POET is threatening to sue Nate Willems, the Democratic nominee for State Attorney General, over an ad featuring their plant outside Shell Rock. The ad shows Charlene Wyatt Sauer, who tearfully tells of feeling betrayed to find out POET’s Shell Rock plant had been emitting cancer-causing toxins for years. Sauer then says that current Attorney General, Brenna Bird, refused to go after POET and then took $100,000 from them. The ad finishes with Sauer asking if she is going to live long enough to care for her daughter, Paetra. POET has threatened a defamation lawsuit, demanding Willems remove the ad and statements from his website that they claim are defamatory, misleading, and false. They are also demanding Willems issue an apology. Willems is standing by the ad, saying he will never back down when health and safety of Iowa families is on the line. Iowa DNR records show the company previously exceeded the limit of five air pollutants and actual harm to the environment and public health likely occurred, but POET says third party testing revealed that the pollutant amount was not dangerous and well below what is recognized as posing a public health risk. The DNR assessed the maximum penalty, $10,000, which the company paid. POET also took umbrage with the ad’s reference to the CEO giving Bird $100,000. They say the ad frames it as a bribe, which it was not. They say the CEO has made many donations to Bird and other politicians on a regular basis.
