(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Sheriff, Mike Van Otterloo, has announced this will be his last term serving as the sheriff for Plymouth County. In a news release, Van Otterloo says he will not seek a ninth term. He has served as the Plymouth County Sheriff since 1990, when he succeeded Dave Stock who retired with two years left on his term.
Sheriff Van Otterloo will complete 30 plus years in the office, being the longest sitting sheriff in Plymouth County history. He says “it will be tough to leave a career that has spanned so many years.”
Sheriff Van Otterloo began his law enforcement career in 1974 with the Le Mars Police Department, and completed 16 and a half years of service before deciding to run for office of sheriff.
“It will be a bitter sweet day on December 31st of 2020. I am trying not to think about it right now,” commented Van Otterloo. “The day will come soon enough. I will truly miss the people I have worked with and are currently working with.”
In the same release that Van Otterloo announced he will retire as the county sheriff, the long-time sheriff says he would like to run for a county supervisor position. Van Otterloo will be vying for the District 2 seat currently occupied by Supervisor Mark Loutsch. Loutsch had announced last week, he will not be running again as a county supervisor. Van Otterloo says, “I am excited to hopefully have an opportunity to continue to serve the great Plymouth County, and to work with some of the same elected officials and county constituents. Having many years as a county leader, I believe I can offer those same leadership qualities to the board of supervisors.”
