The videos below are from a jail alternatives public forum on 23 April 2013 in Johnson County, Iowa. These informational events were offered to facilitate the public discussion about a proposed new building to serve as a county public safety facility and jail.
That year, I spent many hours gathering, assembling, and presenting long-form public presentations. The videos here are just an example.
For these videos, I did my best to get a good quality video recording with suitable lighting and audio. Then, during the editing process, I listened to the information conveyed, and created presentation slides to accompany the message. I typically use Apple iMovie for editing and Apple Keynote (similar to PowerPoint) for the visuals.
My goal in gathering information from a variety of viewpoints was to provide as best as possible a balanced offering that the public could use for decision making.
After many months of this work, a bond was presented to the public for a county public safety facility and jail. The vote was 54% in favor and 46% opposed. A significant majority, but a supermajority of 60% would have been needed to pass.
These videos are provided here for general information and conversation purposes. These do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their content.
The thinking behind information gathering and presenting is that democracy is not about two opposing teams fighting to win a vote. Instead, democracy is about studying various viewpoints and opinions, along with the data they present. Then, an informed public can provide a crowd-sourced decision through a vote.
Note: Sometimes people get overzealous about a specific viewpoint and desired outcome, so they may exaggerate or misrepresent the facts, believing that the ends justifies the means. In such situations, that information is less helpful to voters who assume everyone is presenting information as objectively and accurately as possible.
Caroline Dieterle Presentation on Medical and Health Impact of Marijuana Use and Assessment of Impact on Incarceration Rates
John Whiston Clinical Professor of Law University of Iowa College of Law Speaking on Jail Alternatives
Ron Berg – Director of MECCAServices.com in Iowa City Speaking on Jail Alternatives and Drug Programs
Bob Thompson: Stabilizing Jail Population Growth
Jeff Cox: Yes We Can….Control Local Arrest Rates. The War on Drugs and Racial Disparities
Document History
This document was first posted on 23 August 2026, and has been dated 23 Apr 2013 to reflect the actual date of the content.