Part 2 Conversation With Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo
(Le Mars) — We continue our conversation with Plymouth County Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo as he ends his 46 years of law enforcement and transitions to his new position as a Plymouth County Supervisor. During Van Otterloo’s
tenure as the sheriff for Plymouth County, voters decided to vote for a one-percent local options sales tax with the revenue to go toward the construction of the Plymouth County Law Enforcement Center. The facility houses the sheriff’s office, jail, and the county communications center. Van Otterloo says the project garnered support through out the entire county.
Van Otterloo says many people still refer to the sheriff’s office and local corrections facility as the “new jail.” Even though it was constructed 17 years ago.
The long-time county sheriff says Plymouth County certainly needed the upgraded facility as the workload and new technology dictated additional use of space.
Van Otterloo says there would be no way with today’s technology that the old facility would be able to accommodate just even the communications center, let alone the jail. The outgoing sheriff recalls an incident that occurred in the former jail, that today, he can look back on and laugh, but at the time it happened, it was thought to be a serious concern.
We will conclude our conversation with Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo tomorrow as he talks about the relationships he has established with other law enforcement officials and county officials.
(photos contributed.)
Congressman King Not Ruling Out Another Run For Public Office
(Washington, DC) — Outgoing Congressman Steve King says he plans to stay active in the country’s political debates once his ninth term in the U-S House ends Sunday. The 71-year-old Iowa Republican is not ruling out another run for office. King said, “after 24 of public service in the middle of the heart of all of these important issues, there’s a lot of these accumulated
experiences that I just can’t let go to waste.” King served six years in the Iowa legislature before winning his first race for the U-S House in 2002. He narrowly won re-election in 2018, then was defeated by Senator Randy Feenstra in the G-O-P Primary this past June. Nearly two years ago the Republican leader in the House removed King from committees after his remarks about
white nationalism.
Marion Man Faces Federal Sexual Exploitation of Minors, Child Porn Charges
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — An eastern Iowa man is jailed without bond on federal sexual exploitation of a minor and child pornography charges. The U-S Attorney’s Office says 29-year-old Nathan Nosley from Marion persuaded and enticed minors to produce images of sexually explicit conduct from 2017
through 2020. Nosley is also accused of transporting, distributing, possessing and receiving child porn on a cell phone. A conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 120 years and a one-and-a-half-million-dollar fine.
Alliant Energy, ISU Donating Face Shields to Iowa Schools and Daycares
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — Alliant Energy and a lab at Iowa State University are donating nine-thousand face shields to Iowa schools and daycares. The shields are adjustable and fit on the bill of a hat. Makers say they enable better classroom communication than face masks. The face shields were developed and produced by I-S-U’s Digital Manufacturing Lab. Companies in Mason City and Ottumwa were also part of the effort.
