Des Moines, IA – State Auditor Rob Sand today (Wednesday) urged Iowans and their community leaders to be on alert for people preying on victims of the flooding in Iowa. Sand says “Iowans are known for rallying around victims of natural disasters.  Communities come together to help with clean-up and provide for people who have lost everything. Unfortunately, natural disasters are also calling cards for con artists.”

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the most common fraud following a natural disaster includes fake housing inspectors and building contractors, phony disaster donation efforts, and calls or texts requiring account information in exchange for financial assistance. Sand says “These scammers are not stupid.  They’re sneaky. They’ll use all means to try to steal personal and public funds – phone calls, texts, emails.  They’ll even pose as government officials to get account information or social security numbers.”

Sand offers these tips for avoiding scams in the wake of natural disasters:

• Never give out social security numbers or account information over the phone or via text or email.
• Confirm that emails from vendors are legitimate by calling the vendor through a verified number, not the number in the email.
• Never pay a contractor a large sum of money upfront.
• Make checks for materials payable to the contractor and the supplier.
• Request a copy of the contractor’s liability insurance information.
• Require that all work be outlined in a contract, including completion dates and costs for materials, permits, and labor.
• Get at least three estimates from contractors and be leery of “too good to be true” offers.
• Federal and state workers will never ask for money and will always carry identification badges.

(Radio Iowa) – The president of the North Iowa Area Community College is predicting enrollment at community colleges will grow in the years ahead. Dr. Steven Schulz is retiring at the end of the month. “Let’s be honest, the methodology’s changing. There’s going to be more people in this sector, people looking for skills, not four year degrees,” Schulz says. “There’s lot of change going on.”

Schultz has been president of NIACC in Mason City for the past decade. Schulz, who’s retiring after a 42 year career as an educator, says he worries about the future for students in rural areas of the state. “I think it’s going to be up to communities and local school boards and local community colleges to really tell their story and express their needs in way that the legislature can see we’re still here,” Schulz says, with a laugh, “and we want to do the work of our communities.”

NIACC president Dr. Steven Schulz is retiring at the end of this month. (NIACC photo)

Schultz is a native of Geneva, a small town in Franklin County. He holds degrees from Wartburg College, the University of Northern Iowa, Drake University and Iowa State University. Schulz previously worked at Des Moines Area Community College and U-N-I, He served as the superintendent of Carroll Community Schools from 2000 to 2004.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston, Tuesday evening, temporarily arrested, and then released, a woman who allegedly allowed an animal at her residence, to run at-large. 26-year-old Paige Nicole Westbrook, of Creston, was cited at the scene and released on a summons to appear in court.

The former Ringgold County Conservation Director is suing the county for alleged discrimination, defamation and malicious prosecution. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Kathryn Mortensen Zimmerman is suing the county, the board of supervisors, the county auditor, a county deputy and an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation employee, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

According to her lawsuit, Zimmerman began working for the county in 2010 as the director of Ringgold County Conservation, which maintains three public parks for camping. Beginning in January 2021, she alleges, the supervisors, particularly Colby Holmes, engaged in a pattern of gender discrimination, sexual discrimination, age discrimination, retaliation, harassment, slander and defamation.

The lawsuit alleges Holmes “fabricated and disseminated false information” pertaining to Zimmerman’s work ethic, character and competence, while stating at a board meeting that she would be “better off as a janitor.”

Holmes is also accused of falsely claiming Zimmerman hid money within her budget and used it on personal expenses, and of telling the county’s conservation board “it isn’t right that (Zimmerman) is making more money than some other male employees,” according to the lawsuit. Holmes is also alleged to have posted a hostile comment to Facebook alleging Zimmerman could not do her job and should leave.

The lawsuit alleges that after Zimmerman filed complaints about Holmes with the county auditor, county attorney and the Iowa Public Information Board, Holmes urged the conservation board to reduce her compensation for overtime.

In December 2022, the lawsuit alleges, Holmes “intentionally physically assaulted (Zimmerman) with his vehicle and yelled, ‘move your ass!’ and ‘get out of the way!’ ” The lawsuit claims that after Zimmerman filed a police complaint on the matter, she was investigated by the DCI and charged with filing a false police report.

According to the police report in that case, Zimmerman claimed Holmes struck her with his vehicle — a statement that police say was contradicted by witnesses and by Zimmerman’s own initial statement to officers.

A second criminal charge against Zimmerman alleged interference with official acts. According to an April 2023 press release from the DCI, that charge stemmed from a Dec. 5, 2022, incident at Poe Hollow Park. According to the DCI, Zimmerman refused Ringgold County deputies and bomb technicians entrance to the park so they could work on an explosive device found earlier that morning.

Court records indicate the two criminal charges are still pending, with no trial date set.

Due to the alleged hostile work environment in the county, the lawsuit alleges, Zimmerman was constructively discharged in February 2023. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for sexual discrimination, retaliation, defamation and malicious prosecution.

The county and the DCI have yet to file a response to the lawsuit.