In the rolling farmlands of central Iowa, where community trust is the glue holding small towns together, a routine financial review has exposed a web of overpayments and oversight lapses that cost taxpayers nearly $90,000. On Thursday, November 6, Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand released a scathing special investigation into the City of Baxter, revealing improper disbursements tied to three former officials—including William Daggett, who resigned that same morning as Mitchellville’s police chief. What began as whispers of padded timesheets in a town of just 1,000 residents has rippled outward, forcing a leadership vacuum in neighboring Mitchellville and igniting debates on accountability in rural governance.

Daggett’s swift exit—submitted hours after the report dropped—underscores the fragility of public service in Iowa’s heartland. Hired by Mitchellville in March 2024 after leaving Baxter amid internal scrutiny, the 20-year law enforcement veteran now faces not just reputational ruin but potential criminal probes. As Jasper County authorities and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office review the findings, this scandal serves as a cautionary tale: In places where officials wear multiple hats, the line between diligence and deceit can blur with devastating consequences.

The Unraveling in Baxter: A New Council’s Wake-Up Call

It was a crisp January morning in 2024 when Baxter’s freshly elected city council, buoyed by a wave of local change, cracked open the ledgers of their modest municipal operation. The town, nestled in Jasper County with its single stoplight and volunteer fire department, had long operated on faith in its core team: Police Chief William Daggett, who juggled patrols with a side gig in Van Meter; City Clerk Katie Wilson, the gatekeeper of the books; and EMS Coordinator Randi Gliem, coordinating life-saving responses. But as the new officials pored over payroll stubs and credit card statements, the numbers didn’t add up—timesheets bloated with hours unverified by dispatch logs, vacation payouts exceeding earned balances, and Visa charges for items that vanished from city inventories.

By early February, an internal probe had escalated into a full-blown crisis. Gliem resigned on the 5th, citing personal reasons but skipping a pivotal review meeting. Ten days later, Wilson and Daggett followed, their departures leaving Baxter’s public safety apparatus in disarray. The council, acting on mounting suspicions, fired off a “qualifying request” to Sand’s office—a taxpayer-funded mechanism designed to unearth fiscal foul play. What they uncovered wasn’t just sloppy bookkeeping; it was a pattern of excess that drained public coffers, from overlapping shifts that let Daggett collect dual paychecks to undocumented swipes at big-box stores. As one anonymous council member told local reporters, “We trusted them to protect us, not pick our pockets.”

Daggett’s Quick Pivot: Hope in Mitchellville Turns Sour

Undeterred by the Baxter fallout, Daggett polished his resume and landed the chief’s role in Mitchellville by March 4—a town of 2,300 with ambitions to bolster its force amid growing suburban sprawl from Des Moines. Elected officials there saw a seasoned operator: Daggett’s bio touted decades on the beat, from traffic stops to crisis negotiations. Yet red flags lingered. Mitchellville’s human resources team, spotting echoes of Baxter’s payroll puzzles in Daggett’s timesheets, quietly requested their own state audit in the spring. “We hire for integrity,” Mayor Scott Meeker said in a statement Friday, “and when questions arise, we act decisively.”

The move proved prescient. As Sand’s team dug into Baxter’s records—cross-referencing timesheets against Jasper County Sheriff’s call-in logs and employment overlaps—the discrepancies piled up. Daggett’s claimed full shifts often coincided with zero check-ins, suggesting ghost hours billed while he worked elsewhere. By summer, whispers in Mitchellville’s city hall grew louder, with staffers trading notes on unapproved comp time accruals. The audit’s release on Thursday morning hit like a siren: Daggett’s resignation letter arrived before noon, accepted provisionally by Meeker pending a council vote next week. In its wake, the department’s 12 officers are left leaderless, with a veteran sergeant stepping in as interim chief.

