KDSN RADIO News
Court Rejects Current Form of Rasmussen Salary Lawsuit, Allows Sheriff 20 Days to Amend
(DENISON, Iowa) A Crawford County District Court judge has rejected the legal route Sheriff Roger Rasmussen used to challenge his salary, but the case is not necessarily over.
Rasmussen filed the lawsuit earlier this year after the Crawford County Compensation Board recommended a $28,000 raise that would have brought his annual salary to about $131,983. The Crawford County Board of Supervisors instead approved a $7,516.75 increase, setting the sheriff’s salary at $111,500. Rasmussen argued the lower amount did not meet Iowa law requiring sheriff salaries to be comparable to certain law enforcement leadership positions. Iowa’s 2026 code contains that comparability requirement.
In a September 8 ruling, the judge found Rasmussen used the wrong type of court action to challenge the supervisors’ decision. The court determined that setting the sheriff’s salary is a legislative action by the Board of Supervisors, rather than the type of judicial or administrative decision that can be challenged through the procedure Rasmussen originally used.
The judge also found that the state law governing sheriff compensation does not specifically give an individual sheriff a separate right to sue the county under that law.
However, the ruling does not decide whether the supervisors actually set Rasmussen’s salary at the proper amount or whether the salary complies with state law. Instead, the court said Rasmussen may be able to pursue his argument through a different type of legal claim. The judge specifically pointed to the possibility of asking a court to order the board to carry out a duty required by law, while making clear there is no ruling that such a claim would ultimately succeed.
Rasmussen has 20 days from the September 8 order to file an amended petition. If he does not, the court says the case will be dismissed.
