The following information is from the City of Mason City, specifically City Administrator Brent Trout, explaining why public records (emails) were altered and / or delted before release to the public.
From Brent Trout:
The following citation of Iowa Law and guidance from the City Attorney (Randy Nielsen, City Attorney provided the research and opinion) was used to determine that the names and email addresses would be kept confidential:
CONFIDENTIALITY OF COMMUNICATIONS NOT REQUIRED BY LAW
Iowa Code Section 22.7 contains a list of public records that “shall be kept confidential” by the lawful custodian of the records. Included in that list are “communications not required by law … that are made to a government body … to the extent the government body receiving those communications from such persons outside of government could reasonably believe that those persons would be discouraged from making them to that government body if they were available for general public examination.” Iowa Code Section 22.7(18). A request has been made to disclose emails containing the preference of each individual sending the email with respect to the city sanitation department and proposed changes thereto. With respect to these emails, I think that the City could reasonably believe that persons would be discouraged from sending such communications if they knew that their names and/or email addresses would be available for public examination and disclosure. Under such circumstances, such emails “shall be kept confidential” under the express language of the statute.
Section 22.7(18)(a) goes on to state that such communications are public records to the extent the person consents to its treatment as a public record. The senders of these emails did not consent to their communications becoming a public record. A person standing up at a public meeting, identifying themselves and asking to speak in public, have clearly given their consent to their statements becoming a public record.
Finally, Section 22.7(18)(b) states that “the information contained in the communication is a public record to the extent that it can be disclosed without directly or indirectly indicating the identity of the person outside of government making it or enabling others to ascertain the identity of that person.” The contents of the emails, therefore, would be a public record as long as all information containing the identity of the person making the communication, or allowing the person’s identity to be determined, is redacted before public disclosure. This would include redaction of email addresses as such information could be used to identify the individuals making the communications.
Reggie that is just stoooopid and not even close to funny.Whos who crap. who cares. Valid is valid.
Again SOMEONE has ALL of the mails untouched.
Funny to some is just stooopid to another BUT STUPID to some is just plain ignorant to others!!!!
While I rarely ,if ever ,applaud Matt I must say that this discussion/debate has really surprised me. Matt you have let dissent and ideas contrary to your opinion come out without deleting them. I am amazed and appreciative. Keep up the liberal attitude.
All this speculation about who is who got me thinking and I have it figured out. LVS is Matt. Matt is Peter. Peter is Maybe. Buzz is Buzz and I’m George Clooney.Tim Akerman is Sonny Liston in the second fight. Am I close?
Reggie, you may be on to something.
So LVS is editor in chief?
@Reggie-You have said this before. I can assure you I am not Matt and have never posted under any other name than my own. Matt is much younger but I am more mature (probably because of my age). It is well known that Philosopus posts under many different names because he answers himself and has a split personality. Of course Lefty’s name is Marty and he lives in Osage, not Mason City. So, just like Philly, his comments are irrelevant. So, what is your point??
You know LVS, I thought you had turned over a new leaf, but I see you’re still using the Karl Rove playbook for putting out a bunch of lies and repeating them over and over again. IT’s Nazi Propaganda 101. Matt is a lazy editor, there’s no doubt about that, but he has already stated that I am not Left MC. I am no one but Philosophus. I’m proud of my statements, and have no need to for deceit or duplicity. Seriously you old goat…give it up. Ur immensely jealous of my intellect and it…
I’m not sure why Matt doesn’t step forward and settle this “who’s who” b.s. once and for all. He could easily do it because he knows everyone’s IP addresses and can geographically pinpoint them by the region they post from. Philosophus is posting from the Las Vegas area…and I’m unsure of everyone else. I would never give up my beautifully profound statements to some anonymous moniker. I take full credit for it all, and one day will publish everything that I’ve written.
The sad truth is that occassionally Matt posts under a fake name to provoke discussion or pretend that someone is asking NIT to make an inquiry into something…of which he then chimes in to answer. It’s obvious when he’s doing it, but that’s his prerogative. It’s the result of a brain dead general populace. I don’t blame him for being bored and wanting to spark debate. I’m surprised he hasn’t moved yet.
