Police seek public’s help

The Marshalltown Police Department is on the lookout for a suspect or suspects who crashed a stolen truck into the Marshalltown High School Roundhouse north side doors early Friday morning.

Capt. Brian Batterson of the MPD said a passer-by reported a truck had crashed into the Roundhouse.

Personnel responded to the scene at approximately 4:15 a.m., discovered the truck, but reported a suspect or suspects were at-large.

“We are still investigating,” said Batterson. “We did confirm the truck was stolen. Part of our work will be viewing tapes from MHS video surveillance cameras.”

It was unclear at press time how much damage was done to the building, which has recenty undergone signigicant remodeling.

“It was an unfortunate incident and we are helping the MPD with their investigation,” said Marshalltown Community School District Communications Director Andrew Potter in an email to the Times-Republican. “We thank local law enforcement for their efforts and our buildings and grounds workers who were on scene promptly. The mess resulting from the damage to the doors has been cleaned and the area is secure, with a full replacement of the doors as soon as possible. The gym remains open for regular use by our athletes.”

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to contact the MPD, 641-754-5725 or the Marshall County Crime Stoppers. Tips can be submitted by telephone, text message or an Internet website.

The Crime Stoppers phone line is answered at all hours, seven days a week, at 641-753-1234. Calls are answered by Marshall County Communications Center operators.

Text messages can be sent to 247637 (CRIMES). Tips can be submitted online at www.marshallcountycs.com.

Courtesy of the Marshalltown Times-Republican, Mike Donahey, Staff

The sound of chatter could be heard across the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA parking lot Tuesday evening as local law enforcement officers and community members came together to eat food and mingle.

“We’re happy that they Y is a good partner with Crime Stoppers, we’re happy to see the support for local law enforcement,” said Marshalltown Y CEO Carol Hibbs the partnership with Marshall County Crime Stoppers in presenting the community’s first ever “National Night Out.”

The event’s purpose was to bring law enforcement officials and community members together to chat and get to know each other. Along with meeting police officers, visitors got to check out the nearby bike trail that runs near the YMCA-YWCA building.

“I think, for the first year, it was pretty good turnout,” said State Center Police Chief Jeff Bunn. “It’s a good way to get the community together with all the local law enforcement officers and get to understand what we do; it gives us a chance to communicate with them.”

Law enforcement officials from the Marshalltown Police Department and Marshall County Sheriff’s Office were also among the event’s guests.

Festivities that evening included giving away free Crime Stoppers tee shirts to the first 100 visitors to the event. Water bottles and fresh-cooked hot dogs were also available.

Several families could be seen among the gathered crowd, with small children playing and talking to officers. The only noticeable pause in conversation happened after hotdogs were served and people sat together to eat.

“I think it’s a great event,” said Marshalltown resident Chris Gustafson, who was curious about the Night Out event when she heard about it. “We came to see what it’s about.”

Her 9-year-old son Cole, who sported a silver police badge sticker on his forehead, said he was having a lot of fun.

“One of the successes of Crimestoppers has been the support from various sectors of the community,” Hibbs said. “We have business support and individuals supporting the non-profit organization, it’s really a community effort.”

Bunn said he hopes the event is the beginning of a tradition in the area. He handed out several badge stickers to eager kids and talked to them about being a police officer.

“I’m really happy with it, and hope this kind of thing keeps going and we can keep doing it for years to come,” he said.

National Night Out is a widespread community-building campaign, with events held throughout the United States and Canada, among other places.

Courtesy of the Marshalltown Times-Republican, Adam Sodders, Staff Writer.