The Wright County
Monitor
2013 Homecoming Page 13 Sports Pages 14 and 15
144th year Number 39
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Official newspaper of Wright County
$1.00 per copy
www.clarionnewsonline.com
Eisentrager settling in as new magistrate
2013 Homecoming King and Queen
Clarion-Goldfield & Dows Schools 2013 Homecoming King Mitch Gambrill and Queen Frances Kem who were nominated and selected by their high school peers for the honor.
City of Clarion to send out survey to residents The City of Clarion is interested in applying to the State of Iowa for federal HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to leverage city dollars to make needed improvements to community infrastructure and housing. The City is investigating submission of applications for housing rehabilitation, sanitary sewer pipe slip lining with connections and storm water drainage improvements. The primary goal under Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act is the development of viable communities by providing decent housing and suitable living environments principally serving persons with low and moderate incomes (LMI). For these purposes, LMI persons have incomes at or below 80% of the area median income, defined by HUD. To be eligible to apply for funding, at least 51% of those benefitted by the improvement must
be considered LMI qualified. The city is conducting a required income survey to ascertain its eligibility to apply in a section in the south half of town where improvements are needed. The survey is critical to be able to apply. It is anonymous and asks residents to identify how many are in the household and what the income range is and ethnic and racial information. No one is asked to disclose their personal income. The survey will be mailed the week of September 23, 2013. Responses are due by Monday, October 7 to City Hall. At least 80% of residents in the area must return the survey in order to be accepted by Iowa Economic Development Authority. The surveys will have a number on them that identifies the block to be able to see which blocks have submitted survey. For questions, contact, Shelley Pohlman, City Administrator at City Hall 515-532-2487.
By: Clae Goater Eagle Grove attorney Dani Eisentrager is Wright County’s new magistrate judge. She took the position on August 1 of this year, and she says she’s settling in well so far. “I am enjoying it very much. It’s a learning curve, but I enjoy it,” Eisentrager said. “I’m settling in and I’m figuring it out. I think things will change as I get into it more. It’s just different learning how am I going to go about … what’s my bail going to be on certain charges? So I’m still figuring all that out. “ Eisentrager, who’s practiced in Eagle Grove since September of 2006, said that the magistrate position appealed to her because of changes in her workload as an attorney. “In the last few years, my practice has changed a little bit, in that I wasn’t doing a lot of the court appointed criminal defense work,” Eisentrager said. “I didn’t have that as a big portion of it. So I thought this would kind of fill in (for) that work nicely. And the state benefits are quite nice. So that was something I was interested in. “ Eisentrager says that her background as a defense attorney gives her a unique point of view as a magistrate. “I think I have a different perspective, coming at it as a defense attorney. I feel like that probably weighs in on how I’ve done thing so far, because I’ve always defended the defendant,” Eisentrager said. “I think that probably makes me a little fairer to their position, so to speak. “ As magistrate, Eisentrager handles initial appearances, and preliminary hearings. She presides over non-jury trials for simple misdemeanors and small claims cases. She also approves forcible entry and detainer actions, along with mental health and substance abuse commitments. “I was a little surprised. (Mental health and substance abuse commitments) are very prominent. Lots of those happen. In the last month and a half, there have been a bunch of those. I wasn’t quite expecting that,” Eisentrager said. “I think the problem is that there aren’t the facilities to deal with these people anymore. We used to have options on finding places for these people. There aren’t the options anymore. That’s what makes it most challenging.”
