A Clayton County Sheriff’s deputy has settled a lawsuit brought against two northeast Iowa communities. Deputy Michael Froehlich of Marquette claimed that former police officers in Lansing and Marquette conducted illegal background checks on him, even though he was not the subject of an investigation. Froehlich says the men did the background checks in an effort to discredit him after his wife fired one of the officers in her job as mayor of Marquette. Froelich accepted a 10-thousand dollar settlement from the two cities.