LVS is incorrect. I post under one name and one name only: Philosophus.
2 can play at the “Report Comment game”. Consider your denigrating and untruthful comment reported LVS. One more and it’s sh** canned.
Correction-Lefty is really Marty and lives in Asbury. He never left Mason City so like Philly everything he says is a lie.
Haha. Now you are making some real sense! Keep it rolling.
It was meant to be funny, I’m glad at least you got it.
OK. So how many emails did the city get on this issue? How many residents are there that use the garbage service? The city should have sent out a questionnaire to every citizen that uses the garbage services and receives and pays a bill every month. Then they could have left it up to those citizens to mail their choices back. That would have been a more fair and objective way to get a handle on which was the citizens would have wanted to go on this subject.
They could have put the questionnaire in with the bill and it wouldn’t have cost them any extra in mailings. That way no one would have been excluded. If people didn’t take the time to send their opinions back, so be it. At least everyone would have had a chance to voice their opinion.
@Anonymous-What makes you think they care one bit what the taxpayers want. We have voted not to spend money on a civic center and look where that went. Everyone with a brain was against the Park Inn and spending all that money downtown and look what happened there. $500,000 was approved for Central Park and the wanted a million so they did the rest with over runs. In other words, what the taxpayer wants means nothing. They already had their minds made up and the whole thing was just for show.
Well……they could have done it differently to TRY to look like they care. Lol
Over 400. I plan to publish them in some way now that I have them.
I’m sure there’s more than 400 homes in Mason City that utilize the garbage service. They could have put more effort into this. It just shows they already had their minds made up.
Oh look, I was correct. It was all just a manufactured scandal by NIT to keep drama and the “us vs them” mentality alive and well in MC. This site and its editor thrive on this kind of garbage. No one wants to MC fail than NIT, so they can manufacture scandals the whole way down. Garbage, non news rag.
How do you not get your comments removed and not get banned? I’ve had both happen for less. Kudos to you.
If you’re banned, how are you here? “Being banned” is all an illusion, like a Jedi mind trick being played on the mentally weak. It made you scared that you would lose your NIT fix everyday. You are addicted to NIT, like a whore to crack. Fear not, I won’t kick you into the street like trash. You can stay.
“You are addicted to NIT, like a whore to crack.”I’m not addicted, more like intrigued. But you,Matt, always compare me to a drug addict. Why is that? Does it make you feel more like a Man? I don’t agree with a lot of things you or Peter say or do on this site but I don’t insult or call names. I question and defend but rarely attack. That is you and your minions M.O. I think it would better suit you if you had a thicker skin and a kinder personality but that’s JMHO
Well I’m flattered that the unadulterated truth and wisdom of NIT intrigue you. It does that to folks; it puts a spell on them. I was merely speaking about your obvious infatuation with NIT. You seem to hate it, then you are intrigued by it. Maybe you are jealous if its success, or maybe you are just bipolar. But you can’t stay away, just like a heroin addict can’t put down the deadly syringe. Sometimes I sigh and feel kinda bad that I have some of you on a string, like a yo-yo, bank ‘n forth, everyday.
As for my manhood, well, trust me, I don’t have any problems there, chief, but I’m glad you are so interested. If you ever want to ask me about it in person, feel free, I’m easy to find. Ask Tim Ackerman how that turns out. And, yes, punishing trolls, exposing buffoonery and uncovering the binge drinking and dirty deals of politicians are just a few of my favorite pastimes. I save the “kinder personality” side of me for the good folks out there.
“If you’re banned, how are you here? “Being banned” is all an illusion, like a Jedi mind trick being played on the mentally weak” So you deny banning me?
Reggie, let me type this real slow, so even you can understand.
You. Are. Here. How. Could. You. Be. Here. If. You. Are. Banned?
Holy cow Matt are you OK? You act like a little kid who didn’t get his way. Did I say permanent ban? You banned me for a awhile until I sent you a PM.Now I do appreciate the open discussion with LeftMC but why resort to name calling? Lastly, what did you do to Tim Ackerman, and should I be afraid?
How do you “MC fail” ? Sounds grand and entertaining.