Audit Deep Dive: The Numbers That Don’t Lie

Sand’s 40-page report, spanning July 2021 to February 2024, paints a damning portrait of lax controls in Baxter’s $1.2 million annual budget. At the epicenter: $51,275.62 in overpayments to Daggett alone, broken down into excess wages ($41,944.77 from 36 unverified pay periods), comp time payouts ($6,667.33 for 161 ineligible hours), and duplicate billing ($2,663.52 for 65 hours claimed across two full-time jobs). Wilson netted $3,509.55 in improper comp time, inflated by mathematical errors and leave-period earnings, while Gliem pocketed $1,461.09 via overtime misclassifications and phantom EMS shifts. Add $1,776.99 in volunteer payroll irregularities, and payroll alone siphoned $58,023 from the till.

Beyond wages, the probe flagged $11,294.57 in unsupported expenditures—credit card splurges at Amazon and Target without receipts, totaling $5,932.32, plus vendor checks for groceries and gear that never reached city shelves. Another $15,035.90 went to questionable vendors, including $4,050 overpaid to a uncertified water operator. Late fees tacked on $129.81, and utility bungles left $3,814.88 uncollected in penalties and deposits. “These weren’t isolated slips,” Sand said at a Des Moines presser. “They point to systemic failures—no reviews, no segregation of duties, just trust without verification.” The auditor referred the file to prosecutors, hinting at theft or forgery charges under Iowa Code.

Legal Implications for the Individuals Involved

By Billy Dewayne Fraizer IV, Billy D. Frazier IV – Senior Judicial Legal Analyst (Iowa / National)

Auditor’s Findings and Context (Opinion): The Baxter audit exposes a breach of fiduciary duty—officials mishandled public funds by failing to verify hours and purchases. Under Iowa Code § 721.2(5), that could amount to “Misconduct in Office.” It shows how trust alone cannot replace documented accountability in small-town government. Layman’s terms: They were supposed to take care of taxpayers’ money, but they didn’t double-check what was being spent. That’s not just sloppy—it could be a crime when public cash is handled carelessly.

The Numbers That Don’t Lie (Opinion): With $51,275.62 in overpayments to one officer, the losses exceed felony thresholds under Iowa theft statutes if intent is proven. Citizens are owed restitution and deterrence; repayment alone cannot close the case. Layman’s terms: That’s a lot of money—enough to count as a felony if he meant to do it. Paying it back isn’t the same as facing justice; taxpayers deserve both accountability and prevention.

Fallout and Voices: Resignation, Reckoning, and Repercussions

The shockwaves reached Mitchellville’s council chambers by evening, where members huddled to appoint an interim and launch a national search for Daggett’s replacement. “This is a blow, but we’re committed to transparency,” Meeker told KCCI, emphasizing the city’s parallel audit request as proactive governance. Daggett, reached briefly outside his home, declined comment, but sources close to him say he’s cooperating fully and disputes the audit’s characterizations as “overreach on incomplete logs.”

Sand, a Democrat wrapping up his term amid re-election buzz, used the podium to rally local watchdogs. “Audits like this happen because someone speaks up,” he urged, noting the report’s reliance on the council’s tip. “Public trust is the real currency here—lose it, and reputations follow.” Indeed, the scandal has locals buzzing: Baxter’s Facebook groups brim with calls for repayment plans, while Mitchellville residents petition for ethics training. No charges have landed yet, but the shadow looms large over the ex-officials’ futures.

Lessons for Iowa’s Heartland: Beyond Baxter’s Borders

This isn’t Baxter’s anomaly; it’s a symptom of strains in Iowa’s 900-plus municipalities, where budgets scrape by on property taxes and part-time clerks double as bookkeepers. The report lambasts absent safeguards—no monthly bank reviews, no council sign-offs on payroll—echoing audits in Eldora and Correctionville that flushed out similar grift. Statewide, Sand’s office fields 50 such requests yearly, up 20% since 2020, as post-pandemic hiring booms expose weak spots.

Yet hope flickers in reform pushes: Bills in the Iowa Legislature aim to mandate annual internal audits for towns under 5,000 residents, with whistleblower bounties for tips leading to recoveries. “It’s about empowering the everyday Iowan,” says Sen. Rob Hogg, a Cedar Rapids Democrat sponsoring one measure. For now, Baxter’s council is overhauling policies—segregating duties, digitizing receipts—while Mitchellville eyes body cams for fiscal accountability, a cheeky nod to policing its own books.

