Carroll County Sheriff Doug Bass made an official announcement of his retirement yesterday (Monday) at the Carroll County Board of Supervisors meeting. And although this has taken many people by surprise, it is important to him to dispel a rumor that started circling nearly the minute the announcement was made public.
Bass said this was not a spur of the moment decision and there was not any one reason for it other than that he feels it is time. There was a long discussion about the option when his family was all home for the Christmas holiday, and this solidified the idea for him.
Bass does not have any plans for retirement, but he does anticipate looking for something to keep him busy. He said, however, that his resume is pretty slim as he has spent his entire life in law enforcement. He entered junior college in Fort Dodge right after graduating from Coon Rapids High School, but it wasn’t long before he was drafted. He spent two years in Korea before coming back to Fort Dodge. It was a chance conversation in the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office when he returned to get a copy of his driver’s license that had him filling out an application for a deputy position.
He said over those 24 years, he did worry that someone may run against him, but he ran unopposed in every single one of his elections. The reason may well go back to his core belief and the attributes that made him a great Sheriff—that if you treat people fairly, you are honest with them and use common sense, it will come back to you. He says he has been privileged to serve all of the people of Carroll County.
Bass made a recommendation to the Supervisors that Chief Deputy Ken Pingrey be appointed as interim Sheriff after his retirement on March 15. Pingrey will then be able to run in the general election this fall. We will bring you more from Sheriff Doug Bass on his memories and milestones in the past 43 years in an upcoming broadcast.
