(West Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Association of Realtors (IAR) report Byron Menke, of Treynor, was recently installed as the 2022 President of the Iowa Association of REALTORS® along with the rest of the IAR Officers. Per the IAR Bylaws, Byron and the 2022 IAR Leadership members will begin their terms at the conclusion of the National Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors meeting on November 15.

Menke has been in real estate for over 24 years and an auctioneer for 43 years. He was inspired by his grandfather’s knowledge of construction which led him to earning his construction degree from Northeast Community College of Nebraska. Shortly after high school, he went to auctioneering school and developed his love for the business. He started auctioneering with local auctioneers and in the local sale barns. As he grew his auction business, he decided to obtain his real estate license. He worked for several years in the Council Bluffs area as a Realtor® and achieved his broker’s license in 2005. Since then he has grown his business and now has 10 agents at Menke Auction & Realty in Treynor, Iowa.

Menke has been very busy at both the local and state REALTOR® associations. He was President of the Southwest Iowa Association of REALTORS® (SWIAR) in 2007 after serving on numerous committees and the Board of Directors. He was named SWIAR’s REALTOR of the Year in 2009. He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by SWIAR. Menke was a Regional Vice President for the Iowa Association of REALTORS® (IAR) for 5 years. He also served on the IAR Executive Committee and continued to serve on every major IAR Committee during his career. Byron received IAR’s highest honor in 2017 as a recipient of the O.G. Powell/Joan Ballantyne Distinguished Service Award, to recognize his many years of outstanding service to the real estate industry. For the past 3 years, Byron has served on committees with the National Association of REALTORS®.

Byron and his significant other, Julie Eden, live on a timbered acreage in the Loess Hills. He has two adult children and four grandchildren. Another western Iowa man, Mike Franey, of Carroll, was installed at IAR Region 2 Vice President.

DOWS, Iowa – Authorities in northern Iowa are investigating a homicide in Dows. According to a report from the Department of Public Safety, on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, Wright County Communications received a call requesting assistance at 305 Park Avenue in Dows for an unattended death. General Hospital EMS arrived and discovered an unresponsive male, later identified as Mario Salvador Lopez. The Wright County Sheriff’s Office was notified, which requested the Wright County Medical Examiner. The Sheriff’s Office began conducting an investigation into Lopez’s death and requested the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Lopez’s body was sent to the State Office of the Iowa Medical Examiner for an autopsy and his death is being listed and investigated as a homicide. The Wright County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation continue to conduct an on-going investigation.  If you have information related to this incident, know anything about Mario Lopez, or have had contact with him, please contact the Wright County Sheriff’s Office at 515-532-3722.

Mario Salvador Lopez