T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshall County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jarret Heil, left, honored late Supervisor Kevin Goodman, whose photo is shown on the projector behind him, during Wednesday morning’s regular meeting. A floral arrangement and baseball glove were placed in front of Goodman’s seat as a tribute, and his son Christian Goodman later shared reflections on his father’s life and service during the meeting.

Wednesday morning’s regular Marshall County Board of Supervisors meeting began on a somber note as it was the first since the loss of Supervisor Kevin Goodman, who died last week at the age of 63.

A floral arrangement and a baseball glove sat in front of Goodman’s chair as the board observed a moment of silence in his honor, and Chairman Jarret Heil kicked off the meeting by sharing his reflections on working with his late colleague, who was elected in 2024 and had served for just over a year before his passing.

“Kevin was a great friend of ours and a great colleague. We definitely enjoyed working with him. We enjoyed talking with him. If anyone got to talk to Kevin, you certainly got to talk. Paul (Geilenfeldt) was in our budget meeting the other day. It was like, if he was gonna go out on the roads with him, well, get another cup of coffee because it’s gonna be another two, three hours,” Heil said. “In talking with his family this past week, his wife said that he really loved this job as a county supervisor. He loved learning. There’s so much to learn in county government. All of us in the room are constantly learning, but Kevin loved learning and he’d come home and talk about all of his conversations meeting with all the different department heads or elected officials, the people of Marshall County. And it’s really sad that it was just one year for Kevin in this job because, you know, after a year or two, that’s when you really start getting the full grasp and getting to really grow in your leadership in this job. But what an opportunity it was for him to serve the people of Marshall County — that servant heart of his, if anyone knew anything about him with baseball and softball, he wanted to help kids get better at the sport. He wanted to see kids thrive and succeed, and he wanted to see Marshall County thrive and succeed. That’s just exactly what you want in your leaders, and that’s exactly what you want here at Marshall County is people like Kevin. Boy, we’re deeply saddened today. This is a tough meeting for all of us, but we remember the great things about Kevin. And boy, he was great. He was truly a good man. He truly was.”

Supervisor Carol Hibbs called him “a good public servant” and added that she appreciated his natural curiosity and willingness to ask questions, remembering that he recently reached out to see how he could be a better supervisor and was proud of his family and their legacy in Marshall County.

“Please accept our sincerest sympathies because he will be greatly missed, and he’s got a legacy. We were kindred Iowa State spirits here, so we enjoyed talking about that too,” she said. “He’ll be greatly missed.”

Goodman’s son Christian then stepped forward to the podium and started by noting that last Wednesday was the first time his father had ever been late to work in his life. He also expressed his appreciation for the first responders from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, UnityPoint and dispatch.

“I know, as a volunteer firefighter dealing with the sheriff’s department and first responders and dispatchers, that the men and women who serve our community, and we’re lucky to have them, they’re second to none, and our family is deeply grateful for their service,” Christian said. “I want to thank the people of Marshall County for, I guess, trusting and believing my dad could do a good job. Of everything that my dad did in his life, he’d kind of come to make it easy and a bit of effortless, and I just want to recognize him, just all of the behind the scenes work or who he would reach out to. My dad drew inspiration from a lot of different sources, and unfortunately, I wish that he could’ve gotten into this kind of role a little earlier in his life, but he was busy doing other things — farming and baseball and the things that he could still do. And as he was slowing down physically, I think a role like this was going to fit him a lot better, and I was really looking forward to seeing him continue to sit in this role.”

Kevin would bounce ideas off of his son when a concern was raised about county business, and Christian said he took comments graciously — never personally — and enjoyed phone calls from people who asked questions and engaged in debates with him.

“He learned a lot from those phone calls, and I can’t say it enough. I’m thankful that the people of Marshall County trusted him enough to have him sit in this role. And for that, I guess, thank you, so I hope whoever fills this role has that same level of curiosity,” he said.

Heil and Hibbs then presented the flowers to Christian, who said he appreciated the baseball glove and felt it was “a nice touch.”

“He would love that. It’s right-handed, but that’s OK,” he joked.

Once the Pledge of Allegiance was recited and an amended agenda was approved with two items removed, the board moved on to officially declaring Goodman’s seat vacant, and that motion passed by a unanimous 2-0 vote. Marshall County Attorney Jordan Gaffney explained that it can either be filled by a special election or an appointment, and a committee of elected officials — Gaffney, Auditor/Recorder Nan Benson and Treasurer Deann Tomlinson — will be responsible for the appointment.

They plan to send out a notice to the public of intent to fill the vacancy by appointment, but voters can force a special election if just over 1,700 petition signatures are collected. A candidate who wins a special election would serve out Goodman’s term until the end of 2028, and Benson added that an appointed candidate, if they choose to run as a member of a political party, they would still fill out paperwork in March, run in the June 2026 primary and then again in the November 2026 general election. She estimated that a special election would cost the county between $15,000 and $17,000. The seats currently held by Heil and Hibbs will also be on the November 2026 ballots as they are currently coming to the end of their four-year terms.

During the public comment period at the end of the meeting, Benson shared that she greatly enjoyed working with Goodman despite not knowing him well before he was elected in 2024.

“He did speak at my nephew’s funeral, read the scripture, and that was the first time I had ever really met him. But getting to know him here, I thoroughly enjoyed him. So I just wanted to share that with the family, and he was just a fun, fun guy to work with,” she said. “This job here is tough, and it’s great to have people like that that you’re working with… Most people know I don’t get very emotional usually, but this has been challenging.”

In other business, the board:

• Approved the consent agenda as listed.

• Approved the quarterly transfer of $750,000 from the Rural Services Fund to the Secondary Roads Fund.

• Approved a $14,600 change order with Garling Construction for the jail/sheriff’s office ARPA upgrades after hearing from County Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.