Court Cases and Mega Casino Keep Lyon County, Iowa in Spotlight

by Jenna Mann
July 26, 2010


Police are still trying to determine where a Sioux Falls man was killed, but say the death of a 27-year-old Joseph Cynkar is now considered a homicide.
 
Police say Benjamin Carter and Payton Strum are responsible for Cynkar's death.  His body was found next to the Big Sioux River in Lyon County, Iowa with his hands and feet tied with a cable.

An autopsy shows Cynkar died from suffocation and head trauma.  Carter and Strume are charged with kidnapping and robbery.  Strum is also facing an arson charge because police say he set a house on fire on East Hermosa Place to possibly destroy evidence.

Murder charges are still pending.  Cynkar's death is the most recent in a list of major headlines out of Lyon County, Iowa this year from the groundbreaking of a new casino to the sentencing of a woman convicted of hitting her boyfriend.

As KLDT's Jenna Mann hits the Lyon County fair to see if residents aren't phased by the attention.

Lyon County, Iowa has been in the spotlight all year. 51-year-old Laura Lowe has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for shooting and killing her boyfriend back in March.

All eyes have been on Larchwood because of a brand new casino being built a few miles from the Iowa/South Dakota border.

And most recently, the discovery of a body along the Big Sioux River that's now part of a homicide investigation in Sioux Falls.

But, those who live here say they're not worried about the increased activity in the area.

"I think at times, our county's nice and quiet, but right now it's a little bit busy," said Darrell Vande Vegte, a farmer in the county.

"It doesn't really concern me that much.  I feel like it's a pretty safe community, safe environment," said Rebekah Oudman.

"I'm not too worried about it.  There's good people, and that's what we shoot for," said Melissa Boer.

Residents say rather than dwell on the more negative headlines coming out of their home, they'd rather focus on more wholesome events like the county fair.

"This is one of the positive things, showing hard work for kids, and kids doing good things in the county," said Janine DeBruin, whose daughter is showing a calf at the fair.

Many who live here say even with the extra attention their home has been getting, they love it here.   

"I was raised in a small town, small community, so it's just kind of a homey feel," said Oudman.

"Even though bad things sometimes happen, it's not something that we really fret about," said Boer.

"I've been a Lyon County resident for over 60-some years.  I farm here in Lyon County, I do business here in Lyon County, I don't know, it's just always been home," said Vande Vegte.

Keeping a small-town state of mind while dealing with big-city headlines.  

The Lyon County Fair runs through Thursday in at the fairgrounds in Rock Rapids.