. Further, I do not believe the railroads are too strong to resist.