We would like to congratulate Kurt Freitag on being the new sheriff of Freeborn County. It sounds like he wants to right some of the wrongs of the past and smooth over some of the sore spots following the bitter election season.

It sounds like he is headed in the right direction to start things off. That’s what the people want because, goodness knows, Freeborn County could use some stability in the sheriff’s office. Many counties have sheriffs who remain the position for 12 to 20 years, then retire, rather than get voted out. Look at most of the counties surrounding Freeborn County. People desire normalcy, stability. We are rooting to see Freitag establish that.

That said, we would like to suggest adding one item to the list of needs for the new jail administrator. Let’s get the broken visiting stations repaired. And we hope the county commissioners support this expense, too.

We realize people in jail do not necessarily deserve the best treatment, and so the visiting stations do not get a high priority when looking at budgeted expenses.

But the visiting stations are not just about the inmates. They are there for the families — often good, law-abiding citizens who want to see their troubled loved ones. People sometimes travel from out of state, only to discover they are unable to meet their family member in the short 90-minute window because the working visiting stations are being used.

That’s not the way we want Freeborn County to appear to visitors. The jail, built in 2003, is not that old and shouldn’t fall into disrepair. Little things like that can make an organization seem like a two-bit operation to outsiders, when we who live here know that’s not normally the case.

We want to do right for good folks who abide by the law. What would Christians do? Don’t punish the families for the sins of the inmate.

Let’s get the visiting stations repaired in 2015.