Decorah Council Restores Human Rights Commission, Declines to Reappoint Chair After Governance Dispute

It's your town. Your lives. Your stories. Make sure someone's telling them—donate to Decorah News now. DECORAH — The Decorah City Council unanimously voted Friday at noon to appoint four members to the city's Human Rights Commission, restoring the body's quorum after a dispute over expired terms, administrative communication and the commission's authority to act. Not reappointed was Joshua Ratel-Khan, who has served on the commission since 2022 and chaired it for the past two years. His removal from the city's website in late January triggered a public disagreement with city officials over whether his term had expired and whether he had been properly notified. The council approved the mayor's appointments of Commissioners Grace Ibs, Sophia Engelman, Laree Schouweiler and Nikki Battle. Battle had also been among the commissioners whose term expiration date was questioned. The vote was unanimous. The special meeting not only reconstituted the commission but also introduced proposals that could reshape its structure, including adding a police department liaison and formalizing City Council oversight. Mayor Emphasizes Neutrality and Oversight Before the vote, Mayor Andy Carlson delivered prepared remarks outlining expectations for advisory bodies. "Decorah's boards and commissions are nonpartisan civic bodies," Carlson said. "They exist to advise the City Council and city staff in a manner that is fair, balanced and grounded in the values of our entire community, not to advance ideological partisan revolutionary agendas of any kind." DecorahNews.com reached out to Mayor Carlson for comment, and in a written statement preceding the meeting, Carlson stated that upon taking office, he reviewed city boards and commissions and noticed "expired terms and other irregularities." After consulting with City Manager Travis Goedken, Carlson said he learned that the appointment process "had not always been handled uniformly," and that in some cases members continued serving after their terms expired. He said he sought to standardize the process and suggested expired terms be removed from the website. "In hindsight, I recognize that this could have been handled with clearer communication to the affected board members," Carlson wrote. "For that, I take responsibility." Regarding Ratel-Khan's application for reappointment, Carlson said he gave it careful consideration but decided he "would not be the best fit at this time" after concerns were raised about "working relationships, responsiveness, submission of meeting minutes, and other related issues." He also stated that he "did not know Josh, and had never met Josh," rather basing his decision not to appoint Ratel-Khan on "feedback from constituents, council members, staff and other stakeholders." Dispute Over Term Expiration Dates The controversy began in late January when Ratel-Khan said he discovered his name and another commissioner's had been removed from the city's website without prior notice. Archived versions of the city's website reviewed by DecorahNews.com show differing expiration dates for Ratel-Khan and Battle. A July 1, 2024 archived version lists Ratel-Khan's term expiring Feb. 1, 2025, and Battle's expiring Feb. 1, 2026. A later archived version from April 15, 2025 lists Ratel-Khan's expiration as Dec. 31, 2024, and Battle's as Dec. 31, 2025. The first screenshot shows Ratel-Khan and Battles' term expirations as 2/1/25 and 2/1/26 respectively (Screenshot courtesy of The Internet Archive) The second screenshot shows Ratel-Khan and Battles' term expirations as 12/31/24 and 12/31/25 respectively (Screenshot courtesy of The Internet Archive) Ratel-Khan has said he believed he was serving a second three-year term and continued corresponding with city staff throughout 2025 regarding commission agendas, events and logistics without being informed that his service had ended. Email documentation he provided shows ongoing exchanges with city staff during that period. City Manager Goedken later confirmed via email that the commissioners were removed because their appointments had expired and invited them to seek reconsideration. A Feb. 10 city press release stated that claims commissioners were removed "without notice" were misleading and that multiple commission webpages were updated to reflect current appointments. Reappointment Process Questions Emails reviewed by DecorahNews.com indicate the mayor previously acknowledged a lack of a formal reappointment process. In a forwarded message to Ratel-Khan, a fellow commissioner shared an email from Carlson stating, "It appears that there wasn't a formal process for members before with regards to reappointment." The commissioner in that exchange was instructed to formally apply. Ratel-Khan said he did not receive the same directive directly from the mayor. Email records show Ratel-Khan submitted a formal application Jan. 30. He said he