So...Who's Doing All This?

Me.

Just me.

No investigative team.

No interns.

No secret funding. Just my bank account.

No underground bunker full of analysts.

Just one retired cop with an unhealthy relationship with public records, way too many browser tabs open, and a stubborn streak that probably should've come with a warning label.

When this started, I thought I'd read a few documents, answer a few questions, and move on with life.

Yeah...that didn't happen.

Somewhere between Public Records Request #487 and PDF #9,372 (okay...slight exaggeration...maybe), I realized this wasn't going to fit in a folder on my desktop.

So I built a website.

Makes perfect sense, right?

The Reality

Some days I feel like a detective.

Some days I feel like an archivist.

Most days I feel like I'm trying to wrestle a 140 MB PDF into submission while my computer quietly questions my life choices.

I've learned more about planning departments, easements, plats, GIS maps, court filings, and document organization than I ever expected.

I've also learned that if you ask for enough public records...

...they will absolutely send them to you.

🤣

What You Don't See

You see the finished timelines.

The infographics.

The summaries.

What you don't see is the giant pile of documents, color-coded sticky notes, random ideas scribbled on legal pads, and those moments when I know I saw an email three days ago but can't remember which one of the 4,000 PDFs it's hiding in.

There may have been a few colorful words said during those searches.

I'm neither confirming nor denying that.

My Investigation Process (More or Less)

  1. Find one interesting document.

  2. Ask one innocent little question.

  3. Accidentally uncover six more rabbit holes.

  4. File another Public Records Request.

  5. Wonder what I was thinking.

  6. Organize everything into the Horn Rapids Files.

  7. Repeat.

A Few Things You Should Know About Me

I ask a lot of questions.

I have a sarcastic sense of humor.

I believe transparency matters.

I believe documentation matters.

I also believe life is way too short to pretend I'm not occasionally muttering at my computer.

If you ever catch a typo...

Congratulations.

You found proof that a human built this.

😂

Thanks for Following Along

Whether you're here because you live in Horn Rapids, you're curious about the public record, or you accidentally wandered into my latest rabbit hole...

Welcome.

Pull up a chair.

The coffee's probably cold.

The PDFs definitely aren't organized themselves.

And the story...

Well...

I'm pretty sure we're just getting started.

P.S.

If you happen to see me wandering around the neighborhood staring at a retaining wall...

I'm not lost.

I'm probably connecting another dot. ⚫️📍

Behind the Files