The state of Wisconsin has given dairy farmer Mark Lefke until Mach 20 to vacate his property. The state wants to build an interstate that will dissect Lefke's property and take 10 acres out of its center. That acreage includes the family's home of 25 years. Originally, the state hired a third party to estimate what it would take to make Lefke whole. The amount came in at over $1 million and the state balked. In an effort to keep to its schedule, the state told Lefke he'd still have to leave.
"The classic line is how they promise to compensate us to make our lives whole again, but how do you make someone whole again after you've cut out their heart," Lefke said. "The money they offer is irrelevant; I need the land to survive."
Comparisons are being made between the Lefke case and earlier cases in Nevada and New Mexico, where the government battled two landowners for eminent domain. Singer Michael Martin Murphey was involved in the two earlier cases, fighting for landowner rights, and he's involved in the Lefke case. On March 14 Murphey will perform twice in Cashton, Wisc., following a VIP Farmers' Freedom Fighters Brunch.
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