Upon the filing of such petition, the utilities board shall cause a notice, addressed to the citizens of each county through which the proposed line or lines will extend, to be published in a newspaper located in each such county for two consecutive weeks. Said notice shall contain a general statement of the contents and purpose of the petition, a general description of the lands and highways to be traversed by the proposed line or lines, and shall state that any objections thereto must be filed in writing with the board not later than twenty days after the date of last publication of the notice. Any person, company, city, or corporation whose rights may be affected, shall have the right to file written objections to the proposed improvement or to the granting of such franchise; such objections shall be filed with the board not later than twenty days after the date of last publication and shall state the grounds therefor. The board may allow objections to be filed later in which event the applicant must be given reasonable time to meet such late objections.