Legal newspapers aren’t a game and neither is a free press

Over 250 years ago, the framers of this country’s great experiment wrote the Constitution, purposely protecting the freedoms of speech, religion, and the press.
The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Unfortunately, it appears, at least one local elected official is willing to stomp all over that amendment, due to what he claims is negative coverage by this newspaper.
Local governing bodies periodically designate official newspapers to publish their legal notices, based on legislation outlining the process.
During the Dec. 11 Kasson City Council meeting, council member Ryan Christensen said “I would like to look at moving (legal notices) from the DCI to the Post Bulletin.”
Christensen argued the newspaper should’ve sent an in-person representative to the meeting, which was live-streamed to the public. There is no provision in the laws governing legal notices, which we will explain later, requiring a news outlet to cover meetings in person.
The council member then goes on to discuss our reporting. It’s worth noting here that he is a teacher at Kasson-Mantorville Middle School and formerly taught in the elementary school.
“The last two articles that they posted in the paper have been hit campaigns on citizens. They were not kind to us when Tim was making some family choices. I just have a concern on how they’re treating our citizens,” Christensen said during the meeting.
To start, we can only assume Christensen’s “hit campaign” comment refers to our investigative reporting about the resignation of a Kasson-Mantorville Schools teacher and a school board member. Our reporting stands on its own, but if Christensen is actually serious about his concerns, he may want to talk to at least one city employee who complimented the paper on its coverage.
It’s not unusual for a newspaper to hear from community members only when there is a story they don’t like. We won’t dive into the specifics of who has “complained” about our reporting, but let’s just say, it’s generally been people who have a direct connection to the topic, which is also not unusual.
But the notion that this newspaper is treating the citizens of Kasson badly is like getting mad at the referee after losing a game. We uncover information and report on it.
In this case, we didn’t have to look far. The information that started the ball rolling came from the K-M school board member who resigned.
We also stand behind our reporting on City Administrator Tim Ibisch looking for a job last year.
As we explained previously, a reporter stumbled across a public notice posted online by the City of Loudon, Tennessee. It announced a public interview that day for the city hall chief job. The candidate was Ibisch.
When public bodies are interviewing for top candidates, their names are generally made public when they become finalists. That was the case when the K-M school district was hiring superintendent Ted Ihns last year, and it was the case when the City of Kasson was hiring Ibisch.
Sure, it may be uncomfortable for city officials to learn about the interview from this newspaper, but it’s a fact, and this newspaper reported on it.
If Ibisch is upset about the coverage, he could’ve said something. This happened months ago. When you are paid six figures to run a community, you should expect the newspaper to report when you are negotiating a deal somewhere else.
It is absolutely sickening to think an eleced official would see a story they didn’t like, and then immediately look to punish the newspaper. Unfortunately, this is a tactic some communities use.
Since city administrators essentially work at the pleasure of their city council, it makes sense that Ibisch would look into this half-baked idea to attack the freedom of the press. But in a memo to the city council published with the Wednesday, Jan. 22 agenda packet, he explained that he doesn’t think Christensen’s proposal is legal.
“I have reviewed the relevant state statute regarding newspaper designations. I am not convinced that the City will be able to switch from the DCI without legal wrangling,” Ibisch wrote in a memo to the mayor, city attorney, and every member of the city council. “This is the relevant section: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/331A.04.”
He added: “I have also linked the LMC memo for this: https://www.lmc.org/resources/newspaper-publication/. I am glad to still discuss this issue at the next meeting if the members would like to. I have bcc’d everyone to avoid any open meeting concerns.”
As Ibisch points out, the legislation lays out the order of priority for determining legal newspapers. The first priority is “Known office in locality.”
“If there are one or more qualified newspapers, the known office of issue of which are located within the political subdivision, one of them shall be designated,” the subdivision states.
Unlike the Post Bulletin, the DCI has a physical office in the city of Kasson.
It’s unfortunate that Ibisch had to spend time addressing this matter, when it’s clear that DCI is the only paper meeting the first priority and should continue as the official newspaper for the city.
As this newspaper has pointed out before, we will continue to hold the powerful accountable and will not be intimidated. Just like we expect students to tell an adult when someone is being bullied, we are doing the same, telling the members of the community what is happening in hopes that the issues in the schools won’t continue to spill over into city business.
When kids losing a playground game try to change the rules so they can win, it’s up to the adults to tell them that’s not appropriate.
This newspaper hopes the adults will also step up in the Kasson City Council chambers.