Letters to the Editor: Leave downtown alone

I attended the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) downtown presentation on April 25. The folks from IEDA went over the surveys that some individuals and businesses completed and the IEDA folks were here in town all of three days to decide what is wrong with Storm Lake’s downtown area.

We, as a business, completed the survey together. One of the things we commented on was that there is a need for a rec center. The folks from IEDA translated that into deciding that we should tear up the intersection at Seventh and Lake making two mini-parks in place of the current streets. That idea is truly stupid. In the past, tearing up a number of railroad crossings in town was a terrible mistake that we live with every day so now just tear up Seventh Street intersection. Wow!

Another thing that the IEDA said during the presentation was they wondered why Fifth Street had so much traffic. It was said that the Fifth Street traffic should be on Business Hwy. 7 (Milwaukee). Such are the comments by people who do not know what they are talking about.

The IEDA folks criticized business owners for having signage that is a square sign, but have room for a rectangular sign. This is petty stuff. Business owners should not have to have matching signs. Business owners have designed and paid for their signs and they should be able to make their signs represent their business. Should the city be able to dictate to business owners what size, shape and type business owner’s signs are?

The IEDA folks told us that we have nice wide sidewalks, wider than most communities and that other communities would be envious of our wide sidewalks. So why does the city continue to tell us we need to expand the width of our downtown sidewalks?

And so it is with the IEDA’s recommendations and with the prior master plan that the city has determined that we need to change Lake Avenue from Railroad to Milwaukee from the four lanes that we have always had to three lanes. With two lanes and a middle turning lane, trying to back out on Lake Avenue would be a nightmare. This is a multi-million dollar project that nobody has asked for and nobody wants.

If the city is so sure that downtown business owners want to change to three lanes between Railroad and Milwaukee, the city should do another survey of the downtown business owners. Send Lee Dutfield, the city’s development services specialist, with a clipboard and ask us all. I know of no downtown business owner that wants to change Lake Avenue.

The 4th of July had a practice run at doing that with La Juanita’s closing off one lane of traffic near their building. It was only a few hours on the 4th, but merging two lanes on the east side of Lake Avenue to one lane caused gridlock downtown. Imagine if that situation was made permanent.  We would all be regretting it every day.

Lake Avenue is not just the way to get downtown. Lake Avenue is also a main thoroughfare to connect North Lake Avenue with the south part of town. If downtown Lake Avenue becomes gridlock, that traffic will use residential streets to get from north to south and vice versa, thereby pushing traffic onto residential streets that will not be able to accommodate it.

The city has so many needs that are going unmet. We lack sidewalks throughout the city. Our streets and alleys are full of holes. The new water tower project is millions of dollars that we don’t have.  The storm sewer cannot handle more than an inch of rain at a time. Many trees have died without some property owners having the funds to remove the trees. The one block of West Sixth Street between Elmwood and Vestal apparently belongs to the railroad, therefore the city does not maintain it. It is full of holes that nobody takes care of while residents on that street regularly try to drive that one block of holes.

Leave downtown alone. The city should create sidewalks in the city where there has not been sidewalks before. The city should create a grant program to help low-income property owners take down dead trees on their property. The city should purchase West Sixth Street between Elmwood and Vestal from the railroad and maintain it. The city should focus on making sure the streets are drivable and without water backing up on the streets. The city should create a rec center as Storm Lake is the biggest town in Iowa without a rec center. The city should be buying land and developing it into residential lots for sale. These are the things that will make Storm Lake a better city for all who live and work here.

Marcia Brighton, Lake Avenue business owner

Fix the streets instead!

I read completely about the plan to “To Establish a Brand for our Downtown” and I agree with George Schaller’s objections to the plan.

