Thursday, January 30, 2025
Vol. 160, Issue 5 www.decorahleader.com
Decorah, Iowa 52101 email: editor@decorahleader.com
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Officials with Alliant Energy held an informational session on Jan. 22 at their operations facility in Decorah. The company answered questions related to an upcoming referendum to potentially allow the city of Decorah to establish a municipal electric utility. Alliant is opposing the referendum, and city officials are seeking guidance from the Iowa Utilities Commission as to whether a previous order from the commission applies to information Alliant is disseminating ahead of the March 4 vote. (Photo by Seth Boyes)
IUC to weigh Decorah’s concerns ahead of March 4 referendum
Randy Bauer, director of operational resources with Alliant Energy,spoke to community members during a Jan. 22 informational meeting at Alliant’s operations facility in Decorah. (Photo by Seth Boyes)
City updates election materials, Alliant holds info sessions BY SETH BOYES NEWS EDITOR Officials with the Iowa Utilities Commission are considering concerns presented to them last week by representatives with the city of Decorah. The city is seeking clarification from the IUC as to whether a previous ruling from the commission applies to information Alliant Energy is currently disseminating ahead of a local March 4 referendum, during which area voters will decide whether the city may establish a municipal electric utility. A similar question was posed to Decorah’s
voting public in 2018, failing by a total of three votes, and the city said in its recent petition to the IUC that inaccurate information provided to the public at that time by Alliant and Interstate Power and Light Company — the division of Alliant Energy which serves Iowa — may have affected the outcome of that referendum. The IUC issued an order in 2019, saying it found the company’s opposition to Decorah’s 2018 municipalization effort had demonstrated “a lack of management efficiency by withholding from and not providing to the citizens of Decorah accurate information
about anticipated rate increases.” The commission also required Iowa Power and Light to submit a plan outlining how the company would improve its customer relations. Alliant, which provides electrical service to most of the city of Decorah, has pursued multiple rate increases since the 2018 referendum, and city officials previously indicated they aim to explore alternatives for providing electricity to Decorah residents, if Alliant’s rates
Iowa Utilities Commission
continued on page 10
Melanie Tietz of Decorah shows off some of the Public School Strong t-shirts, which are part of a campaign aiming to train volunteers to attend school board meetings, write letters to the editor and take other action in support of Iowa’s public schools. (Photo by Roz Weis)
Former Decorah school board member joins movement promoting public schools BY ROZ WEIS STAFF WRITER Melanie Tietz of rural Decorah is behind a grass roots effort in the community to promote public schools. Tietz, who formerly served for more than a decade on the Decorah School Board, believes public education is under attack in Iowa and across the nation. Tietz shared information
‘Every kid is interested in graphic novels’
Decorah Public Library’s graphic novels section has become one of the most popular categories of books in its collection, and in February, the DPL is teaming up with ArtHaus to offer a series of classes to help give youth in grades 1-6 the tools to create their own
graphic novels. “Every kid is interested in graphic novels,” said Decorah native and ArtHaus Studio Manager Oran Deen-Lester, who will be teaching the class. “They combine a ton of really, really interesting mediums into one finished product, and with that many mediums going at once, you can really be expressive with what you’re doing. To give kids — students — that level of self-expression, I think, is really beneficial. And, graphic novels are fun to read. They just bring people a lot
of joy, and I’ve found a lot of joy in creating and designing characters for them, writing them, and I’d love to share a bit of that with the community, so others can have fun with them too.” DPL Children and Young Adult Librarian Sophie Nall said the classes, which will be held for one hour each Tuesday from Feb. 4-March 4, have already filled up, which she said shows the popularity of graphic novels among area children. “It’s one of the most highly-circulated sec-
tions out of the whole building, and I’m always pushing graphic novels, because kids just love them,” Nall said. “This is an opportunity for kids to explore their artistic styles. With the graphic novel medium, you have an opportunity to take your character that you like to draw and put them into different situations, put them into
Graphic novel classes
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Public schools continued on page 3
LEFT- Pictured are a few of the many graphic novels available for children at the Decorah Public Library.
ArtHaus, Decorah Public Library to host graphicVisit novel classes for area youth us online - www.decorahnewspapers.com BY ZACH JENSEN STAFF WRITER
about the Public School Strong with the local school board earlier this month, saying the campaign is taking shape in the state. The movement aims to support public education by advocating for students and staff as well as pushing back on what
RIGHT- ArtHaus Studio Manager Oran Deen-Lester uses an iPad to draw characters for a graphic novel. The Decorah native, an amateur graphic novelist, is teaming up with Decorah Public Library Children and Young Adult Librarian Sophie Nall to offer youth in grades 1-6 insight on creating graphic novels of their own. (Photos by Zach Jensen)