While Eisentrager has a lot of new responsibilities, she says that the county’s transition to digital records has made her job a lot easier. “I think one thing I really like about it is that it’s electronic. I can sit here, I can pull up the files, I can look at things, I can do work at 10:30 at night sitting on my bed at home,” Eisentrager said. “I really like that, I think it makes the court system very efficient. Specifically, because magistrate is a part-time job, so I can be in court all day with my other stuff and then I can still do my magistrate work because it’s all there on the computer.” Contrary to some rumors, Eisentrager is still practicing in Eagle Grove. Her position as magistrate has affected some of the clients she can take, however. “I keep hearing from people that they think I’m done, and I’m not done. I still have my practice. My office is going to be here for a long time,” Eisentrager said. “My practice really hasn’t changed except that I can’t do criminal defense work in Wright County. I wouldn’t be able to do any of the landlord-tenant stuff that I’ve previously done, and I wouldn’t be able to do small claims work in Wright County. “ Eisentrager also had to give up
her position as Eagle Grove’s city attorney to become magistrate. “As city attorney, you are advising the police force and dealing with them on charges they might bring. Those charges all initially come through the magistrate, so there’s that conflict of representing law enforcement then having to make decision in a criminal case where law enforcement is involved,“ Eisentrager said. Eisentrager is taking more of a hands-on approach as magistrate than her predecessor Bill Long did. “I personally appear at the jail in face-to-face contact with people charged with a crime. Bill did it by phone … I prefer to see them personally. I like having that interaction with them,” Eisentrager said. “My procedures for search warrants are different. I require law enforcement to come with me, and sit with me and talk to them and review things with me in person. If they want a search warrant, they’re going to have to see me in person. “ Eisentrager is still finding her footing as magistrate, but she says that she’s received a lot of help. “Other magistrates in surrounding counties have been very helpful in helping me and answering questions,” Eisentrager said.
New Wright County Magistrate Judge Dani Eisentrager And there’s still a lot that Eisentrager looks forward to in the future. “I haven’t had the opportunity to have any trials yet … I am looking forward to it actually… for me when I argue a case I’m obviously very passionate about my position,” Eisentrager said. “I’m very curious on hearing both sides of things and deciding what happens next. I’m very anxious to do that. I’m hoping I will be good at that.”
A Long look back at 35 years as magistrate By: Clae Goater After 35 years as Wright County’s magistrate judge, Bill Long has decided to give up the title. Long says that being magistrate was a real part of his identity. “It was such a part of my life, it was something constant that developed and I grew into it and learned. It was very important in my life. It kind of defined me,” Long said. Long originally got into law, in part, because it was something of a family business. “I have, on my mother’s side, three or four great uncles who were lawyers. My mother always felt that I should (be one),” Long said. After getting his business degree, he went out looking for employment. His experiences on the job market made him decide to go to Drake University to get his law degree. “I went and interviewed for jobs, but was very insecure about what I had learned. I didn’t realize at that time the education will come when
you get the job,” Long said. “So I was very insecure going to job interviews. I thought, ‘School’s not so bad. I’ll just keep going.’” After graduating from Drake, Long began working with a collections law firm out of Des Moines. Long found the experience somewhat dispiriting. “Hounding people who are having difficulty financially anyhow, it wasn’t what I wanted to do,” he said. After leaving Des Moines, Long founded his practice in Eagle Grove in 1971. He worked as Eagle Grove’s city attorney for two years, and as the county attorney for two years. In 1977, Long was elected magistrate. Long says that is proud of his time as a magistrate, and his place within the justice system. “I feel I got to the point where I knew what I was doing, that I was upholding my principles of upholding the law. It was a role where, being there long enough, I
felt confident that what I was doing was right. I felt, in some ways, that I was helping society.” Long said. “The reward was feeling that I was doing a good job.” Long feels like he was a good magistrate, even though he acknowledges that he did things differently than many of his peers. “There are 124 magistrate courts in Iowa, and every one of them is different, particularly when it comes to mental and substance abuse commitments. The magistrates are just all over the spectrum,” Long said. “Some magistrates will commit anybody for what I feel are the smallest things. I was probably one of the few magistrates in Iowa that felt that the real issue is preserving their liberty. For me, they would have to absolutely follow every principle of law before I would commit somebody. I was pretty tough on committing people very easily. “ continued on page 2
A mighty fine line?
