RINGGOLD COUNTY, Iowa – The former executive director of the Ringgold County Conservation Board has been arrested for allegedly refusing access to a county park to law enforcement as well as making a false claim that a county supervisor hit her with his truck.

Kathryn Zimmerman is charged with two misdemeanor counts – False Reports to Public Safety Official and Interference with Official Acts. They stem from an incident back in December.

According to court documents on December 5, 2022, Deputy Nathan Nickle with the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of service involving an improvised explosive device. The device was placed in Nickle’s vehicle and he was advised by the State Fire Marshal to take the device to a secluded area away from people for safety.

A criminal complaint said Nickle arrived at Poe Hollow Park, east of Mt. Ayr and found the gate locked so he contacted Zimmerman to unlock it. He planned to move his vehicle into a safe location within the park until the Fire Marshal could arrive to handle the device.

Zimmerman allegedly refused to open the gate to allow Nickle to drive the vehicle containing the bomb into the park.

Another criminal complaint said Zimmerman told the same deputy, in a conversation that was captured on his body camera, that “I will be pressing charges on Colby he just tried to hit me with this truck.” She was referring to Ringgold County Supervisor Colby Holmes.

Zimmerman then completed a written statement to the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office stating Holmes had actually hit her with his truck. She repeated that claim during a recorded interview with a Special Agent investigating the incident.

The complaint says, “According to witnesses and Zimmerman’s own statement to Chief Deputy Nickle at the scene, Zimmerman was never struck by the vehicle.”

The Iowa Division of Investigation and the Adair County Attorney’s Office investigated the allegations because of a conflict of interest with the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office and the Ringgold County Attorney’s Office.

Zimmerman was arrested on April 19 and has since posted bond. An initial appearance is scheduled for May 24 in the case.