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I knew better than to meet one-on-one with Tom Cullen regarding the 28E agreement between the City of Alta and the Alta-Aurelia School District, but I did.
Prior to that meeting, both the City Council and our city attorney advised me to submit a written statement. I prepared a letter and presented it to Superintendent Denny Olhausen and the Alta-Aurelia School Board at their April 13, 2026 meeting. That same letter was sent to Tom Cullen twice, on April 13 and again on April 22.
When it was not published, Alta City Clerk Lindsey reached out on April 24 at 10:30 a.m. to confirm the emails had gone through. Within one minute, Tom responded requesting a phone or in-person interview.
Lindsey forwarded that message to me, and at 12:17 p.m. I replied that I would be willing to meet. We scheduled an in-person interview for Monday, April 27 at 1 p.m. at Alta City Hall.
During that meeting, Tom recorded most of our conversation. Because of that, there is a record of what was actually said. However, the first two paragraphs published in the May 1, 2026 edition are completely inaccurate.
When asked whether the city would pursue legal action, I stated that it would be a long and costly process and not something I would want to put the city through. I also made it clear that any such decision would ultimately rest with the city council. I did share that we are seeking a second opinion and, if necessary, would hold a public meeting so citizens can understand any recommendations before taxpayer funds are used. At this time, no firm has been selected.
I was also asked why attorneys were involved. As is standard practice, we consult our city attorney, Gary Armstrong, on matters like this. He attends council meetings regularly and provides legal guidance when needed. I do not recall him stating that the agreement is enforceable, and I did not make that claim in the interview.
Regarding the bleachers, I stated that the topic has not been discussed by the city council. The bleachers are school property and used by the school. The district previously received insurance funds following tornado damage, but the repairs were not completed.
The article also states that the district has welcomed communication with the city. The only communication I personally received was an invitation for a one-on-one meeting with Superintendent Olhausen.
Given that his position was already clear, I declined, as it was the council members, not just myself, who had questions needing answers.
Additionally, the district highlights its work on the track and lighting. However, it does not acknowledge the City’s contributions under the 28E agreement. The City maintains the restrooms, concession stand, and surrounding grounds at no cost to the district. We also maintain three little league fields located on school property. Last spring alone, the City replaced poles and lighting at one field at a cost exceeding $60,000.
I was also surprised to read statements attributed to me claiming that no one has expressed interest in running for the school board or that I doubt anyone would run to bring football back to Alta. I did not make those statements. What I did say was that I have not spoken with anyone who believes moving high school sports to Aurelia is a good idea.
I have requested a copy of the recorded interview but have not yet received a response.
My goal is not to create division between Alta and Aurelia or between the city and the school district. My goal is transparency, accuracy and honest communication.
Desi Suter, Mayor of Alta
Much fuss is made over cats and dogs, but this letter isn’t about challenging the logic to spend public and private funds on medical procedures to justify releasing a destructive “invasive” species back into the wild. It’s about challenging the logic by the Buena Vista County Board of Supervisors to put a generous bounty on a very remarkable, beneficial “keystone” species.
Most of us with an Anglo ethnic ancestry most likely come from lineage that helped depopulate this species to near extinction over 400 years ago. Fur trapping here in the New World was a foundational 16th-19th century economic stimulus. In continuum, and still detrimental to the commons, or our environment, each iconic beaver tail, severed and bloody, will fetch you $50 from our supervisors, elected to be good stewards of the land. I feel this needs to be challenged.
After all, these centuries of “man knows best” and countless eradication efforts, attitudes towards this keystone species that restores wetlands and aquifers, improves water quality, boosts biodiversity and monarch populations and naturally mitigates draught, flooding and wildfires, are finally changing. Education is turning more of us into “beaver believers,” undeterred by a little ridicule.
The recent catastrophic flooding in Wisconsin has indeed shifted public and political attitudes toward beavers, prompting state regulators to reevaluate their longstanding policy of treating these incredibly docile, monogamous, tight-knit, family-oriented animals primarily as destructive nuisances.
Here in northwest Iowa, the multi-day rainfall from June 20-22, 2024 prompted a presidential declaration of a major disaster with an estimated cost of the flooding at over $310 million.
Gosh, even Iowa State University researchers are gathering more empirical evidence on how beaver colonies can significantly reduce in-stream nitrate loads and trap precious Iowa topsoil sediment. This Johnny-come-lately research is largely funded through the Iowa Nutrient Research Center that shows beavers as virtually free ecosystem engineers.
Undoubtedly they would enhance the few nutrient reduction taxpayer subsidized strategies that dot the state. While the Iowa Farm Bureau claims to support funding natural ways to improve water quality, they are undoubtedly monitoring the research in context of agricultural damage, so the ISU positive findings quite possibly will be stymied.
Iowa ranks 49th in public lands. Eminent domain is the legal authority of the state, local or federal government to purchase private property for public use. The technologyf now exists with the use of satellite imaging and AI to identify optimal beaver relocation sites.
By analyzing geospatial data like water flow, slope, vegetation and human infrastructure, AI models identify streams/drainage ditches that will hlp us benefit most from beaver engineering. Re-wilding for the sake of the commons. Dam right!
All you Iowa politicians take note, leave it to beaver and let the “beaver” chips fall where they may.
