The June 4 primary election ballot will have the names of two Republicans who are seeking their party’s nomination for the office of sheriff.

The following articles are to serve as an introduction to the candidates.

More thorough interviews will be published in May closer to the date of the primary election.

Absentee ballots can be requested now; however early voting by absentee ballot or in person at the county auditor’s office won’t begin until May 14.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is at 5 p.m. on May 20.

Cardenas lists mission and vision for sheriff’s office

Yovan Cardenas said he has a mission and a vision in his candidacy to serve as the next sheriff for Crawford County.

He is one of two Republicans running for the office in the June 4 primary election. The incumbent sheriff, James Steinkuehler, is retiring.

Cardenas’s mission statement for the sheriff’s office reads “Under my leadership, the Crawford County Sheriff's Office will be committed to excellence in providing law enforcement, detention, public safety services and community engagement. In partnership with our residents, we will serve with accountability, targeting professionalism to meet the needs of the community in any capacity.”

And his vision statement is “Under my leadership, the vision will be to staff a highly trained, well-equipped professional team that will provide the highest level of service with urgency. While providing comprehensive services, we will be transparent in our actions, utilizing any resources available. We will proactively reduce crime and enhance the quality of life to ensure Crawford County is a safe and attractive place for families to live, work and visit.”

Cardenas is a 2010 graduate of Denison High School and a 2014 graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in criminal justice and sociology.

In 2014 he was hired by the Hampton Police Department and in 2015 graduated from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. In 2016 he joined the Denison Police Department. Two years later, in 2018, he was promoted to patrol sergeant.

Last year Cardenas, along with Mitch Flaherty, served as co-interim police chiefs. When the new chief, Anthony Trejo, was hired, Cardenas briefly resumed his duties as patrol sergeant before he was promoted to police captain, the No. 2 position with the Denison Police Department.

Cardenas is also a member of the Iowa Army National Guard. He is a first lieutenant and is the executive officer (second in charge) with the 186 Military Police Company based in Camp Dodge.

He enlisted in 2019, graduated from officer’s candidate school in 2020 and in 2021 graduated from the military police basic officer leadership course. In 2022 he attended a leadership course to become the unit movement officer, which enables him to do the logistics for the deployment of company-size elements to any location in the world.

Cardenas and his wife, Kassidy (Ipsen), were married in 2017. They have a son who will soon be four years old and a one-year-old daughter. They are also expecting another child. In addition, Cardenas is a foster parent for a 16-year-old girl.

From 2018 to 2021 Cardenas was a member of the St. Rose of Lima School Board.

Cardenas said he wants to serve as sheriff to be able to positively influence and impact the community of Crawford County.

He said that having community-oriented law enforcement is something that he and others did with the Denison Police Department.

“When I was interim chief, the co-interim chief and I instilled in our officers the community policing aspect,” he said. “We were mandating our officers to make interactions in schools, to give multiple presentations to many grades to build rapport with the younger generation, with kids who are the future of our nation and our community, to give them trust in and respect for law enforcement and to know that they can come to us with any problem.”

“If you’re able to relate to the community you serve, you are going to do so with more integrity and more professionalism,” Cardenas added.

He said he wants the police officers to go to sporting events and community functions and to also be proactive in reducing crime, in order to provide the safety and protection of the citizens.

“That’s what I want to instill in my deputies. I want to have deputies that are physically and mentally fit, well trained and equipped to protect and serve the communities in the county,” Cardenas said. “It comes back to our core functions for law enforcement and what every officer is sworn to do, which is to Protect and Serve.”

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Rasmussen wants to build and bring resources to the county as sheriff

Roger Rasmussen is one of two Republican candidates running for the office of county sheriff in the June 4 primary election.

Rasmussen was born in Denison, grew up in Manilla, and graduated from Manilla High School in 1988. He received an associate of arts degree from Iowa Western Community College in 2011 and then received a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice administration from Bellevue University in 2012.

“My wife, Heather, and I have been married for 29 years. We currently live in Manilla,” he said. “Heather is the chief quality and ancillary services officer at Crawford County Memorial Hospital. Our son, Zach, also lives in Manilla with his fiancé, Skyler. Zach is a paramedic and works at Iowa Western Community College as the Emergency Services Program director. Skyler is a pharmacy technician and works at Deluxe Animal Health. They are expecting their first child in October. We are members of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Manilla.”

After high school, Rasmussen went to work for Rasmussen Lumber Company before moving to Council Bluffs.

“My law enforcement career began in 1995 as a reserve deputy with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office. Taking this position solidified my desire to become a law enforcement officer and help those in need,” Rasmussen said.

“After four years of being a reserve deputy, I joined the Shenandoah Police Department as a full-time officer. I graduated from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in July of 1999 and served the citizens of Shenandoah for five years. In March of 2004, I came back to my home community and started working for the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. In 2006, I started working part-time for the City of Manilla and currently hold the position of police chief. In 2018, I was promoted to chief deputy under Sheriff Steinkuehler, and I currently hold that position. Throughout my career I have received different training opportunities to advance my knowledge in the field of law enforcement. I am currently the firearms instructor for Crawford County as well.”

Rasmussen said he is seeking the office of sheriff as he wants to continue to serve the citizens of Crawford County.

“There are so many opportunities to explore such as specialized training for deputies. Transparency, community involvement and relationships, school resource officers, agency collaboration, drug enforcement, and mental health are all areas I want to build and bring resources to the community,” he said. “I have the knowledge, experience and drive to move the sheriff’s office forward. I’ve been with the sheriff’s office for 20 years and know how to run the office. I would be honored to serve the community as the Crawford County Sheriff.”

Rasmussen said his experience is a benefit to serve as sheriff.

“I’ve been in law enforcement for 29 years and know the profession. Twenty years of my career has been with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, and I’ve been in the leadership role of chief deputy for the last six years,” Rasmussen said. “I have experience with budgets while working as the chief deputy and chief of police for Manilla.

“I have a good work ethic, I’m dedicated, and I’m dependable,” he added. “I care about the citizens of Crawford County. This is the community where my wife and I grew up and where we raised our son. I want to continue serving the communities of Crawford County. I’m ready for the challenges and opportunities to ensure the success of the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.”

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