‘Stinky’ city told to quit threatening blogger with lawsuits

The author of the blog www.sibleystinks.com is allowed to continue telling the World Wide Web that his hometown of Sibley, Iowa, smells like “rancid dog food.”

This, after a U.S. District judge on Thursday approved a permanent injunction prohibiting city threats and requiring that the city pay writer Josh Harms $6,500 in damages and $20,000 in legal fees, according to the Associated Press.

Mr. Harms, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, filed suit earlier this month asking a judge to block Sibley officials from threatening to sue him he didn’t stop criticizing the odor problem from an animal food processing plant and talking with reporters about it, the wire report states.

The city also now promises to hold First Amendment training.