Marshall County Sheriff’s Office surpasses K9 fundraising goal

Dog set to begin trainig soon

When Marshall County Sheriff Joel Phillips set a private fundraising goal of $85,000 to start up a K9 program for his office and formally launched the campaign in March, he expected it would be about a year before they got there. Much to his surprise -- and his delight -- they've already surpassed it in less than five months with over $107,000 raised so far.

Phillips, who took office in 2021 and won his first full term in the 2022 election, said it had long been a goal of his to have an MCSO K9, and a few years back, he was approached by retired Marshalltown Police Department Officer Melinda Ruopp, who now serves as a reserve deputy, about using her personally-owned dog Lizzy for drug detection. Ruopp sits on the board of the United States Police Canine Association and is considered an expert in the field.

"It's one of those opportunities that you've gotta kind of seize them when they come to you, and she was offering to volunteer her time," Phillips said. "We kind of came up with a plan. Obviously, Melinda knows a lot about fundraising with the police department, so a lot of those obstacles were worked out ahead of time."

Ruopp worked as an officer for the MPD from 1994 to 2018 and handled two full-service police dogs during that time, and once she transitioned over to her new role as a deputy, she was happy to help Phillips get the MCSO's new program off the ground. While she supported the sheriff in his original estimations, she was confident they could raise the money on a much faster timeline, and as it turned out, she was right.

"In general, just having some background in it to know 'OK, these are the things that are important. These are the things that we need to seek out funding for,' and getting all of the policies and procedures in place. Those are things that when you have the experience, setting that kind of stuff up is not hard at all," Ruopp said. "I felt honored that the sheriff's department would trust me with coming onboard to get their program up and running... and we work with and train with the (Marshalltown) police department. So it really is a goldmine for me to be able to share that wealth and still support the Marshalltown K9 program."

With the pressures of inflation still hitting all sectors including public safety hard, Phillips and a few of his deputies set a fundraising goal of $85,000 to ensure the program would get off to a strong start and be well positioned for years to come. Even with the original number surpassed, they're still accepting donations to help with additional expenses that could arise, and Phillips indicated they've hit a bit of a snag with properly equipping the K9 vehicle for the dog's handler, Deputy Tanner Hunt, who nevertheless can't wait to take on the challenge.

"I'm very excited to have this opportunity to be a K9 handler for the MCSO. It has been a career and life goal of mine since I got into law enforcement. I have a huge passion for dogs and really enjoy going out to intercept criminal behavior. I can't think of a better way to do this job than having a fully trained and certified four legged partner with me 24/7," Hunt said. "I'm also grateful for Sheriff Phillips and the rest of the administration at the sheriff's office. They have helped out tremendously with getting this program up and running. Reserve Deputy Melinda Ruopp has been instrumental in this process due to her knowledge and experience with K9 handling."

To get to where they needed to be, the MCSO team did not simply ask for donations and wait for them to trickle into the coffers. They held a variety of fundraising events and drives, distributed collectible items like challenge coins and stuffed animals and sold t-shirts and chew toys -- the chew toys, in particular, were made from repurposed firehose by inmates at the correctional facility in Anamosa. Currently, KIX 101 and Thompson True Value, in a move similar to a previous fundraising drive they teamed up on for the MPD K9, are donating $50 from the sale of every Weber gas grill to the MCSO fund.

All in all, Phillips and Hunt have been overwhelmed with the generosity of Marshall County residents, especially as the MPD was conducting its own campaign for a second K9 unit around the same time, and Phillips is happy both agencies were able to meet their goals.

"We wanted to make sure that we didn't affect their efforts in any way, so I think it was a joint, direct partnership where we were able to raise funds and be successful," Phillips said.

Hunt said the contributions made him proud to call Marshall County home, and Ruopp expressed a similar sentiment, indicating that although there may have been some friendly competition, the two largest local law enforcement agencies supported each other as they both worked to hit their objectives.

"It definitely comes down to (the fact that) this city, the county, Marshall County in general, the citizens of this county are amazing, and when you need something, when you're in need, they just step up," she said. "And that is something that's been true for me as a law enforcement officer since I started working for the police department and started raising money for K9s, this county has never disappointed. They're amazing. It's an amazing place to live."

With one major hurdle -- money -- out of the way, the focus now turns to ordering the dog, which is expected to be picked up on Aug. 4, and training it in Buffalo, Minn. The company they're getting the K9 from comes with over 35 years experience working with law enforcement.

As a sign of the changing times, Phillips noted that many of the K9 units across the Midwest have in the past been trained to detect marijuana, which is now fully legal for recreational use in several states including Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri. In Iowa, cannabidiol (CBD) products with low levels of THC are also legal, and he said there were questions of whether the K9 could detect them.

"That's kind of going by the wayside, so we want to make sure that ours is prepared for the future. So it will not be trained on marijuana. We did opt out of that," he said.

The dog will, however, still have the ability to detect other narcotics like cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, ecstasy, PCP and others, and future training will focus on article searches for things like firearms, according to Phillips.

"We're gonna keep working at it. It all depends on the dog and the trainer, and we're gonna see what we can come up with," the sheriff said.

With the success of the initial fundraising drive, Phillips, Hunt and Ruopp are optimistic the MCSO will be set up for the long term, and they continue to be thankful for the support the agency receives from the communities and residents it serves. They will continue to share updates on progress and developments as they become available.

"We now have a very comfortable way of supporting this program forward from here, so once we get the dog, we'll be able to get the best training (and) keep this training up high -- you know, anything that the dog needs for medical reasons or for equipment and all the things that come up after you have the dog," Ruopp said. "So we're really excited that the public has supported us to this degree."