Editorials: Hush-hush deal

Sounds like Buena Vista County will take over the Storm Lake Marina from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The county conservation board and IDNR have come to terms, but the public is not to be trusted with that information just yet. We also do not know what the county intends to do with it.

This is a matter of keen public interest that deserves quick and full disclosure. Because it is controversial, the county instinct is to guard information. Many people believe that the marina should be leased to a private operator. The government does not want to see a party start there. Maybe it will be used as a little nature center or museum with stuffed animals. The county is not saying.

With its obtuse ways the county managed to misplace more than $5 million intended for the City of Storm Lake. Excuse our skepticism about not fully disclosing terms of takeover and what the conservation board intends to do with the facility. Who gets the dock rental fees? Who is responsible for capital improvements? Our property taxes already are sky high. Will this add to it? Could you buy a six pack to go?

We should know answers to these basic questions.

Turns out the city was not capable of managing the marina. If information is held so closely to the vest, it is not clear that the public interest will be served with the county taking over. We have no idea if this is a good deal. IDNR needs to get rid of a headache. Does the county need a headache? Smart business people think they can make money there. They should be allowed to try before it is turned into a county shed with docks.

The marina should be leased to a private operator. There would be interest if the government would let it happen. We wonder what happened among so-called conservatives  to the idea of a limited government footprint, and that it should act only when the private sector is not filling a need. The private sector begged to fill the need — a little bit of fun on Storm Lake, and make a few bucks along the way — but the government would prefer the property for itself. That is the current state of play as we understand it from limited information.

Taxpayers deserve to know the county business as it is going down. Keeping things hush-hush leads to skepticism, lack of trust, rumors and huge mistakes.

Illegal voting

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate reported this week that 87 non-citizens have voted in state elections. That amounts to .004% of 2.3 million voting records reviewed. Another 67 non-citizens registered to vote but apparently have not yet voted. The status of another 2,000 or so people who registered to vote is unclear, Pate said. He intends to refer to law enforcement authorities the 154 cases. So far, Attorney General Brenna Bird filed one charge against a non-citizen for voting in a local election.

Four-thousands of a percent is tiny but 87 votes can decide an election. One vote can. Only citizens should vote. That does not mean we should throw the book at these people.

The man Bird charged is a legal resident. We doubt he would risk deportation just to vote in a school election. He may have thought it was his civic duty. We would think the same of the others who voted or registered to vote. It is safer to not vote or go anywhere near a polling place. If you know it is a crime, you know you can be deported. We doubt that there are many foreign agents living in Marshalltown or Storm Lake working in a packinghouse. Of course, it is reasonable to look into it.

These people who may have thought they are supposed to vote, when everyone is saying you have a duty to vote.

Pate said he wants these people prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Bird is probably happy to oblige. We suspect they had no idea what registering to vote meant for them. It could mean a trip to Venezuela or worse. We doubt their intent was malign, and obviously if it were a foreign operation it was not a very good one.

The fact is that the records were scoured and the violators were identified. The system is pretty secure but not leak-proof. The publicity should educate non-citizens of the dangers of voting.