LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Lewis’ attendance at zoning board is spotty
I was surprised to see the Des Moines Register endorse Justyn Lewis for the Des Moines City Council at-large seat, pointing out that he focuses on “accountability for government.”
Lewis currently serves on the vitally important Planning and Zoning board. But in the past 12 months alone, according to the Planning and Zoning minutes published online, he was not physically present for nine of the 24 meetings, including the entire months of August, October and November.
This doesn't say “accountability” to me and should be a large red flag.
The people of Des Moines deserve representation. Perhaps the editorial board should have done more homework on its endorsement. Judith A. Conlin, Des Moines
In all I do, I am serving
Regarding comments about my attendance at Plan and Zoning Commission meetings: I stand firm in my belief in keeping government accountable. I have a 65% attendance rate; the times I do not attend, I am coaching for the city.
In all, I am serving. Justyn Lewis, Des Moines
WHO should keep politics out of 5 to 9
That WHO radio has parted ways with morning show hosts Maxwell Schaeffer and Amy Sweet is hardly a surprise but certainly not their fault. Morning show audience figures have steadily dropped since the departure of Van Harden and Bonnie Lucas.
As WHO radio slowly became a shameless mouthpiece of the Republican Party, Van Harden was smart enough to know many Iowans are not interested in a steady diet of political dogma. Van and Bonnie featured many interesting people and timely happenings around Iowa. That changed.
Faced with dwindling numbers on the morning show, current ownership doubled down on the only thing they knew.
Political hosts such as Jeff Angelo and Simon Conway started showing up more often on the morning show. What should have been obvious was that the morning audience is simply not the same as those that tune in later in the day.
It remains to be seen what will happen, but as of now there is more political drivel on in the morning.
Some lessons are never learned by management. Central Iowa advertisers are plainly having second thoughts as well. Robert Runge, Des Moines
America fought, succeeded in ending slavery here
Regarding the Rev. Eric Rucker's “What I'll tell my son about history and his white heritage” from March 10:
Pastor, tell your son that the entire world practiced slavery for 100,000 years or more, but his country, America, was among the first to end slavery in a war where hundreds of thousands died.
Together with the British we used our navies to put an end to slave transport on the high seas, forcing many other countries, such as Muslim countries in the Middle East, to reduce and finally end their slave trade, although they did not want to do this and it took many decades.
After we ended slavery here, many countries around the globe continued it for scores of years.
After slavery ended in America, we had Jim Crow, but tell him we ended Jim Crow in 1964, removing all legal barriers to Black people.
Tell him that racism is very much alive in countries like India, China, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia — but that America is one of the least racist countries on earth and he can be proud of that fact.
Finally, please tell him that there is a new slavery in the world that we are seeing at our border with Mexico, where drug cartels are trafficking little kids. They are truly slaves, and remain slaves once they are brought here. Tell him we must fight to end this new slavery in America, and that we will prevail. Rob Eells, Albia
Pay whatever it takes for DART
I do not use DART, but those who depend on it running in a timely, realistic manner are in severe risk of having their lives upturned.
Iwould happily pay more taxes so we have actual and reliable running transportation, as most cities do.
Not investing in DART will lose potential residents. Shutting down an hour early will put resident riders in dangerous situations.
Businesses depend on DART for their employees' transportation to work. Not providing enough money is simply a ridiculously far-sighted move.
We are not a walking city. We live in an area in Des Moines, like most do, without sidewalks.
Investing in transportation and our ability to walk safely will create a better run city. A city that visitors and residents can depend on.
Our City Council must support what DART needs. If not, we will be paying for more when jobs are lost and when children can't get to day care or school.
Three-fourths of riders rely solely on the bus for movement to crucial places to help their lives grow. Jennifer Norum, Des Moines
Would educators with guns be targeted by police?
The single most consequential question for our children's lives regarding the proposed arming of school teachers is one question that proponents continue to duck. The question is too consequential to duck given the proposed legislation keeping confidential the identity of a school employee issued a permit to carry deadly force.
