(Radio Iowa) – The man accused of killing an Algona Policeman last fall will stand trial in Dickinson County, after a judge granted his request for a change of venue. Attorneys for Kyle Lou Ricke filed a motion to move the trial out of Kossuth County in late April, saying pretrial publicity would make it impossible to find an impartial jury. Prosecutors did not dispute the request and simply asked that if the trial were moved, it be held in a county with similar demographics and not be too far, as to make travel difficult for witnesses and family members.

On Tuesday, Judge Nancy Whittenburg filed the order sending the trial to Dickinson County. In her ruling, Whittenburg said a review of Census Bureau statistics shows Dickinson County has similar demographics to Kossuth County, is not contiguous to Kossuth County, and is at a reasonable travel distance from Kossuth County.

Ricke is charged with first degree murder for the shooting death of Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram in September of 2023. His trial is currently scheduled to begin on June 25th.