Mike Porsch is a good guy. Straight and honest. Diligent. Friendly. Porsch has served as mayor of Storm Lake for eight years, and for eight years before that he was a city councilman. Porsch is dedicated to Storm Lake. That’s exceptional service to his community. Porsch announced that he will not seek re-election as mayor, and likewise Councilman Kevin McKinney also does not intend to run. We appreciate them both and their service.
Two other terms are up for November, seats held by Councilwoman Maggie Martinez and Matt Ricklefs.
Elections always are opportunities for change. Storm Lake needs change at city hall.
Our property taxes and water rates are rising faster than we can afford. Our streets are not in good shape. Storm Lake is entangled in a lawsuit with Buena Vista County because several million dollars in tax increment financing revenue is not accounted for. City officials stonewall us when we try to find out how the resort is doing. Things are a mess, from the outside looking in — if you can get a glimpse.
The administration has accumulated a lot of power, in a practical sense. We are presented with an opportunity to claw some back and put power rightly in the hands of the elected officials on the city council. We are so turned off by the current arrangement we think fondly of the days when we had a city administrator, and not a manager with enhanced authority. That is a discussion worth having: Do we need an autocrat to run our town in the person of a city manager? Probably not.
Power should be in the hands of the public. It must not be self-ordained as it appears to be.
We can hope that our next mayor will have the leadership qualities to usher change through the council. We know that we will have a new council member, to replace McKinney. That is the beginning. We need council members to assert themselves and bring public control back to government.
Problems born of arrogance have been building for years. It is time to remind the government that it is supposed to serve the public. Being responsive means shaping an administration that can keep a lid on taxes and fees, maintain a steady and dependable water supply, bring to a resolution its hugely expensive litigation with Buena Vista County (where change also is sorely needed), and embrace public transparency.
Storm Lake can solve these problems with resolute candidates committed to the common good and not afraid of change. Bring in a big broom.
Sac County voters will be asked again to approve of building a new jail with an estimated cost of $12.5 million. Voters narrowly rejected an $11 million bond issue last year, and not a whole lot has changed except for the price. The jail remains archaic and is not getting newer. A recent escape (the inmate was caught) gives new Sheriff Jonathon Meyers some confidence that he can pick up 100 or so votes from the last go-around to meet the 60% approval threshold.
A big hurdle is the high level of property tax. Patrons of the Schaller-Crestland school district are coping with the closing of the Early school because of our antiquated tax system that makes rural places like Sac County suffer. The Iowa Legislature does nothing but shift the tax burden to sales and property taxes while slashing income tax collections. More of the burden falls on local government and property taxes.
Another part of the problem is that Sac County voters are not quite convinced they need a jail at all. The Buena Vista County Jail probably can handle the Sac County jail roster. There are other neighboring jails as well. Sending inmates to other jails is an inconvenience to the sheriff and the court system, and transportation is not cheap. It might not be a $12 million problem in the public’s mind.
The sheriff will have to explain why Sac County needs a jail, and why it has to cost this much. The public has to ask itself why our 99 counties cannot afford basic things like a jail, or a school in Early. Is it that we have too many counties, or is it that we have wrung everything out of our rural economy to the point where these county seats are no longer viable?
The Raccoon River at Van Meter has exceeded the safety standards for nitrate 100 out of 113 days since April, according to Dr. Chris Jones, retired research scientist at the University of Iowa. The federal Environmental Protection Agency last week delisted the Raccoon, the Des Moines and the Cedar River from the impaired waters list.
This will allow commercial development and discharge into these rivers, Jones suggests.
The Raccoon has registered over 10 milligrams per liter of nitrate consistently, but the Iowa Department of Natural Resources thinks since Des Moines Water Works is treating the contamination, the river is not impaired. Nitrate causes cancer and birth defects. It comes from fertilizer. That is why we do not regulate nitrate in Iowa.
We are poisoning the water for the ag consolidators. It’s all perfectly fine, we are told. And we can can’t make enough money with all those hogs in Sac County to keep a jail or keep a school in Early.
Democrats hoping to take the US Senate seat held by Republican Joni Ernst have a difficult choice that was just made a little easier: Rep. JD Scholten of Sioux City dropped out over the weekend, and endorsed Rep. Josh Turek of Council Bluffs. Other candidates are Nathan Sage, the chamber of commerce director for Knoxville; Jackie Norris, former chief of staff to Michelle Obama; and Zach Wahls, a state legislator from Iowa City. It is a strong field of candidates.
Turek was born with spina bifida from his father’s exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He won two gold medals for Team USA at the Paralympics in basketball, and then won election in a House district won by Trump twice. His announcement video is pretty strong, with generous references to former Sen. Tom Harkin, a friend who is not endorsing.
Sage also has a strong personal story, reared in a Mason City mobile home court, military service, working his way through school and building a life in Iowa. He is running to reclaim lunch-bucket voters.
Norris is a longtime political organizer and strategist. Few know Iowa better. She ran Goodwill in Des Moines after serving in the Obama White House. She is a member of the Des Moines School Board. Norris is a tireless worker who could go toe-to-toe with anyone.
State legislator Zach Wahls also is running. He hasn’t been up this way yet.
Scholten nearly defeated former Congressman Steve King. He has the best understanding of farming and rural communities of anyone who was running. It might sound odd, but Scholten also probably has the best sense of what common Iowans want and expect by sitting in a minor-league dugout with people who spit for a living. We are sad to see him leave the race but understand that he could not see a way to victory.
WE WANT TO WISH Catelin Drey of Sioux City all the best in an Aug. 26 special election to fill a vacant Iowa Senate seat formerly held by the late Sen. Rocky DeWitt, a Republican. Drey is the daughter-in-law of Jean and Steve Drey, who just moved to Sioux City from Storm Lake. (Steve and Jean have a lovely house on Irving Street for sale.) Catelin married Tyrel Drey. She is a marketing executive and founder of the advocacy group “Moms for Iowa.” Drey is running against Christopher Prosch of Sioux City, who says his goal is to eliminate the income tax. If Drey wins, Republicans would no longer have a two-thirds majority in the Senate, which could hinder some agency nominations.
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