Last Wednesday was the annual government day for Tama County. Local high schoolers came and learned about the inner workings of the local regime. Supervisors Heather Knebel and Curt Hilmer represented the county board and fielded questions. At Tama County Public Health and Home Care, Director Stacy Koeppen, Assistant Director Lori Johnson, and Koeppen’s dog Quinn greeted students and taught them about diseases. At the Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Casey Schmidt, along with Jailers Courtney Rivera and Samantha Warnell, talked to the kids about all the inner workings of the jail. From the restraint chair and the blanket made out of recycled tires to the property sealer and how people often come in with a stench, the kids learned a wide variety of things.

After the tours, the approximately 50 students ate lunch at the Reinig Center and participated in a panel discussion with some of the county heads. Jacob Reineke, the 911 Communications Director, Ryan Goodenbour, the Emergency Management Coordinator, and Chad Weaver, Director of Veteran Affairs, made up the panel, but it was Schmidt who once again took the show. Schmidt answered many of the students’ questions about his equipment and procedures. Deputy Brandon Wall and K9 Kaya were the main event, though, as Kaya showed off many of her skills, including sniffing out some drugs hidden by Wall.