Cell towers in Shelby County, IA

The FCC registry lists 20 constructed antenna structures in Shelby County, 1% of Iowa's 3,266. Iowa 8-Monona Limited Partnership owns 6 of them (30%), so a landowner here with a tower lease is more likely than not dealing with one company. The three big tower companies — American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA — hold 1 between them.

Value a buyout offer

1Constructed structures 20
2Tallest 400 ft
3Largest owner Iowa 8-Monona Limited Partnership
4Median height (state 259 ft) 300 ft

Structures

rank 72 of 99 in IA

Most common type

Tower

45% of structures

Over 200 feet

85% of structures

Peak build decade

2010s

30% built then

Who owns the towers in Shelby County

14 different registrants own the 20 structures. One is registered to an individual or family trust, whose name this site withholds. 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 Shelby County by owner group, bars to scale. Source: FCC ASR, October 2026.

Height and age

The median structure here stands 300 feet, 41 feet taller than the Iowa median — a sign of broadcast and rural coverage towers rather than short suburban sites. The tallest is a tower near Harlan at 400 feet, built in 1996. More than in any other decade, 30% were built in the 2010s.

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

Structures in Shelby 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
1047590	Tower	400 ft	1996	Harlan	HARLAN MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
1304136	Lattice tower	400 ft	2018	Harlan	IOWA STATE OF
1305928	Lattice tower	339 ft	2019	Earling	Horvath Towers V, LLC
1221077	Tower	320 ft	2000	Harlan	COUNTY OF SHELBY IOWA
1012455	Guyed tower	311 ft	2010	Harlan	CCATT LLC
1281968	Tower	310 ft	2012	Portsmouth	Iowa 8-Monona Limited Partnership
1308730	Lattice tower	309 ft	2023	Defiance	Iowa 8-Monona Limited Partnership
1275746	Tower	306 ft	2010	Avoca	Iowa 8-Monona Limited Partnership
1307092	Lattice tower	306 ft	2022	Irwin	Iowa 8-Monona Limited Partnership
1018073	Guyed tower	302 ft	2002	Harlan	Iowa 8-Monona Limited Partnership
1034083	Tower	299 ft	1966	Manilla	Private owner (name withheld)
1202090	Guyed tower	290 ft	1999	Harlan	CTI Towers Assets II, LLC
1327171	Lattice tower	265 ft	2024	Elk Horn	The Towers, LLC
1238862	Guyed tower	260 ft	2003	Walnut	Octagon Towers, LLC
1311632	Lattice tower	255 ft	2019	Kimballton	Vertical Bridge Development, LLC
1023686	Tower	240 ft	1950	Elk Horn	Heartland Tower Inc.
1059696	Tower	210 ft	1998	Harlan	Iowa 8-Monona Limited Partnership
1262193	Lattice tower	190 ft	2008	Harlan	ARRAY DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
1254723	Tower	179 ft	2003	Portsmouth	Heartland Tower Inc.
1200963	Tower	33 ft	1999	Harlan	CITY OF HARLAN

If you have a tower lease in Shelby 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: Lucas County (21), Sac County (21), Audubon County (20), Winnebago County (20), Cherokee County (19).

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.