Utilities complete transmission line linking Iowa and Wisconsin

A group of utilities has completed a high-voltage transmission linking Iowa and Wisconsin. American Transmission Company, Dairyland Power Cooperative and ITC Midwest announced Friday that work on the Cardinal-Hickory Creek line is done and that the line was fully energized Thursday. The line runs over 100 miles between Iowa's Dubuque County and Wisconsin's Dane County. The utilities say the line will improve reliability and support renewable generation resources. A coalition of conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit in March seeking to prevent the line from crossing the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge. A federal appellate court cleared the way for construction in May.