Howard County Sheriff's Office

06/11/2026

06/05/2026

Per the Howard County Sheriff’s Office an ALL CLEAR has been issued for Protivin. The wanted subject was successfully taken into custody with the assistance of K9 Legend.

05/29/2026

Owners have been found!

These two dogs were found last night near 14359 Kent Ave, Elma. Please contact the Howard County Sheriff’s Office 563-547-3535 if you know who they belong to.

05/05/2026

Howard County Sheriff's Office Full-Time Communications Dispatcher and Jailer.
The Howard County Sheriff's Office in Cresco, IA is accepting applications for a full-time Dispatcher/911 Operator/Jailer. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: receiving 911 and administrative calls, operating CAD dispatch software, maintain Iowa NCIC records, paging ambulance & fire departments, booking/releasing inmates, and supervision of inmates.
Shifts involve days, nights, weekends, and holidays.
Starting Base Pay for Probationary Period is $21.42
After 6 months Probation Base Pay is $23.80
Shift differential pay added for later shifts and yearly pay step increases.
Applications can be picked up at the Howard County Sheriff's Office, 124 South Park Place in Cresco or email Jennifer Bauer at [email protected].
Questions, please contact the Howard County Sheriff's Office at 563-547-3535.
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

04/12/2026

Happy National Public Safety Telecommunications Week to all of our Howard County dispatchers! You are the heartbeat of the Howard County Sheriff’s Office. Dispatchers sometimes go unnoticed but they are the calm in every storm and we appreciate each one of you more then you will ever know!

04/10/2026

**Save the date**
Get rid of your unneeded prescription medications. Drop them off at the Sheriff's Office lobby on April 25th 10am-2pm. NO sharps.

04/08/2026

After K-9 Legend’s first year on the job, we would like to share with you what he has been up to. K-9 Legend has assisted in over thirty (30) calls for service in his first year with the Howard County Sheriff’s Office. What does this mean? This means he has helped track down lost individuals and wanted fugitives. Not only has he been a major asset in locating individuals, but he also helped us take illegal narcotics off the roadways and streets. If it were not for Legend’s hard work and amazing nose, the illicit drugs would have reached their destination. We would like to thank the citizens of Howard County and everyone else who has contributed to making the HCSO K-9 program what it is today. By doing so you helped us remove Methamphetamine, Ma*****na, Fentanyl, and Hallucinogenic mushrooms from our communities. This is only the beginning of K-9 Legends career, and we are excited to see what the future holds. If you would like to donate or just want to know more about K-9 Legend, feel free to stop in at the Howard County Sheriff’s Office or contact K-9 handler Deputy Ben Hillyer at [email protected] or Sheriff Rick Busch at [email protected].

02/23/2026

Please see message below from Sheriff Rick Busch:

At or about 1:33 am this morning both the Mitchell County Communications center and the Howard County Communications center received a call regarding a potential homicide that had occurred in Riceville, Iowa. Responding law enforcement agencies established a perimeter in the area of the report. During the course of the investigation, it was concluded that no homicide occurred as reported to law enforcement. Further investigation throughout the night and continuing into today indicates this to be a suspected SWATTING call, designed to lure law enforcement into a specific area or have first responders respond to an incident that is false in nature. This information provided by the caller has been turned over to the Iowa Fusion Center, Department of Public Safety for further investigation. Agencies responding to the incident overnight were the Howard County Sheriff's Office, Mitchell County Sheriff's Office, Floyd, Winneshiek, and Chickasaw County Sheriff's Offices, the Iowa State Patrol and the State Patrol Tactical Team, Osage Police Department, and the Riceville Fire and Ambulance Services. I would add that anyone with information regarding this incident to contact law enforcement in their area and provide any information they might have to aid in the investigation.

01/05/2026

Dog found roaming around Riceville by Dollar General. No tags. If yours contact the city of Riceville at 641-985-2367