received no response from the mayor. The city has stated that Feb. 1 was the application deadline for appointments and that vacancies had been publicly noted at council meetings for more than a year. Carlson said requesting applications was part of a broader effort to standardize the process across boards and commissions. January Meeting and Authority Dispute The disagreement expanded to include whether the commission had authority to proceed with a planned Feb. 17 public forum on immigration enforcement and a previously rejected "Separation Ordinance." The city stated that staff posted a January commission agenda "in error" and that no minutes were submitted indicating a formal meeting occurred. Emails reviewed by DecorahNews.com show communication between commission members and staff clarifying that minutes are typically submitted only after approval at the subsequent meeting. Ratel-Khan maintains the commission met in January, voted to proceed with the forum and distributed a press release announcing it. City officials have argued that without a quorum of formally appointed members, the commission lacked authority to hold a public hearing or direct official publication. Email correspondence from the city manager described the Feb. 17 date as "too fast of a turnaround" for newly appointed members to properly post and conduct a meeting under city code. DecorahNews.com previously shared news of the forum, which has since been cancelled. It remains unclear whether the forum will be formally rescheduled now that the commission has been restored. Dissolution Discussions Resurface The dispute also unfolded against a backdrop of earlier discussions about dissolving or restructuring the commission. Public meeting minutes from March and April 2025 show the Human Rights Commission discussed potential alignment with the Sustainability Commission and formally voted against dissolution. However, December 2025 Sustainability Commission minutes reflect renewed discussion of the Human Rights Commission's structure. Ratel-Khan said the commission believed the matter had been settled after its earlier vote and said the later discussion occurred without input from current Human Rights Commission members. The city's press release stated prior structural discussions were prompted by "difficulty achieving a quorum in preceding months." Ratel-Khan acknowledged the commission lacked a quorum in three months last year but said the group "continued to hold meetings and public events throughout 2025". He also cited an email exchange between himself and a former chair of DHRC, who wrote that the commission meets "around nine times per year for an hour." Ratel-Khan confirmed that this was consistent with how the commission runs now, "They used to not meet over the summer. We changed that and continued to meet over the summer," Ratel-Khan said. Proposals for Structural Changes During Friday's special meeting, council members raised proposals that could reshape how the commission interacts with city government. Council member Emily Neal said she would like to explore instating a police department liaison to the Human Rights Commission, noting that such a role existed in the past and could provide perspective on how policies are implemented. Council member Johanna Bergan, attending via Zoom, suggested clarifying and potentially formalizing City Council involvement with the commission, citing differing levels of administrative and council support across commissions. Both ideas indicate potential structural changes aimed at increasing oversight and communication between the commission, city staff and elected officials. No formal action was taken on those proposals Friday. Community Response Members of Decorah Community for Immigrant Rights (DCIR) said after the meeting they were "shocked" to see two commissioners removed without notice or communication and said the removals prevented the commission from meeting. They said they were encouraged the commission had been restored following what they described as a community call-in campaign and pledged to continue advocating for immigrant rights. "The most important thing is that the public conversation about immigrant rights continues," the group said. A Commission in Transition With appointments approved, the commission will need to convene to elect a chair and vice chair before taking up additional business. Mayor Carlson and Council Member Cody Whittle publicly thanked Ratel-Khan for his service during the meeting at the end of Friday's meeting. Carlson said the city intends to implement improved on-boarding and training for board and commission members to clarify expectations and reporting requirements. Whether the reconstituted commission resumes discussion of the Separation Ordinance or revisits the planned immigration forum remains to be seen. Get the inside scoop! Subscribe to the free DecorahNews.com newsletter and receive local news, expert analysis, and stories that matter most—straight to your inbox.