UPDATE: The five finalists for Decorah Police Chief are "extremely well-qualified"

Interviews will be conducted Saturday with the five finalists for the job of Decorah Police Chief.

Consultant Jeff Cayler has been researching the backgrounds of all the applicants for the job.  He has told members of the Decorah Civil Service Commission the five finalists who will be interviewed Saturday are "extremely well-qualified."  Cayler says the finalists include a police chief and an FBI agent.  He says all five candidates have at least ten years of law enforcement experience.

The five finalists are:

--Decorah Police Captain Scott Herrmann, who has 25 years in law enforcement, nine as Captain

--Knoxville Police Chief Eric How, who has 10 years in law enforcement, two years military experience

--Itasca, Illinois Deputy Chief Barry Kauther, who has 29 years in law enforcement, five as Deputy Chief

--Lee's Summit, Missouri Floyd County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Mrachek, who has 28 years in law enforcement, 22 with the FBI and six years with the Floyd County Sheriff's Office
              
--Decorah Police Assistant Chief David Smutzler, who has 28 years in law enforcement, nine as Assistant Chief

The five candidates will begin to arrive in Decorah on Thursday.  Testing and physical agility protocol will be conducted on Friday.  From 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Friday there will be a community welcome reception in the lobby of the Hotel Winneshiek.  This will be an opportunity for the members of the public and city staff to meet and greet the candidates in an informal social setting.

The formal interviews will be conducted beginning at 8:00 a.m. Saturday.  The candidates will meet with four interview panels consisting of City Council members, City department heads, law enforcement professionals and members of the Decorah Civil Service Commission. These interviews will be closed to the public per Iowa Code section 21.5(1)i.

Upon completion of the interviews and pending testing results, the Civil Service Commission is expected to meet and certify the list of candidates eligible for the position of Police Chief.

Once the Civil Service Commission certifies the list of candidates, Mayor Lorraine Borowski will recommend a candidate to the City Council.  Her recommendation then will come before the Decorah City Council for its approval at a date to be determined.