Image from court-filings showing railroad ties burning on John Goldsmith's property on August 12, 2018, a day after the fire was set.
DES MOINES, IOWA (June 17, 2021) — A judge has ruled that a Sergeant Bluff man must pay an $80,000 penalty — the maximum allowed by law — for burning thousands of railroad ties on his property, despite being warned by state regulators against doing so.