Cell towers in Palo Alto County, IA

The FCC registry lists 19 constructed antenna structures in Palo Alto County, 1% of Iowa's 3,266. Ownership is spread across 14 registrants; the largest, SBA Communications, has 4 (21%). The three big tower companies — American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA — hold 4 between them.

Value a buyout offer

1Constructed structures 19
2Tallest 343 ft
3Largest owner SBA Communications
4Median height (state 259 ft) 265 ft

Structures

rank 79 of 99 in IA

Most common type

Tower

42% of structures

Over 200 feet

58% of structures

Peak build decade

1990s

21% built then

Who owns the towers in Palo Alto County

14 different registrants own the 19 structures. Owner names are the registrant's legal entity as filed with the FCC; the large tower companies file under many subsidiary names, which this site groups into families where the brand is in the name or listed in the company's SEC filings.

Constructed structures in Palo Alto County by owner group, bars to scale. Source: FCC ASR, October 2026.

Height and age

The median structure here stands 265 feet, close to the Iowa median of 259 feet. The tallest is a tower near Ruthven at 343 feet, built in 1999. More than in any other decade, 21% were built in the 1990s.

Structures in Palo Alto County by type, bars to scale. Source: FCC ASR.

Structures in Palo Alto County by decade built, columns to scale. Source: FCC ASR.

Every registered structure

Sorted tallest first. The registration number opens the FCC record, which shows the exact location and the owner's contact for the structure. A tower on your land that is not in this list is probably under 200 feet and away from airports, so it did not need registering — see why some towers aren't listed.

FCC reg.	Type	Height	Built	City	Owner
1046920	Tower	343 ft	1999	Ruthven	SBA Infrastructures, LLC
1304715	Lattice tower	329 ft	2018	Cylinder	IOWA STATE OF
1228359	Guyed tower	325 ft	2001	Graettinger	SBA Infrastructures, LLC
1308153	Guyed tower	315 ft	2019	Fenton	Vertical Bridge Development, LLC
1016762	Lattice tower	310 ft	2017	Fenton	INTERSTATE POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY
1018091	Tower	310 ft	1994	Ayrshire	Alltel Corporation
1260567	Guyed tower	310 ft	2008	West Bend	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1297076	Lattice tower	310 ft	2015	Ruthven	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1016659	Guyed tower	304 ft	1994	Emmetsburg	SBA Towers IV, LLC
1265375	Tower	265 ft	2009	Ruthven	Alltel Corporation
1329712	Lattice tower	260 ft	2025	West Bend	The Towers, LLC
1264169	Tower	180 ft	2009	Emmetsburg	STATE OF IOWA, dot
1230523	Tower	177 ft	1981	Emmetsburg	Palo Alto, County of
1061319	Tower	138 ft	1999	Emmetsburg	SBA Infrastructures, LLC
1209356	Tower	130 ft	1965	Emmetsburg	Emmetsburg Chamber of Commerce
1313314	Monopole	98 ft	2021	Emmetsburg	Harmoni Towers LLC
1061980	Tower	69 ft	1976	Emmetsburg	PALO ALTO, COUNTY OF
1308352	Monopole	33 ft	2020	Emmetsburg	ALLTEL Corporation
1308618	Monopole	33 ft	2020	Emmetsburg	ALLTEL Corporation

If you have a tower lease in Palo Alto County

Find your structure above, open its FCC record and confirm the owner — that is the company your lease runs to today, even if a different carrier signed it originally. Before answering a buyout offer, put your current rent, escalator and remaining term into the calculator to see what the rent is worth and what return the offer assumes.

Counties in Iowa with similar tower counts: Grundy County (19), Louisa County (19), Monona County (19), Pocahontas County (19), Davis County (18).

Source: FCC Antenna Structure Registration, weekly public access file (r_tower.zip, created 2026-10-18); constructed registrations only; locations rounded. Checked 2026-10-23. Methodology.