A Democratic state senator from Des Moines is suggesting that now may be the time to finally sell off the state's fiber optics telecommunication system, the Iowa Communications Network.
Sen. Matt McCoy took to the floor of the Iowa Senate Tuesday to suggest that the revelations that the board that governs the ICN allowed over $380,000 in inappropriate purchases by the former executive director of the ICN, Richard Lumbard show that it's time for the state to get out of the telecommunications business.
McCoy and Republican Brad Zaun have sponsored legislation to require that the network be sold, but in the past the Request for Proposals written by ICN staff made it difficult for any existing telecommunications company to submit a bid.
In his Senate speech, McCoy said the if the ICN were a commercial business "it'd be bankrupt". He told Senators that "maybe it's time to tie a can around the ICN and let it sink to the bottom of the lake where it belongs."
He also was critical of the Iowa Telecommunications and Technology Commission, which governs the ICN. The board permitted the "misspent" items to be purchased and delivered to Lumbard's "ministry", where it was resold by them.
Lumbard was fired in July of last year. But already, Rep. Bobby Kauffman, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, has indicated he wants to hold hearings on the ICN and its current operations.