The state trooper who’s charged with speeding while driving Governor Branstad says he doesn’t want the former criminal investigator who complained about the speeding SUV to pay the fine. Last Friday, Larry Headland paid the $181.50 fine issued to Trooper Steve Lawrence. Lawrence was driving Branstad and Lt. Governor Kin Reynolds in the governor’s SUV near Williams in Hamilton County on April 26.
The SUV was clocked by a deputy traveling 84 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone on Highway 20. On Tuesday, the payment was refunded to Hedlund. Lawrence contacted the Hamilton County Clerk of Court office asking that the payment be refunded because he had not consented to it.
He has not yet decided how to plead on the ticket. Lawrence has a court date set for August 20.
By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City