Des Moines Register
08-31-06
Residents grill officials over lag in removal of swastikas
Wall Lake residents vent frustration over the symbols in an area where the
immigrant population has been growing.
By LISA ROSSI
REGISTER AMES BUREAU
Some western Iowa residents are questioning why several swastikas scrawled
on a Wall Lake water tower have not been removed in a month's time.
City officials are promising the swastikas will be removed next month during the
tower's scheduled renovation, but enough residents are concerned about racerelated incidents in Wall City that several people showed up at a meeting
Monday to "vent their frustration,'' Wall Lake City Councilman Vic Johnson said.
Complaints about the swastikas follow investigations this summer into the
circulation of Ku Klux Klan recruitment fliers in nearby Denison and Storm Lake.
Wall Lake, a city of less than 900 residents, is in an area of northwest Iowa
where the minority and immigrant population has recently grown — due in part to
the presence of several meat-packing plants.
Richard Knowles, a resident of Denison, said "feelings of prejudice against
people'' seem to have increased in the area as the political debate over
immigration has intensified this year.
Knowles, in an interview earlier this month, said he's troubled by the incidents
because Denison, which welcomed Laotian refugees in the 1970s, should be
more tolerant.
Wall Lake residents said the city has experienced vandalism, but the emergence
of the swastikas and reports of "hate literature'' showing up is new.
Council members in Wall Lake, who denounced the swastikas, said they are
waiting until this fall to clean them off completely when a more complete
renovation of the water tower will take place.
Wall Lake's response to the swastikas contrasts with the practice in some Iowa
cities, where officials move quickly to remove similar graffiti. Officials in Des
Moines and Ames said they typically remove hate graffiti within 24 hours of when
it's reported to stop the messages from escalating into anything worse.
"We don't want that type of hate-type message left up where people can see it,"
said Des Moines Police Sgt. Todd Dykstra. "That's the type of graffiti we feel is
just a little bit different than your gang graffiti or malicious-mischief graffiti."
Sharon Faber, Wall Lake city clerk, said a city employee recently attempted to
remove the graffiti, but the person only succeeded in fading the sign, not
removing it completely.
Wall Lake Mayor Ed Reiter said the swastikas will be removed completely when
the water tower is repainted in September.
He said that even though he opposes the meaning behind the swastikas, it's
important to save city time and money.
"It would take a couple of hours to paint over them," he said, explaining that he
counted three swastikas on the tower.
Reiter said even though "most people are upset about the mass immigrants
coming in," the message portrayed from the swastikas does not represent Wall
Lake.
"It's 100 percent against the people of Wall Lake," he said.
Johnson, the councilman, said he was told that KKK "hate literature" was recently
placed in the prayer books of a local Catholic church, an allegation police said
was not reported.
"It's not illegal to belong to the Klan - I'm aware of that - but we don't need to
tolerate this kind of intrusion into a sanctuary, house of worship," he said. "I don't
know the law, but I know I don't like that at all."
Johnson said a community meeting was held Monday night, partly in response to
the fliers and the swastika to discuss police response.
"It gave a lot of people a chance to vent their frustration," he said, adding, "I don't
see a whole lot coming out of it."
Kimberlee Spillers, an Atlantic resident who recently saw the symbols while in
Wall Lake, said failing to completely remove the swastikas was "irresponsible"
and "not very patriotic."
"I think it's an unacceptable message to allow those swastikas to remain on the
water tower," she said. "They are historical symbols of hatred and cruelty and
death."
Spillers is a campaign volunteer for Democrat Joyce Schulte from Creston, who
is running against 5th District incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, a
champion of the anti-immigrant movement in Congress.
Spillers said she believes the race-related incidents this summer are connected
to increased rhetoric aimed at immigrants.
King drew fire this year when he called the May 1 National Day Without
Immigrants "Nothing Gringo Day," and when he referred to the late Sen. Joe
McCarthy, an infamous fear-monger, as an "American hero."
Patricia Hamm, Iowa State University assistant professor in political
science, said consequences of immigration debates include speech from people
who reject immigrants.
"That keeps leeway for others to feel empowered to express ideas rejecting
others' groups," said Hamm, who teaches classes in Latino politics.
She pointed to politicians who have used incendiary rhetoric to mobilize
constituents. "They are trying to attract attention and pass the message to their
constituents," she said. "I don't mean they are trying to create problems such as
expressions of violence or attacks on other groups, but very often that could be
an unintended consequence."
Representatives from King's congressional campaign and his office in
Washington, D.C., did not return several phone calls seeking comment on the
situation.