ARMSTRONG, Iowa — Years of corruption and mismanagement allegedly preceded the arrests of a northwest Iowa town’s mayor, police chief and three current and former clerks who are charged with theft and fraud.
Officials in the city of Armstrong stole tens of thousands of dollars in public funds, falsified public records to conceal their wrongdoing and used city property for personal gain.
Prosecutors allege in a court document that some of the wrongdoing dates back to 2013 and continued in 2020.
The arrests over the weekend stunned the city of 900 people, which is located near Iowa’s border with Minnesota and about 40 miles from the popular Okoboji vacation destination in the state’s northwest corner.