Cyber woes plague Mayor Kringstad

Opening the Tower City Council’s Monday March 11 meeting Mayor Orlyn Kringstad expressed dismay that he was unable to successfully utilize his computer printer to print out a response to accusations of mayoral misconduct levied against him by mbulance Director Steve Altenburg. Utilizing his inability to print his response, Kringstad asked the city council to consider tabling item number four on the agenda, “Mayoral Misconduct Investigation” and to place Cyber Security on the agenda as new business agenda item No. 10.9.

The city clerk had already struck an agenda item set to discuss Employee Misconduct, off the evenings agenda and added the Pine Street re-alignment proposal as new business on the agenda. These charges of Employee Misconduct are believed to have been levied by Kringstad against City Clerk-Treasurer Linda Keith in an earlier closed meeting. However, there has been no confirmation, in spite of two separate requests for the city to acknowledge an investigation against Keith. This story, however, was leaked by the Ely Timberjay causing the Teamsters Union, representing Keith, to threaten legal action.

The short-handed City council, Brooke Anderson was absent, provided unanimous approval to accepting the agenda as amended with the two changes the mayor sought.

Making it clear, while addressing his troubles  “There is no allegation or accusation what-so-ever. I simply don’t know what’s happening” Kringstad said, explaining that he has been experiencing trouble with his City of Tower email account, hosted by Tech Bytes: orlyn*AT*cityoftower.com.

“A email would come into my computer and you could tell by the highlighting and the blue dot, I use Outlook, that the email was unread, and I wouldn’t get to it right away but as I was watching it and then suddenly the email would open and the blue dot would go away—and the email was read.”

The mayor asked permission, from the city council, to contact  the administrator of the city’s email account system Tech Bytes, LLC.” Kringstad was seeking IP addresses for the computer devices which have contacted Tech Byte servers to see the access logs to determine who might be accessing the Mayor’s email.

“It’s been quite clear, specifically from the Apple Care guy, expert tech support, that my email, is being opened and read,” Kringstad said, “It’s illegal.”

Reporting that he had screen recordings Kringstad said, ”I would like to know who is opening and reading my emails and also anyone else that may have knowledge of this. This is something that is prosecutable,” Kringstad warned.

The Mayor moved, and Abrahamson supported a motion to permit Kringstad to contact Tech Bytes. The four members of the city council present, Brooke Anderson was absent, unanimously approved Kringstad’s request to investigate his emails.