I’m always amazed how much this story changes every time I check in on it.

The first rendition I heard, he was selling his land to a company that was going to build a mall. That was going to be a big boon for his automotive & welding shop, as it would bring a lot of new business to the area. As the sale was nearing completion, the buyer revealed they weren’t actually going to build a mall, instead they were building a concrete plant. That would have the opposite result for Heemeyer’s business, so he balked and increased the price. The buyer decided to play hardball and instead used the city council to put pressure on him, which they did by cutting his sewage lines & declaring his property uninhabitable.

That’s a very different story than what was posted above. And it’s fascinating how slowly the narrative has changed. The ‘build a mall’ portion disappeared first. Then the sewage lines were never there, he was always supposed to build a septic tank. The latest addition I see is now he has firearms as well and is shooting at power transformers. I wonder what will be adapted in the next cycle.

Stories like this always remind me of the Peter’s parking deck at GA Tech. The couple that donated the land wanted it to be a park, so that the students would have a green place to play and relax. Once Tech had the land, they put a parking deck there instead. But they put a basketball court on the top level so that they technically met the letter of the law.

In fairness, as a student I needed that parking deck way more than I needed the park.