County Supervisors discuss Courthouse security plan

    GRUNDY CENTER — Is there adequate security at the Grundy County Courthouse? That was the question facing the Board of Supervisors Monday as it reviewed security procedures.
    The review comes after an incident at the Jackson County Courthouse in Maquoketa last week, where a former city manager pulled a gun and had to be tackled by a County Supervisor before the man turned the gun on himself and took his own life.
    Supervisor Barb Smith said the current Courthouse security plan was accepted Aug. 20, 2001 and that many portions of the plan are no longer being followed. Of immediate concern were buttons located in Courthouse offices that summon the Sheriff’s Department in the event of an emergency. Though, according to the plan, the buttons are supposed to be tested monthly, that is not currently happening and some are in locations that make it difficult or impossible for officials to reach them.

For more of this story, see the Sept. 18 Grundy Register.