Prosecutors say Iowa’s tough law limiting where convicted sex offenders can live is a headache to enforce, but that hasn’t stopped one northern Iowa city from passing its own rule that may be even stricter.
Mason City?s sex offender review committee has approved what could end up being one of the toughest city-based sex offender ordinances in the state if it wins the approval of the city council. The proposed ordinance would prevent registered sex offenders from entering what are called ?exclusionary zones.?
Those zones include: all city parks and playgrounds, skate parks, tennis courts, foot and bike trails, the aquatic center, school bus stops, school playgrounds, the MacNider campgrounds, and city-owned property at Lime Creek Nature Center. The proposal must be reviewed by City Attorney Tom Meyer before being submitted to the City Council for their approval.