Meet the Candidates

KEOKUK COUNTY – The 2024 Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5. A seat on the Keokuk County Board of Supervisors and the position of Keokuk County Sheriff are both up for election this year. The News-Review sat down and spoke with the candidates running for these positions.

Adam Clark - Libertarian Sheriff Candidate

After graduating from Sigourney High School, Adam Clark enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he served two tours overseas, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Clark has spent the last 16 years working in law enforcement, at the Ottumwa Police Department, Sigourney Police Department, and for the past ten years at the Keokuk County Sheriff’s office. Clark believes his experience as a police officer and as a combat veteran have given him the tools necessary to carry out the responsibility of protecting the citizens of Keokuk County as Sheriff. 

“I am dependable, hardworking, motivated and I make it a priority to listen to the concerns and needs of county residents,” said Clark. “I intend to listen to problems and find ways to solve the problems rather than just ignoring them. I will be present and proactive both within the sheriff’s department and within the community.”

Clark also is a member of the Sigourney City Council, a member of the Sigourney School Board, President of Sigourney Ball, and volunteers coaching soccer, flag football and baseball. He intends to resign from the school board and city council if elected, to focus efforts on being sheriff.

Clark stated that the Sheriff’s Office is facing problems with deputy, jail and dispatch retention. He believes this is due to understaffing, stating that a 580 square mile county and one deputy per shift puts a huge burden on staff and creates officer safety concern. Clark also pointed out a lack of continual officer training, due to travel opportunities being limited because of the department being short staffed, and because of the expectation to cover a large call volume, due to the lack of city police departments in the county. Clark stated that more adequate training opportunities would result in the department being able to provide a better service, and that these issues result in the department being reactive instead of proactive.

Clark also stated that staffing issues have led to a lack of law enforcement presence in school districts, and that their lack of presence has deterred their ability to build positive relationships with the youth, ensure security for schools and provide training for school staff and students. If elected, Clark plans to work with the school districts to create a shared School Resource Officer Program, which would allow the department to devote a deputy solely to schools for training and security purposes. Clark plans to fund this program by requesting state sharing dollars and meeting with superintendents and school boards to help share the costs.

Clark stated that being more involved in our schools will give the department a chance to recruit local high schoolers considering entering law enforcement. He stated that deputies that are born and raised here tend to make the best deputies because they are invested in the community, and that this would help with staff shortages. Clark also wants to create a reserve deputy program consisting of volunteer, nonregular, sworn members of the Keokuk County Sheriff’s office, who serve with or without compensation, and have regular police powers, while functioning as a law enforcement agency’s representative. He stated that this will allow high school students to get into law enforcement at a part time level and see if it is a career for them.

Clark stated that the county is seeing an increase in cybercrime, scams, theft or burglary cases and mental illness cases, in addition to continuing to see a steady flow of drug related crimes, sexual assaults, family disputes, trespass and harassment cases. Clark plans to meet with incorporated city leaders to discuss ways to establish 28e Agreements and ensure they are in compliance with Iowa law. He plans to reintroduce events like National Night Out and participate in red ribbon week. Clark plans to raise donations to sustain the Drug K9 program.

“I am a lifelong resident of this county, and I feel it is important to have a safe community to live in and raise a family,” said Clark

Casey Hinnah - Incumbent Republican Sheriff

Casey Hinnah, who has been Keokuk County Sheriff since 2013, did not respond to requests for an interview. The News-Review did speak with Hinnah briefly at the Republican Spring Preview back in April, where he explained that he was born and raised in Sigourney and received a criminal justice degree from Indian Hills, followed by a bachelor's degree from Ohio State. He starting working for the department as a reserve officer when he was 20, then moved up to deputy and spent four years as chief deputy before becoming sheriff. Back in April, Hinah stated he wanted to work on adding staff, brought up the fact that he established the K9 unit, and stated that he was the best candidate, due to his experience working through every stage of county level law enforcement.

Dennis Boone - Democrat Supervisor Candidate

Dennis Boone, a retired John Deere combine plant worker living outside South English, wants the Board of Supervisors to be more hands-on and meet with people more often. He explained that, in the past, he had had a hard time getting direct answers from supervisors over the phone, and that he wanted to meet people in person and help them personally.

“I hope to help some people and put a face with the voice...I’m fully retired. I have no job. I’ve got a small farm but it’s rented out. So, if somebody should call, I can go to their house and meet them, or meet them wherever the project is, or they can come to my house and just put a face to the voice...They’d have my undivided attention,” said Boone.

Boone does not have government experience, but did work off and on as a John Deere union steward. He stated he has “all the time in the world” to dedicate to being a supervisor. He noted that supervisors might not be able to fix problems, but can facilitate meetings between landowners and relevant departments.

