DES MOINES– Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Friday) announced her appointment of Patrick McAvan as a district associate judge in Judicial Election District 8A.  McAvan, of Fairfield, Iowa, currently serves as an Assistant Jefferson County Attorney. He received his undergraduate degree from Loras College and his law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law.

McAvan fills a vacancy created by the addition of four new district associate judge positions authorized by the legislature in last year’s session. Judicial Election District 8A includes Appanoose, Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Mahaska, Monroe, Poweshiek, Wapello, Washington, and Van Buren counties.

DES MOINES – Today (Friday), the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC) announced personnel changes that will occur at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility (FDCF) and the Anamosa State Penitentiary (ASP).

Effective February 17, 2023, current ASP Warden Kris Karberg will be transferring into the warden position at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility. Also effective February 17, 2023, current FDCF Warden Nick Lamb will be transferring into the warden position at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.

Prior to becoming warden at ASP Karberg served the South Dakota Department of Corrections (SDDOC) for over eight years; where he ultimately served as the Deputy Warden of the Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield. Prior to joining the SDDOC, Karberg worked for the US State Department as Site Commander of Security at the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. In total, he brings more than 30 years of security operations experience to his new role leading the FDCF team.

Prior to becoming warden at FDCF Lamb served the New Mexico Department of Corrections (NMDOC) as the Deputy Warden of Administration. Prior to joining the NMDOC, Lamb served in many positions throughout his 26-year-career in the Illinois Department of Corrections, where he most recently served as Assistant Warden of Operations at Stateville Correctional Center prior to his retirement from the IL DOC in 2020.

Commenting on the transfer of Warden Karberg and Warden Lamb, Department Director Beth Skinner said the following: “Warden Karberg and Warden Lamb are two incredible leaders within Iowa’s correctional system and we are lucky to have their expertise and dedication to public safety. As two of our newer wardens within our system, transferring them between these two institutions gives them an opportunity to gain additional experience with a new staff and a new facility. I cannot thank either of them enough for their leadership and eagerness to learn and grow as part of our greater corrections team. I have no doubt they each possess the abilities necessary to effectively balance reliable security within our institutions, while also overseeing effective treatment programs for those under our supervision.”

IDOC also announced plans to transition the security designation for ASP from a medium/maximum security facility (SD-5) to a strictly medium security facility (SD-4).

“Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, and in conjunction with Iowa’s prison population declining, IDOC has the bed space and resources needed to safely conduct and implement this transition,” said Skinner. “This decision was made after much consideration and detailed planning, and we feel certain that now is the time to make this transition. By transitioning Anamosa State Penitentiary to a strictly medium security facility, IDOC can focus on providing even further treatment opportunities for the system’s medium custody inmates, building upon two years of reducing Iowa’s recidivism rate.”

The security designation will not change until the transition process is complete. At the end of the transition, ASP’s general inmate population will be composed of inmates classified as medium custody. A majority of inmates designated as maximum security at ASP will be moved to the Iowa State Penitentiary, Iowa’s maximum security prison. Families and inmates have been notified.

(Boone, Iowa) – A collision Friday evening between an SUV and a pickup truck in Boone, left two women dead. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2017 Ford Escape driven by 55-year-old Pamela Mary Borkowski, of Boone, was sitting at a stop sign on southeast Marshal Street at around 5:11-p.m., Friday, at the same time 2008 Ford F-250 was westbound on Highway 30.

The SUV entered Highway 30 into the path of the pickup, driven by 20-year-old Joshua Ryan Lantz, of Pella. The pickup struck the SUV, causing fatal injuries to Pamela Borkowski and her passenger, 32-year-old Stephanie Jeanne Borkowski, of Boone. Both women were wearing their seat belts.

Lantz, and two passengers in his pickup, were transported to the Boone County Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The crash remains under investigation.

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds has selected Brig. Gen. Stephen E. Osborn as the 28th Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard.  According to the Governor, “General Osborn has been an invaluable member of the Iowa National Guard as our state has faced natural disasters, a pandemic, and civil unrest. Iowans can trust that the Iowa National Guard stands ready and prepared under General Osborn’s proven leadership capabilities.  He is a trusted advisor with a wealth of command experience at both home and abroad.”

Osborn is a native of Davenport, Iowa. He enlisted in the Army in July 1984 prior to commissioning as an infantry officer through the University of Alabama in 1990. He transferred to the Iowa Army National Guard in 1992 and has served in a variety of command and staff positions, to include: commander of the 1st Battalion,168th Infantry Regiment; deputy operations officer, 34th Infantry Division; director of operations, Joint Force Headquarters; commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division; and director of the Joint Staff.

Osborn is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. He deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in 1991 in support of the Persian Gulf War. He deployed to Kosovo in support of Operation Joint Guardian in 2004 and to Iraq in 2009 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

His significant awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Expert Infantryman’s Badge and Pathfinder Badge.  He has served as the Iowa Army National Guard’s deputy adjutant general since August 2018 and as the deputy commanding general of the Army National Guard at the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia. Osborn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alabama, a Master of Public Administration from Drake University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.

The adjutant general is the highest-ranking position in the Iowa National Guard. Osborn will manage more than 2,000 federal and state full-time employees as well as nearly 9,000 part-time Soldiers and Airmen.  Osborn will replace Maj. Gen. Benjamin J. Corell, who has served as the adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard since September 2019. Corell announced his retirement from the position in January 2023.