By Kate Winterink, Iowa City Hello, Johnson County. I would like to briefly introduce myself. My name is Kate Winterink. I have been a proud Johnson County resident for the past two years. I moved down here from Black Hawk County and what inspired me to move down here is seeing how Johnson County is […]
Johnson County jail
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Letter from local officials: Johnson County deserves a better plan for public safety
By V Fixmer-Oraiz, Johnson County Supervisor; Katie Freeman, Coralville City Councilor; Mandi Remington, Johnson County Supervisor; Mazahir Salih, Iowa City City Councilor The proposed $94.5 million jail and sheriff’s office bond is the wrong plan for Johnson County: it would commit taxpayers to decades of debt before the county has demonstrated that this costly project […]
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Letter to the editor: A jail adjacent to the Historic Poor Farm is an affront — as is the planning process that made it a possibility
By Emerson Cram, Iowa City The decision by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to purchase land and site a jail adjacent to the Historic Poor Farm is a profound rupture of trust and an insult to disabled people’s dignity and intrinsic value. For disabled communities, the historic poor farm is hallowed ground. The Board’s […]
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Letter to the editor: We can’t keep pouring money into a bad building. Vote YES on the Johnson County jail bond
By Candida Maurer, Iowa City As I walk through my neighborhood, I notice that many of my liberal-leaning friends have “No New Jail” posters on their lawns. As a confirmed liberal, I see these signs and feel a sense of frustration that these good people aren’t recognizing the important details surrounding the vote for a […]
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Letter to the editor: The jail referendum matters, but what happens after is equally important
By David Leshtz, Iowa City The heated public debate over a new jail in Johnson County has overlooked one player all Iowans should be worried about: the for-profit corporate prison industry. With privatized prisons already located in more than half of the United States, including Illinois and Indiana, the prison industrial complex is eager to […]
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Letter to the editor: Vote No for common sense on the jail referendum
By Tim Weitzel, Iowa City I will be voting no on the upcoming bond referendum to fund a new jail and sheriff’s office, not because I dislike law enforcement or because I think we shouldn’t have a jail but because there has been no dialogue about why this facility has to be built and why […]
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Letter to the editor: We can build a new jail while working to reduce the jail population
By Mary Mascher, former state representative and retired educator I support the bond issue for the new jail. As a former elected official, educator, community activist, and long-time volunteer I also support our jail diversion efforts in Johnson County. I am extremely proud of our community and what we have done over many years to […]
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Letter to the editor: As a mental illness advocate, I support the new jail and sheriff’s office
By Leslie Carpenter, co-founder of Iowa Mental Health Advocacy I have spent years advocating for people with serious mental illness and for a system that treats illness as illness — not as a crime. That is precisely why I support the effort to build a new jail and sheriff’s office. My support is not an […]
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Letter to the editor: There is no Human Rights Commission consensus on the new jail, yet
By Eleanor Fuller and Susanna Rodriguez, Iowa City Human Rights Commissioners On Sept. 2, a group of FORMER Human Rights Commissioners publicly endorsed Johnson County’s proposed $94.5 million bond referendum to fund a new jail and Sheriff’s office facility. For many readers, it could easily create the impression that the CURRENT Human Rights Commission supports […]
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Letter to the editor: Let’s have a conversation about the jail beyond Yes and No
By Finch Vandyk, Iowa City A handful of Tuesdays from now, Johnson County will vote on a deceptively direct bond measure. “Should we build the $124,000,000 new jail proposed by the sheriff?” There are two options: Yes and No. Emphatic camps have emerged on either side of those options. Yes, we should build the jail […]
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Letter to the editor: Vote Yes on the jail referendum
By Paul Deaton, Solon I visited the current Johnson County Jail soon after it opened in 1981. I remember saying to myself, “My God! They made it too small!” The current board of supervisors approved a referendum for the November ballot to build a new jail and sheriff’s office. I support it. Opinions on the […]
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Letter to the editor: Can No voters trust these supervisors to fix the Johnson County jail?
By Rose Phillips, Iowa City I rarely buy stuff on Amazon. But in 2023, I bought some breast pump parts that, if I recall correctly, I couldn’t find anywhere else. Imagine someone was so bitterly opposed to Amazon’s business practices that they didn’t think anyone had the right to buy stuff from them. Imagine they […]
