Sheriff Cleared, Case Closed: Winneshiek County Board Opens Up on Lawsuit Dismissal

Your contribution fuels the stories that shape Decorah—make a difference today. DECORAH — A previously scheduled closed-session discussion at the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors meeting turned public Monday as officials confirmed the dismissal of Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird's lawsuit against Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx. The meeting, which was originally set for executive session, was opened after the resolution of the legal matter, allowing board members to discuss publicly for the first time details surrounding the now-closed case and its financial implications with Winneshiek County Attorney Andy Van Der Maaten and Marx. Van Der Maaten's comments during the meeting revealed that the Iowa Attorney General's Office chose not to pursue the case further following a meeting last Friday between Marx, Van Der Maaten and Bird in Des Moines. "There was no request for Dan to apologize or recant his position," Van Der Maaten noted, "Essentially, we confirmed that we have had a policy in place since 2018, that policy has been followed, and that we'll continue to follow the policy as we always have." Van Der Maaten also provided the following written statement: "Winneshiek County has had a written immigration policy, since 2018, as required by Iowa Law. The Sheriff's Office has followed and will continue to follow that policy. We were pleased to have an opportunity to sit down with the Attorney General to discuss this case and with the Attorney General's decision to dismiss the lawsuit." The board also touched on the costs incurred through the legal process and efforts to offset them. While bills from legal counsel have yet to be fully finalized, Marx noted a strong flow of donations had come in to help cover the expenses. "There is more money coming in... We were getting donations pretty steadily," Marx stated, noting that he expects contributions to taper off now that the case has been dismissed. Board members used the opportunity to voice concern over potential legislative repercussions from the incident. Supervisor Mark Vick asked Van Der Maaten if fallout from the lawsuit might be leveraged against Winneshiek County when applying for state aid. Van Der Maaten assured the Supervisors that this likely wouldn't have that kind of "trickle down effect," and that the case had been dismissed with prejudice, meaning that the lawsuit cannot be refiled based on the same facts and legal claims. "I think that in dismissing, it's pretty clear that this was not actually going to go far enough to reach that point," Van Der Maaten responded. The case has also galvanized some in the county to become more politically engaged. Supervisor Steve Kelsay warned that efforts were already underway to introduce legislative changes that "are not to the benefit of our law enforcement," calling them a "bad thing for our community." "If anybody in the community wants to become politically active, this is a good thing to get behind," Kelsay added. Marx stated that he would be putting out a statement for the community, but took a moment to thank the Supervisors, Van Der Maaten, and the community-at-large. Marx was met with applause from attendees. Unlock a world of knowledge! Sign up for free DecorahNews.com newsletters and receive local news, local events and everything that is happening in and around Decorah.