Broader Judicial and National Perspectives

By Billy Dewayne Fraizer IV, Billy D. Frazier IV – Senior Judicial Legal Analyst (Iowa / National)

Daggett’s Resignation and Broader Impact (Opinion): Resigning the same day the audit dropped looks like consciousness of guilt—a signal he knew trouble was coming. Mitchellville may face exposure for negligent hiring if it ignored Baxter’s red flags, since public employers must vet applicants who handle taxpayer funds. Layman’s terms: Quitting right after the report makes it look like he knew he’d been caught. The next town that hired him might get in trouble too for not checking his background first.

Audit Corroboration and Resignation (Opinion): Cross-checking Baxter payrolls with Sheriff dispatch logs proved dual-employment conflicts and potential conversion of public funds. Daggett’s resignation before termination could be viewed as an attempt to preserve benefits or limit accountability. Layman’s terms: The audit showed he was clocked in two places at once—getting double-paid. Stepping down early might help him keep his pension, but it doesn’t erase what happened.

Outlook: Rebuilding Trust, One Ledger at a Time

As November’s chill settles over Iowa’s prairies, Baxter and Mitchellville stand at a crossroads. The cities could recoup some losses—Daggett already repaid $123.44 for minor items—but full restitution hinges on prosecutors’ grit. For Daggett, a return to private security seems likely; for Wilson and Gliem, quieter paths await. Sand’s report ends with a clarion call: “Fiduciary duty isn’t optional—it’s the oath of office.”

In the end, this saga reminds us that in America’s small towns, the badge of public service weighs heaviest when balanced against the ledger. As Baxter’s new clerk logs her first unblemished payroll, and Mitchellville’s interim chief radios in for duty, one truth endures: Accountability isn’t just good policy—it’s the patrol car keeping watch over us all.


*Disclaimer: The views expressed by Billy D. Frazier IV, Senior Judicial Legal Analyst (Pro Se), are for educational and public advocacy purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or attorney services. Mr. Frazier is not a licensed attorney and acts solely as a pro se litigant and public legal educator.*

Today in our current body politic we are inundated with the word FASCIST! The history of the word goes back to the early 20^th century with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. These were fascist dictators. Over the years there was also Saul Alinsky who applied certain tactics to radical left wing activism. Ridiculing someone with fascist and other slanderous put downs were part of the psychological warfare against political opponents. If you are aware of Saul Alinskys’ 13 Rules for Radicals, you will be able to apply it to today’s political discourse. I am a strong believer in knowing your history, helps you understand your present, and enables you to predict the future. 

If you follow politics, you will see that some things are done repeatedly from a playbook. These political strategies are used and are tried and true as the Rules for Radicals. These are used over and over because they work, they are successful. When something works you keep using them until they cease to be effective. Certain things can manipulate human behavior and that’s why they are so effective in politics. You are influencing a mass of people, and people like to be accepted into the herd and peer pressure comes into play to make you acquiesce to the current climate. Racism is a great example. No one wants to be called racist. So, calling someone racist puts them on the defensive and isolates them. So, in addition to fascist, racist is used in the left wing demonization of political opponents.

But back to fascism, there are the tell tale signs of political manipulation in today’s political environment. Conservatives will be frequently called far right. They will be frequently called authoritarian. They will also depict deportations as racist and trying to enforce a racial purity. The word autocracy will also be in the pot of slanderous gumbo. Putting all these things together are part of the definition of a FASCIST. This is why those specific words and terms are used over time. These are used to paint a picture of a dictator in the unassuming minds of the public. The word fascist is used deliberately, although in no way shape or form is President Trump a fascist, but reality does not matter in the left’s political world. Another rule for radicals is if you push a negative long enough and hard enough it will break through and be taken as the truth. 

Once these rules are recognized you become aware of the manipulation, and this strange political dance becomes increasingly understandable. The ridiculous slander starts to make sense to the political strategist’s mind. I would think why would a person say something so ridiculous, stupid and untrue? Then, when I go back over the Rules for Radicals and communist tactics it makes sense and gives me a much better understanding of the madness.

One of the main rules is: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it.

