In Madison County, where months of political turmoil and public infighting have left many residents increasingly disillusioned with local leadership, thunderous applause after a Board of Supervisors meeting marked a rare moment of unity.
The board, meeting Wednesday, May 13, inside the Winterset High School auditorium after earlier hearings drew hundreds and overflowed the courthouse, gathered to decide the fate of The Vanguard, a proposed 128-acre private shooting range and firearms training facility east of Winterset.
After a little more than two hours of presentations and public comment — and with no other item on the agenda — the supervisors unanimously rejected the controversial shooting range proposal.
The Vanguard gun range would have offered ‘high-quality training’ for law enforcement and civilians
The proposal, backed by the owners of Black Flag Arsenal, a Waukee-based gun shop, would have created a large, members-only gun club and law enforcement training facility near Rustic Lane and Iowa Highway 92 in Union Township.
Plans included up to 20 outdoor rifle and pistol bays, a 1,000-yard shooting range, an indoor simunition shoot house, classrooms, a banquet and event hall and dedicated law enforcement training areas. Application materials described the project as “the ONLY facility of its kind in Iowa,” and said the state lacks modern firearms training infrastructure.
Black Flag Arsenal co-owner Gabe Lanz told supervisors the range would address a shortage of outdoor training facilities.
“Our mission at The Vanguard is to make our communities safer by delivering accessible, high-quality training and education for law enforcement and civilians alike,” Lanz said Wednesday.
The proposal fit within existing county zoning rules, he said.
“This is something that directly and specifically and through Iowa law, the word principal permitted use just kind of has a presumption of approval,” Lanz said.
Application materials described the range as “a safe, responsible, and necessary project” and said developers were “ready to build something Madison County can be proud of.”
Developers also said engineered berms, terrain orientation and tree lines would help contain both noise and projectiles, while firing lines would point away from nearby homes and businesses.
Madison County gun range faced backlash from residents
The proposal triggered weeks of intense backlash from nearby homeowners and farmers, who argued a large commercial shooting facility does not belong in a rural river valley lined with homes, livestock operations and conservation land near the Middle River corridor.
Much of that opposition centered on Rusty Stars Alpacas, an agritourism business just north of the proposed range. Owners Aron and Kari Schultz said their farm draws 15,000 to 25,000 visitors a year. It is one of only a handful of agritourism operations in Madison County.
“Nobody wants to come out and enjoy quiet, peaceful animals in the country and listen to a shooting range going off just over the property line,” Aron Schultz told the Register.
He said the proposal would “fundamentally alter” the surrounding area and bring commercial traffic to a rural road used by families visiting the farm.
The hearing followed a unanimous 6-0 recommendation from the Madison County Planning and Zoning Commission to deny the project after a packed March hearing that stretched for hours.
Dozens of people again spoke Wednesday night, including many residents living within 500 feet of the proposed site who opposed the proposal. No nearby residents spoke in favor.
Many attendees wore matching T-shirts reading “I Live Here. Local Voices. Local Choices.” that were distributed outside the auditorium ahead of the meeting.
Brian Leach, who spent years restoring prairie and wildlife habitat on his land, warned the constant noise would permanently change the surrounding ecosystem.
“By approving this, you’re effectively creating a wildlife dead zone on my land,” Leach said.
Eric Smith of Simple Life Farms said loud noise already reduces production during fireworks season by stressing his dairy goats.
Nearby Sprouts Preschool & Daycare operator Kim McDonald told supervisors the proposal threatened the peaceful outdoor environment central to her childcare program.
“That peaceful setting is not incidental. It is essential to the way we provide care,” McDonald said.
She added repeated gunfire “is simply not compatible with the childcare setting.”
Attorney Kelly Orton, representing nearby landowners, told supervisors the issue ultimately centered on location rather than the broader need for shooting ranges.
“While there may be a need for this facility, the decision before you tonight is not whether or not there’s need. It’s whether or not this is the appropriate location for this facility,” Orton said.
Supervisors praise public while voting no on Madison County gun range
The county’s supervisors ultimately echoed many of the same concerns raised by residents during deliberations.
Supervisor Jessica Hobbs praised the level of public engagement surrounding the proposal.
“I’m so excited to see all the engagement and everyone had something to concern them, and they got involved, they got engaged, and they got organized,” Hobbs said. “I would love to have a gun range in Madison County, but this is not it.”
Supervisor Diane Fitch framed the debate as part of a broader struggle over preserving Iowa’s farmland and resources.
“We cannot make more soil, and we cannot make more water,” Fitch said. “We have to preserve farm ground. We have to preserve and protect farmers, because that’s what builds our grocery stores.”
Supervisor Heather Stancil questioned project leaders on flaws she saw in the proposal before concluding, “I am a hard no on this. It is the wrong location.”
Vanguard owners present Wednesday declined to comment after the vote.
In a statement after the meeting, Aron and Kari Schultz told the Register they were celebrating the outcome.
“We’re ecstatic over the outcome of tonight’s meeting,” the couple said. “The community united and our supervisors did their homework and came prepared. We can return to life as usual and there’s peace in that.”
Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Madison County shoots down gun range near alpaca farm, daycare
Reporting by Nick El Hajj, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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