He stated that a key issue in Keokuk County was building housing so the county could receive tax money. He stated the supervisors need to work with small town city councils to promote housing. Boone gave South English as an example, stating there were 16 houses in town that needed to be torn down to make the town look better, but that the city didn’t have the money to do so.

Boone brought up the town of DeWitt, explaining that the town slowly grew over 25 years, adding a small factory and a nice hospital, and stated something similar needed to happen in Keokuk County. He stated that it was unlikely for the county to attract a major plant. He stated that, even if the county is a “bedroom community,” people are willing to invest in houses closer to their jobs, which will bring in tax money. He suggested sitting down with landowners and city governments to have meetings about adding housing.

He noted the small number of police in Keokuk County and suggested hiring auxiliary police. The police would not arrest people or carry guns, but could help run radar and encourage people to keep the peace.

Boone was asked about wind turbine ordinances and said that wind turbines could not be stopped, because they were already here. He suggested adding rules stating that wind turbine companies have to clean up damaged turbines after disasters like tornadoes. He noted that wind turbines create a lot of jobs.

He noted that a lot of young people in the county go to Ottumwa or Iowa City for work. He raised concerns about charter schools hurting school budgets.

“You know, the world’s changing,” said Boone. “Our grandparents said it, our parents said it, we say it. The world’s going to hell in a handbasket. We overheard that at kitchen table talk when we were little kids. We just have to be prepared for it and monitor it. You can’t just sit there and complain. We’re gonna have to get involved.”

Kevin Weber - Republican Supervisor Candidate

Kevin Weber, a secondary roads employee, owner of a photography and videography business, and Sigourney native, thinks his younger perspective could be an asset for the board. Weber also stated that there will be a big learning curve to being a supervisor, and that he wants to learn from older board members who have been on the board for a long time.

“I’ve seen a lot of the success in the department I work for, which is the highway department, from having a good board of supervisors, and I definitely want to play a role in that so it continues, not only in my department, but all the other departments as well,” said Weber.

He stated a priority would be communicating with the public and making sure everyone knows what is going on around the county. He stated that a lot of people don’t even know what the supervisors do, and that he would try to make sure people are involved and educated on how their tax dollars are being used.

Weber stated that the biggest issue for the county is a lack of growth, and that Keokuk County needs to continue to find opportunities for small businesses and ways for people to come back to where they grew up. He discussed looking into grants to help with startup costs. Weber stated that he wanted to make sure departments have the employees and tools they need. He noted that there has been a struggle to find sheriff’s office employees and suggested looking into advertising or sign-on bonuses.

He stated that there were pros and cons to wind turbines and that he was caught in the middle of opinions on them. He said that there are probably some good in them, but that people don’t like looking at turbines and think they are ugly.

“I think that just being a younger person that’s involved in the community and has lived here my whole life, and plan to live here my own life, and being a small business owner with my wife, we’re involved in church, we’re involved in the community in other ways as well, I think that’s really important with connecting to people,” said Weber.

Rob Wonderlich - Independent Supervisor Candidate

Rob Wonderlich, a farmer and owner of a landscaping company from Ollie, previously served as a board member and served on the finance committee for Dairy Farmers of America, at the time the second largest farm cooperative in the county. While with the DFA, Wonderlich spent time as part of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. He feels his experience will be vital to the county he’s lived in for his entire life.

“The more I thought about it, I felt that I had a lot to offer...I’ve been to Washington a lot,” said Wonderlich. “I’ve had a lot of political experience higher up than the county level...I feel that I can bring something to the table for the residents of Keokuk County, to be an advocate for everyone across the county.”

Wonderlich also served on church committees, the Expo board, and the County Farm Service Agency Committee. He feels that Keokuk County needs to see more economic development to keep the population at least stable and hopefully grow the community. He brought up Tax Increment Financing, where governments allow businesses to have lowered property taxes during their first several years to incentive investment. He noted that Keokuk County’s location isn’t too bad, due to the proximity to Interstate 80 and Highway 218, and suggested this would be appealing to factories that might want to locate in the area. 

He stated that there needs to be more law enforcement presence during the night. Wonderlich stated that there is a mental health crisis, in Keokuk County and nationwide, and that there aren’t enough resources available for people with mental health issues. He suggested looking into providing more funding at the county level for mental health services. Wonderlich also stated the county had a serious drug problem and that he wants to do more to help drug users and keep drugs off the street. He stated that this takes more than funding, and suggested partnering with local organizations or working with schools to make students aware of the dangers of drugs. Wonderlich noted that the county budget is tight, and that increases in funding for one area means something else will be cut.

He stated he wasn’t a big fan of wind turbines, calling them an eyesore and claiming they don’t generate enough money to make up their installation cost. He stated he approved the county’s half mile setback ordinances and requirement wind farm companies set aside a bond to decommission the turbines in the event they are destroyed. He stated these policies would keep wind turbines from being built in the county.

“I would appreciate anyone’s support who is willing to support me,” said Wonderlich.