Sheriff Casey Schmidt

06/05/2026

05/28/2026

Calling all photographers! Youth and adults are invited to showcase their creativity and capture the beauty, meaning, and inspiration of flags flying across our county! Submit up to two original photos to Jake Buchanan, Tama County Economic Development Director at [email protected]. Please include your name, the location where the photo was taken, and your contact information with your submission. Tama County Board of Supervisors will select inspiring entries to be displayed in the Tama County Annex Building. Don’t miss the chance to have your photography featured and celebrate community pride through your lens! Deadline to submit is June 12.

05/18/2026

I just recently wrapped up my first legislative session on the ISSDA Legislative Committee. Sheriff Brad Shutts, Jasper County “volunteered” me for it, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Looking back, I’m glad he did. I’ve never considered myself a politics guy. I know some people will say, “You’re the sheriff. That’s politics.” Fair enough. But anyone who knows me knows I’m not very good at playing the whole politics game. I do what I believe is right, and I don’t change depending on the room I’m in. I’m still learning in this role every day, and if I get something wrong, we address it and make it right. That’s part of the job.

Being at the Capitol opened my eyes fast. Decisions made down there obviously don’t stay down there. They show up here. One of the biggest things that has stood out to me in my short time as sheriff is that rural Iowa does not always get a fair shake. Sometimes small counties get overlooked or treated like an afterthought. That is exactly why it matters who is sitting in those rooms, who is speaking up, and who actually understands the communities they represent.

From what I saw, the ISSDA Legislative Committee is about public safety and advocating for the counties we serve. We are looking at proposed laws and asking what they actually mean once they leave Des Moines and land here in the real world. I have seen and heard comments from people saying ISSDA only lobbies for itself. After being part of the process, I can honestly say that is not what I saw. Yes, ISSDA has lobbyists, and they are very good at what they do. But the conversations I heard and were a part of were focused on people, safety, responsibility, and the real world impact legislation has on victims, deputies, taxpayers, jail staff, and communities across Iowa.

I am still new to the committee, and I still have plenty to learn, but I walked away with a much better understanding and a lot more respect for the legislative committee and the people involved in it. There are sheriffs, deputies, command staff, and others who take this responsibility seriously and understand that what gets passed at the Capitol eventually affects every county in Iowa. So yes, I am glad Sheriff Shutts volunteered me. Because at the end of the day, somebody has to be in those rooms speaking for counties like ours, and that is exactly what I intend to do.

05/09/2026

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05/02/2026

The Tama County, Iowa, Sheriff website is designed to be a resource for residents looking for information, news, and FAQs related to the Sheriff's Office.

04/19/2026

Today is the last day of Dispatcher Appreciation Week.

I’ve been giving our dispatchers a hard time all week saying it’s my favorite week… mostly because of all the food and treats that show up. There’s been a ton of it, and I added some Amish baked goods yesterday. Not a bad deal at all.

But really, they deal with a lot more than most people see. It can get pretty crazy in the comm center, and they do a great job navigating it and handling what comes in.

We’re lucky to have the group we do.

04/12/2026

We will get through it folks, and we will be better off…stay positive! (By me saying we will get through it was not intended as a pun…)

04/06/2026

Something I’ve been working on for a while got approved by the Board of Supervisors this morning!

We’re moving forward with a yearly overall mental wellness visit for our full time deputies and jail staff, covered through the county health fund.

This will run about $5,000 a year and comes out of the health fund, not the general fund. Tama County is self funded for health insurance, so that money is already set aside for employee health/insurance related costs.

This is about doing the job the right way.

The average person might deal with a few really tough situations over the course of their life. In this line of work, it’s just part of it. Over a year, our deputies and jail staff can be involved in hundreds of high stress and traumatic calls and situations.

Research shows it doesn’t take years of this to have an impact. Sometimes one bad call can stick with you. When you stack call after call on top of that, year after year, it adds up.

There’s a reason mental health gets talked about more in this profession. Officers deal with higher rates of depression and PTSD type symptoms than the general public, and in many years, more are lost to su***de than in the line of duty.

To be clear, this isn’t because something is wrong. This is about setting a baseline and doing things the right way moving forward.

I’m confident this a great thing for our people. When our staff is in a good place, that leads to better decisions, better interactions, and better service to the public.

I know firsthand the value of this, and that’s a big reason I believe in it.

04/03/2026

I cannot stand these scumbags. Absolutely infuriating.

🚨SHOCKER - NEW SCAM TACTICS ON GOOD FRIDAY🚨

The SBS’s (Scum Bag Scammer) are trying harder. Numerous reports into our office and staff regarding this new batch of scumbaggery.

This is a scam! Delete and pay no attention to it!

03/27/2026

Here is my “On the Record” piece that published today!

“I want to shout out to the Board of Supervisors as they work through this year’s and last year’s budget. It is not an easy job. There are a lot of moving parts and no perfect answers. From our side, we understand the reality. Budgets are tight everywhere, and we are not any different. At the same time, public safety does not slow down when money is tight. Crime doesn’t check the budget before it shows up, so neither do we.

Our staff are doing a lot with what we have. They show up every day and get the job done. I don’t want to sound like a broken record but it makes my job easier with get staff.

When I first took office, I had a lot of other Sheriffs tell me it would take a full term to really get settled in. There is definitely some truth to that. After this first year, I feel a lot more comfortable and confident in the role. I am still learning and still chipping away at many different things, but I love the job and we are moving forward.p

There is also a bigger picture right now with the tax changes being talked about at the state level. I think most people would agree that paying less in taxes is a good thing. I do not want to pay more, and I do not think anyone does.

At the same time, those changes are going to affect how cities and counties operate. There will be less room to grow, and over time that is going to put pressure on services.

Some people will say if local government feels that pressure, it means we were taking too much to begin with. I understand why people think that. But there is a difference between cutting waste and cutting into the level of service people rely on. That is where the balance has to be. There is no magic switch where you lower costs and nothing else changes.

For me, it is pretty simple. I do not want higher taxes, but I also do not want to see a drop in service. That is what we are working through. It is going to take some work, but it can be done.

We are not standing still. Local law enforcement leadership has been meeting at least once a month to talk about school safety and how we can keep improving. We continue to work directly with the schools on that.

I am also really excited about a program we are rolling out next school year, the Be The Example award. It will recognize students across Tama County who are doing things the right way such as acts of accountability, respect, and integrity. There is a lot of good in our kids, and it absolutely deserves to be recognized.

That program will be community funded and supported. We will have more information coming out soon on how people can be part of it.

You will hopefully see more opportunities this summer with events and town halls. I want people to be able to come talk to me and ask questions. I also turned my campaign page into an official Sheriff Casey Schmidt page so people have another way to stay connected. It turns out talking in person is still better than arguing on the internet.

And I will be honest, my desk phone voicemail has been reminding me that I need to get better about returning calls. It is starting to feel personal at this point. That is on me, and it will get better.

We also attended the Tama County Pork Producers annual banquet in January. Our deputies and their families donated a lot of pies for the auction, and it ended up raising a good amount of money. I tried to butter up the judges, but it did not work. I did not win best pie this year. There is always next year. I have a year to work on the judges.

At the end of the day, my job is to be honest about what we need, be responsible with what we are given, and be accountable to the people we serve.”