Mason City’s mayor proud of the way protesters conducting themselves, says voices of the community need to be heard (AUDIO)

MASON CITY — Mason City’s mayor says he’s been pleased with the peaceful protests conducted in the downtown area in reaction to the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

Bill Schickel says he could not be more proud of the way the protesters have conducted themselves.   “The message that they have been presenting, it’s just been absolutely wonderful. I also could not be more proud of our police department, particularly our police chief. I know he had a chance to go down there last night and meet with the people there.  It has been just a wonderful relationship between the community and the mostly young people that have been doing the protesting. Obviously a great, great tragedy took place and we need to be in a listening mode here.”

Schickel says the voices of the entire community need to be heard.   “We need to listen to the voices within our community. The young people and others. As a public servant myself, that’s my responsibility. It’s one of the joys of the job.”

Schickel says he’s pleased and proud of the community right now.   “I’m very proud of our police chief. We have a policy here of de-escalation. That means when circumstances get tense, we do everything we can to reduce that tension. That’s number one. Number two is building relationships in the community. When we work on those things and listen to one another, anything is possible.”

Schickel made his comments on the “Ask the Mayor” program on AM-1300 KGLO earlier today. Listen back to the program by heading to the audio player below