1. I think many cities in the Midwest would love to have four lanes in their downtowns with completely adequate diagonal parking.
2. I understand the value of having an outside consultant evaluate our situation and make recommendations. It is good to have another eye look at our downtown from time to time to help us improve on it.
3. I have observed bicycle lanes in other cities and agree that having a bicycle lane is attractive and promotes safe cycling. I am envious in those places that have room for them- it certainly would promote more people to use their bicycles in our downtown area.
4. I completely agree with Mr. Schaller’s worry about having vehicles back into the active lane of traffic to exit parking – this would slow the progression of vehicles and indeed the purpose of streets is to move vehicles along.
5. My biggest objection to the downtown plan has to do with money! Doesn’t it always come down to money! It’s obvious to any driver that our residential streets are in terrible condition. Storm Lake needs to fix our streets! We don’t need to spend one dime changing our downtown street until we fix our residential streets.
6. Check with the FedEx or UPS drivers to rate our streets and setup a plan to tear up six to 10 blocks each year to get started. Someone needs to drive the streets to establish a plan to get started. LEAVE LAKE AVENUE ALONE AND FIX THE DAMN STREETS.
7. Just in case city hall doesn’t know where to begin, let’s all write in to City Hall at PO Box 1086 with our suggestions of streets most in need of repair before we spend anything about changing main street to three lanes.

By the way, Seneca Street from the shelter house to the railroad tracks or East Second from Lake Avenue eastward would be good candidates for replacement — my neighborhood.

Rick Peterson, Storm Lake

Pass the baton, Joe

I will, without, regret vote for President Biden. He has been an effective president for the following reasons:

• Under his leadership, the United States has enjoyed the benefits of an economic recovery unlike any in the developed world. Sure, inflation remains elevated, but so are job creation and wages.
• He has led investment in American infrastructure and manufacturing at the greatest level since FDR.
• America regained her status on the international stage under his administration. NATO, for example, has never been more united or had more members reach the goal of 2% investment of GDP.
• His administration is fighting hard for equal rights — from the voting booth to the individual right to determine what is right for her body to human rights of sexuality, gender, race, creed, etc.

But I also want President Biden to step out of the race for the presidency for the following reasons:

• In answer to questions about how we should judge his fitness for office, the President says, “Watch me.” The problem is 50 million of us watched him on the debate stage and something was clearly wrong.
• He had a cold, but when asked if he’d seen a doctor or taken medicine before the debate, his press secretary replied in the negative. Later, Biden said he had consulted a doctor. If he’d taken cold medicine, say with codeine, before the debate I might buy that as an acceptable reason for the performance, but he’s given no indication of such.
• He was tired. I can appreciate it given his schedule and the demands of the job. He needs more rest, starting at 8 p.m. Remember the ads against Hillary Clinton about who we want answering the phone at 3 a.m.? I can see a new ad. It’s 3 a.m. and Trump is wearing gold, silk pajamas while mean tweeting under the glare of an orange, tan producing lamp and he answers the phone while Biden is being prodded by aides for seconds to wake up.
• When asked if he’s recently had a neurological examination, the president said he hasn’t and doesn’t plan to. Why not? Put the issue, if there is one, to rest for yourself, your family, and the country.
• I thought President Biden generally leveled with the country, but on this one issue, he hasn’t. None of his answers add up to an effective explanation.

I’ve long said that presidents get way too much blame and credit for things that happen during their time in office — from the economy to international crises to immigration. The response to all the challenges falls more on the staff surrounding the president, those that do the real work, often without credit or blame. I’m comforted by the quality and talent of people surrounding President Biden. Even if he is failing, I have faith that his good work will continue. Yet I think we will have more national success if Biden passes the baton now.

On the issue of those surrounding the President, we just have to look at those who have and will surround a President Trump. If you haven’t yet read Project 2025, or even heard about, you should. Its chapters are written by former Trump administration members and you can be certain they’ll be called upon again, this time with less regard for societal norms and legalities. You can find more information on Project 2025 here: www.project2025.org 

When President Trump claims he knows nothing about this, he’s lying. How can he not know about it when he says that some of it he doesn’t agree with and some of it is awful? He can’t have it both ways. I believe Trump intends to implement much of this plan and that should frighten all but the most authoritarian minded people among us.