I find it amusing how you can only mock a grammatical misstep rather than come up with any argument against my valid points. Your site is constantly full of grammatical and spelling errors, which goes to show you what kind of a garbage editor / news rag we are dealing with here.
I’m surprised that LeftMC has taken on this opinion. Is this the same Left MC who talked so passionately for marijuana legalization? I get that NIT sometimes comes across as pessimistic because of the constant street crime emphasis…but I’ve reconciled that if it’s happening, then it’s happening, and obviously most of the LVS types who subscribe, need their daily dose of “druggers”. But C’mon man, do you really think the status quo in power in MC is for legalization of mary jane?
On the contrary. The request for public information was yet another test of open government in Mason City, which it got about a D- on, this time. You will notice that the Globe, KIMT, and the radio station never make public information requests in MC. They represent the interests in city hall, not the interests of the people, so they report in conjunction with what city hall wants them to say. In other words, NIT is the only media in the Mason City area interested in telling the truth and the whole story, and this exercise has proven that.
Now, why don’t you sit back and wait for me to publish these emails I have on disc? It should be entertaining. Maybe we can figure out who wrote some of them.
@Lefty-I am going to disagree with you here. There is nothing wrong with a news source asking for public information. It is what they are supposed to do. With the history of this city council it makes good sense to ask to see it. And, the proof is there that they did not do what the public wanted. Instead they did the opposite of what the taxpayers wanted. That is reporting the truth. not stirring up controversy. If they had nothing to hide it wouldn’t have been a issue.
cont.-I have known Matt for a number of years and I can tell you he only wants what is best for the city. He sees all the closed door meetings and under the table dealings and it bothers him like it would any taxpayer that cares. What have you done for the city. You moved out of town and have done nothing but put down the city since you left. If you don’t like what is on here, don’t read it.
What have I done for MC? Worked, lived, paid taxes there for 20 years. Raised my kids and put them through MC public schools K-12. Shopped and supported local businesses during those 20 years. Contributed countless hours and dollars to non profit and charity organizations such as meals on wheels, Steben’s Childrens Theater, United Way, Habitat for Humanity, etc. Good things are happening in MC and NIT is determined to shut them down in the name of “news” and “scandal”.
Prove it because anyone can put whatever they want on a site like this. If you were so high on this dying town why did you leave? Again, if you don’t like N.I.T. why do you come on here? There must be something that brings you back here. Is it you just can’t stand to see the other side of this decaying city?
Too well said. LeftMC is like the kid whose mom would’t let him come out to play, but instead sits on the front porch with the windows open, cat-calling all the other kids having fun. He’s too cheap or too broke to buy a subscription, but wants in the game. Kinda sad. Hey, LeftMC, I’ll give you a free subscription. You just need to fill out an income statement showing how poor you are. What’s your email address, I will send it over.
I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. When we left, MC was better than it ever had been. There was progress towards developing a culture. The HPI, brewery, etc. Culture is what helps a town grow. Educated professionals aren’t moving to a town without culture and events. The problem is the obstructionist mentality fostered by this website and vast amounts of uneducated, blue collar naysayers voting no to every bit of progress. The “it was good enough for me” mentality.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a saint in our midst. I hereby nominate LeftMC to be this year’s Grand Marshall of the North Iowa Band Fest.
So in your world, beer served three days a week (18 hours) is Culture? Haha. You need to get out more, my friend. I suppose you think the Music Man Square is culture, too? Maybe the Kinney Pioneer Museum?
I still come here because I have a lot of family in MC still and care very much about the town. I’d love to see it continue on the path towards growth and culture development. This website does nothing but stir the pot, generate false scandal, and promote in fighting. The things that have stagnated our government at all levels.
“Path towards growth”. I assume that path leads to a year, sometime in the future, when Mason City’s population stops declining? Isn’t that the only growth that matters? Look at the census numbers, O Grand Marshall of the Band Fest, if you are confused.
I disagree. Every single improvement has been in the downtown area and I can assure you, you wouldn’t want to walk around in that area after dark. You can’t even drive down Monroe at night without someone harassing you. Every single area of town has crime and drug problems but everything goes downtown where it is wasted on “friends” of the chamber of commerce. Come to town and just drive around. They have bled this town for years and keep out any business that pays decent money.
