MASON CITY – Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Matt Klunder is officially announcing his candidacy for the position of Cerro Gordo County Sheriff in the upcoming 2024 election.
According to a statement from the Klunder campaign provided to NIT:
Klunder has served Cerro Gordo County for 25 years, starting as a Corrections Officer in August of 1998. He then worked his way to being a lead jailer and field training officer, helping train new staff and assisting in supervising the jail shifts. In 2002, Klunder became a Deputy Sheriff and began working patrol duties.
In 2004, Klunder began working for the Sheriff’s Office as a full time narcotics investigator at the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force. During his time on the Narcotics Task Force, he was sworn as a Special Federal Officer for the FBI. He worked closely with state prosecutors and the United States Attorney’s Office while investigating many high profile drug cases. Klunder was promoted by Sheriff Pals in 2012 to the rank of Lieutenant, where he currently serves as the Sheriff’s Office night shift patrol supervisor.
Klunder is 48 years old and was born and raised in Mason City, where he lives with his wife Kerry who works at Mercy One North Iowa. In his spare time, Matt spends time with his wife, fishing on Clear Lake and walking with their rescue dog Chance. He has been very involved in the community by volunteering his time coaching youth hockey for several years and he served on the board at Mason City Youth Hockey. Matt is one of the founders and organizers of the Battle of the Badges charity hockey game, which raises money for Make-A-Wish.
During the time Matt has been at the Sheriff’s Office, he has shown strong leadership through all of the positions he has held. He is known to lead by example and from the front, working hand in hand with the Deputies he supervises, along with jail staff, dispatchers, and Officers from other agencies all around the area.
Klunder has plans to continue in a positive direction for several years to come as Sheriff. He plans to continue to keep employee morale high, have an open door policy with all staff, and continue to improve training to make the Sheriff’s Office the best law enforcement agency it can be. One of the goals that he would like to achieve once in office is to start a patrol K9 program. He would be a good steward of the budget provided by the tax payers. He will work hard to continue with a strong tradition by the Sheriff’s Office of working with the community, helping the citizens of Cerro Gordo County, and being strong on crime.
Klunder is looking forward to meeting all of the voters of Cerro Gordo County and continuing to protect and serve everyone for many years to come.
Matt will be a great Sherrif. Way to go Matt! Proud of you