Letter to the Editor: "We need to look at the waste of our money"

(The following Letter to the Editor has been submitted by Darrel Jensen of Decorah):

"Please vote Yes on May 1st. Our 'yes' votes preserve an opportunity to help Decorah's energy future and do it fairly, safely and economically.  Most agree that Alliant Energy is doing a good job keeping our lights on, but this comes with a price--we pay the highest rates for electricity in the state. And now they want another $15 a month just to read a standard digital meter.

We need to take a close look at some of the waste of our energy dollars being paid to Alliant. First, a corporate investor-owned utility like Alliant should not even be allowed to spend the dollars they do on advertising. They have a monopoly--why do they need to advertise? Do they have competition? Do you have a choice where your power comes from? We already know they are doing a good job. They don't have to tell us that in the newspaper. A locally owned utility would not do this. Second, a while back, a northeast Iowa newspaper published a list of large corporations in Iowa that purchased annual football "sky boxes" at Kinnick stadium. Alliant Energy was near the top of the list with a $20,000 purchase.  Again, a locally owned utility would not do this. Third, there are all the investors to pay. A locally-owned utility does not pay investors or corporate officers with seven figure salaries.

So please stop the waste and keep our money local.  We can do better.  Vote Yes on May 1"