Block Rock Island Clean Line Alliance holds meeting By: Clae Goater The Block RICL Alliance, a group opposed to the Rock Island Clean Line project, held an informational meeting in Goldfield on Thursday Sept. 19. The Rock Island Clean Line project is a plan to set up DC cables across Iowa and Illinois, to pipe electricity from Iowa’s wind farms out east. The current proposal calls for 375 miles of cable to be strung across the state. To move forward with the project, Rock Island Clean Line either has to negotiate easements with property owners or
Lunch is served at Security Savings Bank
Area residents braved the wind and slightly chilling weather to enjoy a free luncheon of hamburgers, fruit, chips and a bar in the parking lot of the Security Savings Bank on Friday, Sept. 20. Helping the bank employees serve lunch was the Wright County Beef Producers, Jessica’s Country Kitchen, and members of the Clarion Ambassadors. Security Savings Bank also served lunch at their Eagle Grove location on Monday, Sept. 23.
gain control of their land through eminent domain. Clean Line estimates that the average easement size for an individual property owner is about a half-mile. Reasons for opposing the project vary. Farmers say that Clean Line will reduce the productivity of their land and interfere with certain agricultural practices like spraying or crop-dusting. Others are concerned about how DC lines might affect the health of humans and animals. “We don’t see that there’s been adequate research to show that a DC line is safe. I think there are unintended consequences that haven’t been researched and evaluated,” said Alliance spokesperson Caroline Sheridan. “If Rock Island Clean Line can only give us six (scholarly articles on the subject) because information is hard to find, we need more information. They are having trouble finding out if it does impact livestock and how it impacts human health. They don’t even have that information. “ The open-endedness of the easement agreements also is a sticking point for many landowners. Several people attending the RICL meeting expressed concern that they might sign away their mineral or water rights. Clean Line has also reserved the right to sell off any easements it acquires during the project. This, combined with the fact that Rock Island Clean Line’s parent company, Clean Line Energy Partners, LLC, is a private company, makes some landowners
skeptical. As a private company, Clean Line doesn’t have to make its business model public. So far, Rock Island has not agreed to make their business model public. “Let’s say that it’s not a strong business model. Let’s say that all they are doing is that they are coming in and it’s a commodity. And the commodity is the easements they have bought across the state of Iowa. They now can sell them and do whatever they want with them.,” Sheridan said. “Maybe we’ll put a pipeline there, or something else. Because they’re not interested in what’s actually going on in the state of Iowa, they are interested in the commodity. They tell you right up front in those information meetings that they can sell those easements. “ Sheridan also argues that the states out east don’t even want wind energy from Iowa. In July of 2010, ten east coast governors signed a letter that advocated for developing their own sources renewable energy. Rock Island argues that the letter advocates for renewable energy in general, and says nothing specific about Rock Island. Block RICL Alliance members see the letter as a rejection of the Rock Island project. “If you talk to the eastern states, they say they have plenty of wind energy out there,” Sheridan said. “There’s really adequate wind energy, and that the different transmission grids are using their own systems to meet their needs.” The Block RICL Alliance stressed the importance of filing objections against Clean Line.
“We think it’s important that people know how important the objection process is. The Iowa Utilities Board will review the objections, and after all the ten informational meetings are done in the remaining counties, then Rock Island will file a petition for a franchise. The IUB will review that, and then they are able to grant the franchise unless there are objections,” Sheridan said. “If there are objections, there will be a public hearing in the center of the route, which they think will be in Grundy Center. We feel that will be happening sometime in the spring, but they have two years to get that franchise. “ “What we’ve been hearing is that they expect to get 98 percent volunteer easements. If they get a lot of voluntary easements, there will be no need for a public hearing. So it’s up to us to get enough objections. It’s up to us to get a public hearing,” Sheridan said. Block RICL also advocates that people who oppose Clean Line should contact their representatives about the issue, and talk to any agricultural associations they might belong to. “If they belong to any of the associations, like Iowa Cattleman’s, they should contact them. They should contact their legislators and the governor,” Sheridan said. Sheridan said that people who have been filing objections have been receiving letters from Clean Line. The letters say that the objectors continued on page 2