Mike Frantz, Storm Lake

Responsible for your debt

I hope I am speaking for the silent majority and not hanging out here by myself. I am a cat  lover… had one living with me for several years and enjoyed most every moment. However,  I am distressed by how our priorities have gotten skewed. People are asking me to help pay and also use taxpayer monies for others’ irresponsibility when taking care of their unwanted animals. Where are our outcries when it comes to babies that are aborted? Or when asking me to pay for someone else’s student loan. I never signed the loan; they did.

Our Storm Lake tax monies should be used to take care of infrastructure like falling apart  streets or a new water plant to supply humans with clean water. I am tired of being asked  to take care of others laziness in following through with what they originally decided to do, whether it was releasing an animal into the wild, signing on the dotted line for a loan  to pay for school, or spreading their legs in a moment of passion. Grow up, people! Be responsible for your own actions!

Barb Ansorge, Storm Lake

Vote for a candidate

I’m writing in response to your recently published editorial, “Anybody but Trump.” This argument that Trump is a threat to our democracy is being made by people actively inciting others to put our democracy at risk by encouraging them to vote for a candidate we all know will not be the one who is running our country. In the event people vote for Biden, whether or not he has a pulse, who are they actually voting for? Who is making the decisions that a president should be making? Certainly not the person that Americans chose. And who will hold those anonymous decision-makers accountable should things go horribly wrong?

To vote for someone who knowingly will be a mere figurehead is to actively threaten our democracy. Americans are incredibly fortunate to live in a country where we get to participate in free and fair elections, and this is something that mandates protection. We are the ones who uphold our democracy.

If you think Trump is not the best candidate, by all means do not vote for him – I won’t be. But by emboldening others to vote for the lesser of two evils, or to do it yourself, is to keep our country from ever having a president who truly upholds the will of the people. Blatantly ignoring third party candidates and labeling them as spoilers continues to perpetuate a system where Americans feel forced to choose between two unpalatable candidates.

Choosing a candidate who “looked good enough the day after the debate” and who is saying “he hasn’t lost it and he still knows the truth” may “just have to do” for you, but it will not do for me and many other American voters. I will be casting my vote on Nov. 5 for a candidate who I actually want to be our next President, as is my constitutional right. And I hope that your readers will do the same and vote for a candidate, not against a candidate.

Courtney Hunt, Des Moines

Worst political decisions

President Biden and his supporters urge the American people to look at his record. It's a long one, and worth looking at. As senator and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he was arguably responsible for putting Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court. As senator, his vote was a crucial one in authorizing the invasion of Iraq. Now, he tells us that he’s “the only one” who can beat Donald Trump. If he's wrong on that, he'll have earned a trifecta on the worst political decisions in U.S. history.

Jim Walters, Iowa City

Trump’s return to office

Few 20th century efforts were as consequential as the Manhattan Project, tasked with developing the world’s first atomic bombs. The bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man, ended WWII, but also ushered in an era of fear and threats we will live with forever.    

Now, a right-wing think tank has launched a socially devastating project for a new century. Project 2025, especially designed for Donald Trump’s return to the oval office, threatens to be one of the most consequential social events of the 21st century. 

Unlike the explosions of Little Boy and Fat Man, Project 2025 will implode on the American public, causing the collapse of our administrative state and, with it, our constitutionally protected rights and freedoms. Here are just some of the project’s proposals, most of which target working families and seniors: 

• abolishing the Department of Education 
• ending pre-school for children of low-income families 
• allowing the government to monitor people’s pregnancies to potentially prosecute them if they miscarry 
• firing federal civil servants and replacing them with Trump loyalists 
• eliminating the National Weather Service 
• removing health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions 
• banning Medicare from negotiating for lower prescription drug costs and eliminating the $35 monthly cap on the price of insulin for seniors
• raising the retirement age 
• cutting corporate taxes 

Do your homework! Read about the project in any reputable newspaper or in other news sources like democracydocket.com. Tell friends! And vote like democracy depends on it!

Karen Heidman, Sioux City