This is exactly what is being done with Donald Trump. They go after a person, not a corporation. Personalizing it increases the focus on the target unambiguously. Another rule that goes right alongside this is: Ridicule is a man’s best friend. If you are watching the lamestream media (which is dying) you will notice incessant ridicule of the current POTUS. This is by design. This is also why the president has decent poll numbers and not outstanding numbers like he should have that would normally come from his monumental achievements. So, these are many of the reasons that you will see outright lies and vicious slander. It has many functions but all supporting a political slight of hand. Driving a president’s poll numbers down, isolating him, making him toxic, thus degrading his support. This works because many do not pay close attention to the small and /or big lies that are told in the media every day. We must note that there is a method to the madness.

Hillary Clinton was personal friends with Saul Alinsky. She wrote her honors thesis on Saul D. Alinsky. She was not in lock step with all his theories, but he offered her a job while she was in college before she went to Yale University Law School. So, there is ample reason to believe she really took these rules to heart. She served as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama who was a community activist. Community activism was largely based on Saul Alinsky Rules for Radicals. It was to manipulate the public image and opinion on whatever the political issue of the day was. I would ask my Democrat left leaning friends: before Barack Obama was a junior senator from Illinois, what did he do? He was a community organizer or community activist. What did a community organizer do? They generated discord in the community to push for or against a certain political issue. They organized marches and protests. You see the number of protests that are currently happening. Now you understand it is not just for an issue but to get the top news media to get said protest on air to sway public opinion. Visuals are more important than the substance of the march. When these protesters are interviewed many are severely inarticulate and many have only a vague idea of why they are there. But they have the visual and that is the goal. Mission accomplished. The purpose of protests from the left are always the same. But you will see the media will not cover the protests from conservatives in the same way that they cover the protests from leftists. Perfect example let’s take January 6^th. The media and the left drone on and on about January 6^th like if it were the devil himself had come up straight from hell. And to this day this is the holy grail of leftists’ complaints. One riot. While they ignore the hundreds of riots from BLM, Antifa, Occupy Wall Street and others. Mind you they are responsible for HUNDREDS of riots, billions of dollars of property damage to businesses, hundreds of police injuries, deaths, arson and damage to government property and the attempted murder of police. But they will memory hole all of that and proudly yell, but January 6^th though! 

Fascism, is used by fascists, to paint their political opponents as such. Projection. Accuse your opponents of what you are doing or are already guilty of. The Democrats demonstrated their hypocritical fascist stance during COVID. Take this shot or lose your job. Close your business or be arrested. You cannot go to church. You cannot visit your elderly relatives in the hospital even if they were dying in hospice. Many lost the last few precious moments with their loved ones because of Democrat Fascist policies. This is what fascism looks like. Lie to the public and tell them you will have immunity once you take the shot. Lie. You cannot transmit the disease once you take the shot. Another lie. We will take two weeks to bend the curve. Lie. We don’t know where the disease came from, BIG LIE! So, when you see the leftists saying something that is demonstrably ludicrous, know they are using their fascist playbook.

Michael Ameer

News@11

BUY NOW – The Black Trump Supporter: The Reawakening Of a Nation

In a move that has electrified conservatives and sent shockwaves through globalist circles, President Donald J. Trump has greenlit a sweeping Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) investigation targeting billionaire philanthropist George Soros and his sprawling network of nonprofits. Announced via a fiery Truth Social post on August 15, 2025—”Soros has been poisoning our democracy for decades. Time to RICO this clown and his puppets!”—the probe marks the first federal use of RICO statutes against a political financier, blending antitrust muscle with election interference claims. As indictments loom and allies rally, this saga isn’t just legal theater; it’s a blueprint for how America’s reopened playbook of accountability could reshape philanthropy, activism, and the deep state itself.

The Spark: From Campaign Rhetoric to DOJ Directive

Trump’s beef with Soros dates back to his first term, when he accused the Hungarian-born investor of bankrolling “paid protesters” during the 2016 transition and Charlottesville unrest. But post-2024 reelection, with a Republican trifecta in Congress and a DOJ loyal to his vision, rhetoric turned to action. The catalyst? A July 2025 whistleblower leak from the Open Society Foundations (OSF), Soros’ flagship, revealing $500 million funneled through shell entities to influence 2024 battleground states—allegedly including voter registration drives in Pennsylvania and Georgia that federal auditors later flagged as “irregular.”

