Criminal investigation launched into Iowa town’s spending

McCALLSBURG, Iowa (AP) — The Story County Sheriff’s Office has launched a criminal investigation into questionable spending of public money in the town of McCallsburg after a state audit identified tens of thousands of dollars improperly spent or not collected. The audit released Thursday says investigators identified more than $47,510 in utility bills that were improperly reduced or not collected for dozens of the towns approximately 400 residents, including for accounts for the homes of Mayor Chris Erickson and Councilwoman LeAnne Hazen. Auditors found that Erickson made no utility payments for his home for nearly two years from 2017 to 2019, and that Hazen made no payments for 18 months. Both Erickson and Hazen are up for re-election on Tuesday.