Tim Humes, Storm Lake
The person who wrote about monotheism was right, it is a problem, but he left one factor out. The belief in the war god which they all believe in and it is way beyond the fact that war used to be two armies fighting across the field to kill each other, now it is the killing of the innocent below the bombs. You name it, children, journalists, women and anyone else they deem to be in the way. Taking Christ down from the cross and beating his head in with a sledge hammer is just one example. You can call it monotheism, but I call it killing for the war god they all believe in.
Oppenheimer called the first blast of the atomic bomb the trinity blast. What was his trinity to the war god? The killing of millions of civilians, the raising of all the dead from the dust of the earth or the almighty use of weapons to honor the war god. They think their war is all powerful but it is all deadly. We have the power to do it on the high seas so don’t waste any time boarding the boat just blow the hell out of them. What is freedom of the seas? What does freedom mean in Russia after Stalin starved seven million Ukrainians to death. The present wars are just an example of the cruelty of the past wars and now they have robots killing robots and any person who might be in the way.
Joe Lawler, River Falls, Wis.
It's slipping away. Our Democracy. Gerrymandering gone wild may apply the coup de gras. Pushed along by Citizens United, religious fervor, SCOTUS and this administration we are at a tipping point.
Surveys consistently show:
One fact remains crystal clear: People are exhausted by fights that have nothing to do with their lives and want an impartial formula for re-districting for now and forever.
A rational and measured response would be a system which relies purely on geography and arithmetic. In Iowa, for example, draw a vertical North/South line that divides the population exactly in half. Then divide the resulting halves by an E/W line dividing those portions also into equal populations. Done! Four districts: NE, NW, SE, SW.
The Voting Rights Act probably requires a small revision to accommodate the “Communities of Interest” clause and also actually makes sense and will be more acceptable to the public. Use township lines and township populations to create both the NS and EW lines and hold any population variance of districts within a given small percent, maybe .5%.
Iowa has ~1,600 townships, each about 36 square miles, laid out in a near perfect checkerboard across the state.
Townships are:
Then split each resulting half North-South by township population.
Each quadrant becomes a district. And because the population units are by townships, the lines “snap” to township boundaries. Not quite straight and not exactly equal but surely close enough and maintains “communities of interest.”
Such a mechanical algorithm would:
Regrettably voters cannot vote on this nationally. But states can and Iowa could lead the way. Come on Iowa. Show yer stuff. Get this on the mid-term ballot. Others will follow.
Ron Platt, (Crestland '59), Overland Park, Kan.
Dave Dawson is a hard-working leader ready to represent Iowa’s fourth Congressional District. He has the energy, the intellect and the compassion to be a remarkable voice in Congress.
Dave is an accomplished attorney who has spent nearly two decades protecting families as a prosecutor. He has argued and won cases before the Iowa Supreme Court to safeguard children’s rights. As a former Iowa House Representative he was known for working across the aisle to achieve results. Having grown up in a small town, Dave knows the struggles of rural Iowa and the importance of strengthening family farms and supporting rural communities.
Dave will fight to lower prescription drug costs and expand rural healthcare access. He’ll work to keep rural hospitals and nursing homes open, advocate for more benefits for Veterans, and ensure mental health services are available close to home. Dave will push for policies that raise wages, support working families, and crack down on corporate monopolies that hurt farmers and small business owners.
Please join me in supporting Dave Dawson in the June 2 primary. Let’s put him on the ballot in November and send him to Washington to represent Iowa’s fourth Congressional District.
Jo Ann Sadler, Correctionville
Generally the worst-run states and municipalities are headed by Democrats.
They have the highest crime rates, the highest taxes and the highest debt. Some examples are New York City, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle.
San Francisco was once in that category but elected a centrist Democratic mayor who tackled the homeless problem and reversed defunding the police policies as well as getting their fiscal house in order. The problem is that there are few centrist Democrats left. They have been replaced by the progressive/socialists or the even more radical Democrat Socialists of America.
Much of their support is derived from municipal unions such as the teacher unions, which are basically a subset of the Democratic Party.
In spite of the enormous amounts of money spent on education, $42,000 per student in New York City for example, the performance at grade level is abysmal. The teachers unions are not concerned about that, their interest is in maintaining power and government largesse.
Democratic states and cities have the highest incidence of welfare fraud. Witness Minneapolis where welfare fraud is said to be in the billions. The Democrats are reluctant to address that because welfare recipients are a major constituency so they ignore it.
Democratic states and cities are often sanctuaries for illegal aliens. There is little doubt that ICE overstepped their boundaries in aggressively arresting illegal aliens at times, Minneapolis being an example.
However, when the Democrats allowed an open border and millions of people illegally entering the country for four years, it is an extremely difficult and dangerous process to try and remove them. I’m convinced that many Democrats would be more comfortable having criminal illegal aliens in their midst than immigration enforcement officers.
Vic Massara, Omaha, Neb.
The Iowa Legislature passed legislation (which Gov. Reynolds has signed) giving the governor power to mandate when the flag must be lowered to half-staff on public buildings across the state.
Here’s a thought: Newly-elected Gov. Rob Sand could declare Jan. 6 as “Back the Blue Day” and require the lowering of flags to commemorate the heroism of the U.S. Capitol Police — five of whom subsequently died — in defending our government against a riotous mob, that included many who intended to hang the vice president.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (should she be lucky enough to retain her position) could demonstrate her zeal for enforcing the law by going after any county government or school board that failed to comply.
Jim Walters, Iowa City
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