On August 10, Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Trump stalwart, issued a sealed indictment under 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq., the RICO Act originally crafted to dismantle Mafia syndicates. The 127-page filing paints OSF and affiliates like the Tides Foundation as an “enterprise” engaging in a “pattern of racketeering activity” via wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to subvert elections. Key allegations:

• Election Meddling as Extortion: Soros-linked PACs allegedly coerced tech firms (e.g., via $100 million to Media Matters) to suppress conservative voices, qualifying as “extortionate threats” under RICO.
• Foreign Influence Pipeline: Ties to EU grants and Hungarian expatriate networks funneled $200 million to U.S. DAs like Alvin Bragg and Larry Krasner, who pursued Trump cases—framed as a “bribe-for-prosecution” scheme.
• NGO Laundering: Over 300 entities, from Color of Change to the ACLU’s voting rights arm, received “dark money” rerouted through Cayman Islands trusts, evading IRS disclosure.

Trump, in a Mar-a-Lago presser, dubbed it “RICO for the globalists,” vowing to “claw back every crooked dime.” The DOJ’s task force, Operation Shadow Ledger, has subpoenaed 47 organizations, freezing $150 million in assets and raiding OSF’s New York offices on September 5—footage of agents carting servers went viral, amassing 50 million views.

Soros’ Empire Strikes Back: Denials, Lawsuits, and Diaspora Defenses

At 95, Soros—net worth $7.2 billion—remains defiant from his Bedford, New York estate. In a rare Bloomberg interview on August 20, he dismissed the probe as “authoritarian revenge,” likening it to Orban’s crackdown in Hungary. OSF’s statement called the charges “baseless smears designed to chill free speech,” filing a countersuit in federal court alleging First Amendment violations and selective prosecution. Soros’ son, Alex, who helms OSF, rallied allies: a coalition of 200+ NGOs penned an open letter to the UN, warning of “democratic backsliding.”

Legal experts are split. Harvard’s Laurence Tribe blasted it as “McCarthyism 2.0,” arguing RICO’s “enterprise” prong doesn’t fit ideological funding. But NYU’s Rachel Barkow, a former sentencing commissioner, concedes the case’s strength: “If prosecutors prove a coordinated pattern—like the 2020 election grants mirroring DNC strategies—it’s airtight.” Precedents abound: RICO felled the Gambino family in the ’80s and Enron execs in the 2000s, with civil provisions allowing triple damages—potentially bankrupting Soros’ web.

Internationally, blowback mounts. The EU Parliament condemned the “witch hunt” on September 10, while Hungary’s Viktor Orban toasted Trump with a Budapest billboard: “Finally, Justice for the Puppet Master.” Protests erupted in D.C., with Code Pink and Black Lives Matter decrying “fascist overreach,” met by MAGA counter-rallies chanting “Lock him up!”

The Bigger Play: RICO as Trump’s Weapon Against the “Swamp”

This isn’t isolated—it’s salvo one in Trump’s “Accountability Winter.” Parallel probes target ActBlue for “straw donor” schemes and the Ford Foundation for DEI grants deemed “anti-white discrimination.” House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, wielding subpoena power, hauled OSF execs before a September 12 hearing, where one exec invoked the Fifth amid leaked emails showing “Trump neutralization” strategies.

Critics fear a slippery slope: Could environmental groups face RICO for climate lobbying? Evangelical donors for abortion fights? Yet Trump allies like Stephen Miller frame it as leveling the field: “Soros spent billions unopposed; now we fight fire with law.” Polls show 62% GOP approval, per Rasmussen, with independents at 48%—a rare bipartisan hook on “big money in politics.”

As discovery unfolds—expected to unseal donor lists by October—whispers of plea deals swirl. Will mid-level operatives flip on Soros’ inner circle? The octogenarian himself faces no direct charges yet, but civil forfeiture could strip his influence. In Trump’s America, RICO isn’t just for mobsters; it’s the great equalizer, promising to audit the auditors and prosecute the philanthropists. Whether it endures Supreme Court scrutiny or crumbles under appeals, one truth endures: the hunter has become the hunted.