Conservation board members fired in Hancock County

The Hancock County Board of Supervisors has fired two members of the county’s conservation board and three others have resigned after allegations of open meetings laws violations and an unauthorized land purchase. Robert Stille of Britt and Spencer Hill of Kanawha were terminated this week, while Ed Barker of Garner, Pete Lewerke of Crystal Lake and Robert Mitchell of Corwith resigned earlier this year after supervisors raised concerns. The conservation board is accused of at least eight times holding meetings which did not comply with Iowa’s open meeting laws. The unauthorized land purchase deals with an agreement to purchase land owned by the Parker Church Trust about a mile south of Duncan at a price tag of 83-thousand dollars.