Commentary

Helen Gunderson, creator of the Gilbert Gazette, would like to find a new publisher for the web site. She is a 12-year resident of Gilbert, former city council member, photographer, and communications generalist.

Gunderson began the Gazette in June 2002. That spring, she had resigned from her position as a city council member in protest of what she perceived as the controlling style of the Gilbert mayor and the way that other council members deferred to him. Indeed, she passionately felt there needed to be a vehicle of communications to let the public know about happenings at city hall.

The Gazette has been an unofficial web site as well as Gunderson's niche for local activism, civic commitment, and service to the community. She has provided it free of charge.

Gunderson already had experience publishing two other web sites. One was for the alumni of her hometown of Rolfe, Iowa, that had its last graduating class in 1990. The other was for her business, which is called Gunder-friend Productions.

Since October 2003, when the current statistics software for the site was installed, more than 175,000 visitors from over 50,000 unique URL's have accessed the Gazette. In 2005 alone, the statistics show that over 70,000 visitors from 20,000 unique URL's have accessed the site. When a web-user Googles the town of Gilbert, the Gazette is predominately near the top of the list. Places such as the Story City and Iowa League of Cities web sites and the Ames Community Bulletin point to the Gazette. Even the Story County assessor's web site used to provide a link to the Gazette along with the assessor's links to official web sites for other towns in the county.

From the inception of the Gazette, Gunderson realized that readers who read her criticisms of city government might perceive of her as being simply a negative person. She has strived all along to balance her critiques with positive offerings.

The Gazette contains information about local government, schools, churches, and organizations. It has announcements, links and phone numbers. It has maps, charts, and aerial photos of the Gilbert area. It has human interest photos and audio interviews. It also carries opinion pieces. Most are from Gunderson's pen, but some are from other sources.

Gunderson was the instigator of the G125 Group that planned Gilbert's 125th anniversary celebration in 2004, and the Gazette was a key avenue for promoting the highly successful, two-day event. The Gazette has also been a way to get word to the public about the city-wide garage sale held each spring. In addition, Gunderson, who had worked in sports information at North Dakota State University during the 1950s, got into some sports photography and reporting when the Gilbert High School Tiger rags-to-riches football team journeyed to the semi-final and final games of the state championship series at the Uni-Dome in Cedar Falls.

Gunderson used to post agendas and minutes for city council meetings on the Gazette. Occasionally, she also posted audio recordings from city council, planning and zoning commission, and school board meetings. And for a long time, she attended all city council meetings and wrote summaries of them in a nearly play-by-play style. She often added her perspectives to the summaries, providing a context for what had transpired. Gunderson has said that at times, when she was writing the summaries, she felt her efforts were somewhat like those of Alistair Cooke of the British Broadcasting Corporation, who provided the context for "MasterPiece Theatre," or Nina Totenberg of National Public Radio, who provided the context for what was happening at the Supreme Court or other legal affairs in Washingon, DC.

Gunderson finally discontinued posting agendas and minutes, believing that the city should take the responsibility to develop a web site and make such information more accessible to its citizens. She also began to detach from city council meetings. First, she stopped writing summaries, then she stopped attending meetings.

The Gazette's newest section is an E-Postcard feature that was developed earlier this summer. Visitors can choose a photograph, write a message, and send a cyber postcard to a friend. So far, there is a limited set of images in the E-Postcard section; however, a new publisher could post additional photographs.

Gunderson understands that different sets of skills and personal propensities are needed for different phases of a long-term project. She believes that she has proven that the Gazette could be a success and an important vehicle of communication for the town. However, she also feels it is time for a new publisher with a fresh perspective, not as jaundiced about Gilbert government as she is, and who has the talent and interest to maintain and build on what she has already established with the web site.

A new publisher could continue to operate the Gazette on a not-for-profit basis or use entrepreneurial skills to make the Gazette an income-producing publication, charging for such things as advertising, garage sale ads, and personal announcements. A new publisher could also delete sections of the site, retain other sections, and add new sections.

If an entity such as the City of Gilbert took over the site, the Gazette could switch from being an unofficial web site to an official vehicle for city communication. That is something Gunderson feels that the city sorely needs. She says that City of Gilbert does not have a web site, and believes that its communication with the public is rather parochial and not very modern. Many other Iowa towns, including ones much smaller than Gilbert have their own web sites and publish such things as council agendas, minutes, city code, and other important documents. If the city were to take over the Gazette, the staff at city hall could also post such things as its list of lost and found items. Currently, those things are posted only at three places on Main Street. Gunderson firmly believes that a city web site, whether a modified version of the Gazette or a new one offered by the city, would be a better way to get the word out to the public in a timely fashion.

Gunderson would be willing to turn the Gazette completely over to a new publisher, ending her role with the web site immediately after settling on an agreement. Or she could help a new publisher during the transition to new management.

If a service group or similar entity wanted to continue operating the site on a not-for-profit basis, Gunderson would expect little or no financial remuneration from the group. If a commercial enterprise or other entity with a profit motive wanted to operate the site, Gunderson would negotiate a price with them.

Groups or individuals interested in taking responsibility for the Gazette should contact Gunderson. They may email her. Also, if they send her a phone number, she will call them back and discuss the situation.