The consequential question: How will police, sheriff's deputies, and state troopers tell the difference between designated school employees with guns and an actual shooter in schools? Michael May, Indianola
You need ID for almost everything; why not voting?
Regarding the government's justification for not requiring identification in order to vote, I take issue with the suggestion that it is unfair (or even racist) to force voters to present a government-issued form of ID. If one looks at our world today, it is almost impossible to exist without documentation.
You can't drive, own a credit card, board an airplane, rent a car, purchase an alcoholic beverage, or for that matter purchase anything at all at the events that have changed to “cashless.” The idea of voter drop boxes and mail-in ballots does nothing but encourage voter fraud, and the general public will forever question our elections' legitimacy. Stu Bassman, West Des Moines
The cure is worse than the disease
I'm convinced: If we could just jail Donald Trump, get rid of MAGA, end the Electoral College, stack the Supreme Court, ban voter ID, and censor free speech, we could probably save DEMOCRACY. Tom O’Brien, Urbandale
Electing Simonson would add LGBTQ+ representation
Mike Simonson brings a lifetime of valuable knowledge and service to his community. As a small-business owner, Mike has served our community for twelve years on Planning and Zoning and served on Des Moines parks board as well as many nonprofit boards. He also would be a tremendous asset for the city as a licensed professional architect who knows this city inside and out.
As an openly gay man, Mike would also be the first openly gay member of the Des Moines City Council at a time when the Iowa Legislature continues its vicious and unnecessary attacks on LGBTQ+ individuals. Representation matters. Matt McCoy, Des Moines
Ethanol expansion, pipeline routes affect water demand
Plans to expand ethanol plants and pipeline routes across Iowa seem to ignore the fact that we are still locked in a serious drought that doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon.
Summit Carbon Solutions is setting out to expand carbon capture from 13 ethanol plants to 25. These projects will require massive amounts of water.
Does Summit prioritize the needs of the people living in our towns and communities against their expanding demand for water resources? If their requests for water permits are approved, they will take almost 1 billion gallons every year.
Many communities are already anticipating water shortages this spring and summer. Clarke County is already under a water restriction for households and fines are given if it is exceeded. Should we expect Summit to be fined for excessive water use if permits are approved?
Expansion of the number of ethanol plants and pipeline routes will require serious scrutiny by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources because there have not been adequate rules and regulations in place to protect Iowa's water quality and resources. The water quality of our rivers, lakes and streams, and that includes sources of drinking water, are threatened by run-off from agricultural inputs and exacerbated by drought. This will impact the sustainability of rural communities.
The state of Iowa needs to reprioritize the value of putting people before profits that drain limited water resources and threaten the sustainability of our towns and communities. I'm asking Iowans to reach out to Kayla Lyon at the Department of Natural Resources and say that water permits for Summit's CO2 pipeline route are not a beneficial use. That's kayla.lyon@dnr.iowa.gov. Cherie Mortice, Des Moines, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
Menthol cigarettes steal lives
My late wife smoked. I respected her choice to do that. A cigarette is a cigarette, I thought. She loved those menthol cigarettes. That made quitting the habit much more difficult. My wife died from lung cancer, and more than 10 years have passed since her death. I place much of the blame on menthol cigarettes. I certainly respect President Joe Biden's call to ban them. Alan Oppedal, Ruthven
State tournaments should be viewable for free
Why does the Iowa High School Athletic Association charge to watch state athletic events? It is beyond frustrating that these games are not readily available on YouTube (as was the case with the girls basketball tournament). Keeping access from a large-scale audience is hampering the growth of the game and community participation. I am so disappointed in this and hope the platform is changed in order for all of us to have the opportunity to enjoy state competition and to cheer for a wide range of high school athletes and teams. Jen Brauch, West Des Moines
Correction
Two letters on March 10 had the incorrect authors listed. "Trump leads the charge on bullying" was by Margaret Stone of Boone. "Verifying identities should not be controversial" was by Fred Johnson of Ames.