Just wear a hockey mask if you venture into the Cultural Crescent late late at night, and you will be fine.
http://northiowatoday.com/?p=100075
cont.=-and these problems have been here long before there was ever a N.I.T. and have gotten worse in the last few years since the imports were brought in. I think it is unfair of you to blame N.I.T. He didn’t create this problem, he just reports it. Now you might disagree with his style and that is your right, but everyone has style, but you can’t blame him for the politics in this dying town.
Look at this human garbage Matt Marquardt. I’m not buying a subscription because I refuse to give garbage like you my money. I must be hitting a nerve with my accusations or you wouldn’t be spending so much time commenting back. I’m shocked too you’re not pussing out and deleting my truthful comments about your tabloid, fake scandal, “news” rag. Matt Marquardt represents the worst of MC. Get back to making stuff up and quoting yourself in order to get more clicks on your rag.
What an angry soul you are. I pray to Jesus you find Salvation before he casts you into a lake of fire for all eternity. In the meantime, I’ll keep creating irresistible content for you and thousands of others to read everyday.
@Lefty-A good sign that someone has run out of valid arguments is when they start hurling insults. Pretty childish on your part and really invalidates everything you say. I don’t know about Matt but I find it very disturbing. Have you ever thought of seeking help. There are some good doctors in the area that could possibly help you get over this childish attitude you have. You really sound like you might just be one of the mayor’s group or possibly Tornquist or Hickey. Get help soon.
You mean good psychiatrists? Who might they be? The soft spoken Pakistani with an urge for the needle? Lassise? Armstrong? Jackson? Larson? I wouldn’t characterize them as doctors…more like pharmaceutical Pez dispensers…babysitters with an authoritative penchant. “You are hearing voices so we must drug you and label you as schizoaffective.” Biggest lie perpetrated in recent decades for millions of dollars in profits.
I’ll never forget the time I was in Mercy Access Center talking to an intake nurse, and he confessed that Dr. Lassise and the others make millions from admitting Medicaid/Medicare recipients to inpatient committals; that he was aware of the vested interest held by Mercy and the psychiatrists intaking new and repeat patints, and that the legal committal apparatus insures a “captive audience” to their “treatments”.
Key word here is “creating” folks. This stuff is not news. Matt Marquardt is not a journalist. He’s a bottom feeding scumbag who creates scandals, speculates on non existent “cover ups”. He does zero good for MC. His comments in this article represent the true personality of a narcissistic psycho who actually wanted to be a representative of MC. Luckily there are enough people in town that see what I see.
And got well over 700 votes, thank you very much. Maybe this year I will get more.
LeftMC, I am whatever I want to be. I am a content-maker here on NIT. I am also the publisher. I give NIT readers what they want in order to bring them back, over and over. If you feel anything in any story published to NIT is not truthful, I implore you to check the facts out for yourself and let us all know what you come up with. Everything in NIT is either an opinion or a genuine, bona-fide news story compiled from all the same sources all the other news media use. As NIT is in its fifth year, with plenty of paid subscribers and advertisers, these facts have all been verified as this site built credibility and readership through the publication of tens of thousands of stories, photos, videos and downloadable documents.
I would also venture to say, what is a journalist in the year 2015? Are the talking heads at KIMT, FOX, MSNBC, CNN real journalists? Is John Skipper at the Globe a journalist or a mouthpiece / cheerleader for city hall? What is Bobby Fisher? I would offer that there are no true journalists left outside of a few who still perform the profession in an old-school way. All the rest chase the hype, cater to their advertisers, skew their work to fit their pre-dispositions. None of that is true journalism.
Before I lift my butt off this Starbucks chair and go to my next appointment, I need to tell you LeftMC that I appreciate your raw emotional message to Matt and I hope he keeps it up as testimony to his evolution as an editor with thick skin who allows patrons good or bad to be heard. I’ll tell you with 100% certainty that no other venue in the history of MC has allowed such public dialogue to ensue. Appreciate it. Ciao.
