Editorial

Looking from the high bank along Sunset Park on Sunday we could see rocks six to 10 feet out from shore beneath the water. It was crystal clear. We have lived in Storm Lake most of our lives and have never seen the lake so clear as we have over the past five years or so. Dredging is making a huge impact on water quality in what was among the most turbid lakes in Iowa.

We have watched from afar with dismay as the Iowa Public Information Board time after time dismissed complaints over government records and meetings that were concealed from the public. Of 23 routine orders filed by staff of the board since it was created in 2012, none were rendered in favor of the public. The most common dismissals were written off as “harmless error” or “insufficient grounds.”

Consider the latest order filed:

Methodist Manor’s announcement last week that it will add 48 beds to its retirement community was welcome news on many fronts. First, it would appear that the non-profit long associated with Storm Lake has its finances in order. Second, there is strong demand to retire in The City Beautiful for its cultural, recreational and educational offerings. Third, it will help ease the community’s housing shortage.

Voters in the Sioux Central School District affirmed the school’s future Tuesday by overwhelmingly supporting a $7.5 million bond issue that will build new classrooms, a gym and football field on the central campus just south of Sioux Rapids. They understand that Sioux Central is one of the rare rural districts with growing enrollment thanks to a younger demographic fueled by location and by the presence of Rembrandt Enterprises, the huge egg supplier that has been expanding through the years.

Democrats have only themselves to blame if they lose control of the US Senate this fall and watch their other mid-term election prospects wither on the vine for ignoring one key group: Latinos. Overwhelming support among Latinos keeps Harry Reid in good stead as the senator from Nevada, and was a major component of vaulting Barack Obama into the White House.

What did they get for it?

Storm Lake and Buena Vista County can rejoice in the news that Hillshire Brands told employees this week that it intends to restore operations at its turkey processing plant here within the year. Employees were informed that they would be paid in the interim, that their medical benefits would be covered and that they might earn extra pay by helping clean up the mess left by the huge fire Saturday night.

For the record: The Northwest Iowa YES Center sent a memo last week to area county auditors who support the center with our property tax dollars regarding a recent investigation by the Iowa Department of Human Services and the Department of Inspections and Appeals. YES Center Board Member Ken Hach was kind enough to provide us with a copy of the memo, written by YES Center Director Cheryl McGrory. McGrory has not returned our message seeking comment to the stories we published based on the invesgitation.

Iowa needs a comprehensive probe into how it treats juveniles in trouble. Unfortunately, it may take a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state to define how we treat children who are suicidal, orphaned or in the process of delinquency determination.

States pass laws. That’s what legislatures do. Some states pass laws allowing gay marriage. Some pass laws banning late-term abortions. Some states act to tamp down the black vote. Some states don’t tax military pensions. But when a state tries to regulate agriculture in any way the lawsuit flies into US District Court. Iowa joins states like Missouri, Arkansas and Alabama suing the State of California, which states that cages for chickens must be large enough to flap their wings.

The Laurens-Marathon School District is losing overall population. It is bleeding students through open enrollment to other school districts — a net of 60 next year. It will end this year with a deficit of more than $200,000. And on Monday, the school board elbowed out Superintendent Iner Joelson with a decent severance package, according to the Laurens Sun newspaper.

The ship is listing.