The Madison Report

04/30/2026

Our second candidate profile is on Ryan Benn, running for Madison County Attorney.

Link to article is in the comments.

04/29/2026

Vote by reacting or with a comment.

04/29/2026

“He started eating my nachos.” Bodycam footage now available as a follow-up to our article from January. Link is in comments.

Case Outcome: Stephen Swanson was initially arrested for assault. Police records show Assault Causing Bodily Injury and Public Intoxication. Court records show that on August 12, 2021, Swanson pleaded guilty in absentia to Disorderly Conduct, a Class C misdemeanor, receiving six months of deferred adjudication and paying costs and fees. This footage shows the events and statements made during the arrest and does NOT reflect the final legal outcome of the case.

04/28/2026

We noticed that the meeting agenda for tomorrow (Tuesday) shows a different start time than normal. The meeting typically starts at 9:30 however the time listed is 9am.

We reached out to Supervisor Stancil to ask why. She said that it was an error in the agenda however it is too late to correct it due to the 24 hour public notice rule. It sounds like the plan will be to still meet at 9am but they will likely adjourn for a recess until 9:30.

04/27/2026

“When former Auditor Teri Kaczinski signed a contract within her budget, it triggered months of criticism and complaints to the state. Yet when contracts were signed later by other officials without Board approval, the response from some of the same voices was to ‘move on.’”

See comments for an editorial on the county contract issue in Madison County.

04/22/2026

Southern Poverty Law Center has been mentioned locally because they allegedly called The Family Leader a hate group. We are unable to find The Family Leader on the SPLC hate group list.

Furthermore, SPLC has now been charged with wire fraud, false statements, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

From the article....

"According to the indictment starting in the 1980s, the SPLC began operating a covert network of individuals who were either associated with violent and extremist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, or who had infiltrated violent extremist groups at the SPLC’s direction. Unbeknownst to donors, some of their donated money was being used to fund the leaders and organizers of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website."

A Grand Jury in Montgomery, Alabama, today returned an indictment charging the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) with 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle Di...

04/20/2026

Our first candidate profile is on Stephen Swanson, running for Madison County Attorney. We used publicly available information to develop our profile.

Link to article is in the comments.

04/14/2026

Recent Madison County Board of Supervisors meetings have grown more disruptive. There have been times where it is difficult to hear the proceedings on our videos or while in attendance due to the talking and outbursts by observers. One particularly disruptive meeting was on March 30. We don't standardly publish all budget meetings just due to the sheer volume of them however since the decorum topic will be discussed Tuesday night, it may be helpful to hear what is at issue on this topic. This is not the only meeting that has had disruptions however it one of the more recent ones that we have recorded.

At their regular Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, April 14, the Board has on its agenda, under New Business: "Meeting Decorum - Updating BOS Meeting Policy"

The current board policy is here (see screenshot).

We will post in comments the proposed update that will be up for discussion on Tuesday. There is no resolution on the agenda to vote on any changes. The Board will be discussing whether a change is needed.

The video of the March 30 budget meeting is in comments. Timestamps outline some highlights including some of the interruptions that occurred during the Board's budget discussion. We encourage you to watch the meeting so you have a good understand of the issue here.

04/09/2026

A local PAC in Madison County referring to themselves as a Republican PAC will meet Thursday, April 16, at 5:30 p.m. at the Winterset Library. Topics on the agenda include the June 2 primary election, support for local candidates, and other issues affecting Madison County.

The meeting is open to the public.

We are unsure of the official name of the PAC at this time. If you know, please share in the comments.

04/07/2026

The Reality Behind “Unbiased” Local News

link to article is in the comments

04/06/2026

Unfortunately, the comment sections of our posts recently have increasingly become a place for personal attacks, false accusations, and statements presented as fact without evidence. At times, we are well aware that a comment contains false information however addressing every false claim would require more time than any volunteer organization can reasonably devote.

It is easy for claims to be made without evidence. Verifying or disproving them can require significant time and, in some cases, may not be possible. We know that folks are taking advantage of this.

The purpose of this page is to share information about issues affecting our community. It is not intended to serve as a platform for spreading falsehoods or attacking others. Those who wish to do so will need to find another venue. There are several options available to you elsewhere where falsehoods can be shared.

We ask comments to be respectful and to not contain claims or accusations not based on facts. We reserve the right to ask you for evidence of your claims or to simply delete comments or block repeat offenders. This has nothing to do with whether a comment is unpopular by the volunteers tasked with maintaining this page and everything to do with striving to seek truth.