Normally, a name-calling comment would be deleted or reported by other readers, but LeftMC is so amusing I chose to leave them up. It’s obvious he is in pure agony. He doesn’t really want to debate the issues, because he is being humiliated. So all he has left is to come into my place of business and make a fool of himself and hang around all day for some unknown reason. Its a shame he is proving he has no life outside of NIT.
Oh, and a hilarious comment there from LVS about hurling insults when one runs out of valid arguments. LVS hurls more insults around this place than anyone, followed closely it seems by the editor himself.
Hmmmm, wonder which one of Peters multiple personalities is defending Matt here. There’s been many times he has thrown Matt under the bus. One day Peter thinks he’s Jesus, one day he is Buddha, who knows who he thinks he is today. I do know this much, he’s kinda creepy.
@Matt-I can tell you one thing and it is a fact. Lefty has completely destroyed any conversation about the article with his insane comments.
@Lefty-I used to hurl insults that is true. But, I grew up and now I just consider the source.
Heck, Peter could be LeftMC, might just be one of his multiples…….who knows?
Sources have given NIT a real good idea who LeftMC is. He’s not Philo.
@Anonomous-I have considered that and it may be true. Because the rest of us are not commenting on Peters B.S. he might be taking this opportunity to get attention.
Creepy, insane, bestial, pedophillic, traiterous, freeloading, parasitic, idiotic, childish…I’ve been called it all. Now when are you going to pop the cork off that bottled up mind and realize that free speech means you can and should discuss ANYTHING. No one figured out how an engine worked until they disassembled the engine and built it up again.
I agree there is nothing wrong with asking for the information. It’s his manufactured scandal about the deleting of the personal information that is my gripe. But that’s what a rag like this does to generate clicks.
He didn’t manufacture that. It is true. They did not do what the majority of the taxpayers that responded wanted. The majority wanted to do the $0.95 p/ month increase and leave the people alone. Hickey has a vendetta against the sanitation department because his father was fired. He is going to get them one way or the other and he has the mayor on his side. They had already made up their minds before they ever asked for the taxpayers opinion. It was nothing but a show and meant nothing.
Cont.-do you really think that a piece of capital equipment with a five year projected life isn’t covered in the budget. Trout has his faults but he is much better than that. Unless they took the money and used it for those stupid bike signs in the street that have all disappeared after the sand and salt got to them. What a waste of $125,000 that was. They could have fixed a lot of pot holes with that money.
Don’t worry LVS. They will re-paint them again this year and it will be another $100K, probably to a Des Moines company.
The “scandal” over the deletion of the email senders was manufactured by NIT. There was no scandal, no under the table cover up by the city government. Yet his “gotcha” style, tabloid “journalism” means he has write some sensationalist garbage to keep the people clicking on his website.
I manufacture nothing more than pixels. It is your own mind that is playing tricks on you, caused by the addictive pixels I present for you and thousands of other people, everyday. If the pixels scream “scandal” to you, then a scandal is what you perceive, even though I never used the word “scandal” when covering this story. Why does this word throb in your mind, menacing and irritating you so, after reading about the cover-up with the emails? Is it because your own conscience is alerting you to the truth?
@Left=-that is the nature of a site like this. He sells advertising by the number of hits on the site. I am sure he is thankful for you helping out. Otherwise he would just ban you and he hasn’t done that. Why do you think he put up with Philosopus?
Exactly. That’s why the mayor and council were too cowardly to 1) make a decision on their own or even 2) hold a public forum for people to speak directly to them to voice their desired option, let alone 3) allow the issue to be voted on for real. They instead chose to hide everything on an email server, disenfranchise thousands of MC citizens who do not use email or computers, and make decisions out of the public eye. Sounds like something Putin would do.
I’m seeing a side of LVS, I never knew existed. Dare I say passionate, informative and well reasoned? My, I’m a bit blushed, and my knickers are a tad moist.
You would still think that we could get a count on each of the options set forward for the public to vote for.
OK-There you have it. I guess it makes sense to me. A lot of people would object to having their opinion made public, and if they want people to participate they should not release their name. Lets hope next time they listen to the public and do what the voters want and not special interest as they did this time.