MASON CITY — After felony drunk-driving convictions in two North Iowa counties, a five-year prison sentence, repeated probation violations and years of court intervention aimed at keeping her from driving impaired, Amber Ann Ward is accused of getting behind the wheel and doing it again.
Ward, 41, was nabbed by the Iowa State Patrol on Sunday, September 6, and booked into the Cerro Gordo County Jail at 1:01 p.m. Her latest booking photo shows her smiling proudly, but the criminal history behind that image is considerably more serious: Ward has previously been convicted of felony third-or-subsequent OWI offenses in both Floyd and Cerro Gordo counties, has been convicted of driving while barred, has repeatedly violated probation and has previously been sent to prison.
Now, despite that history, Ward is accused of once again operating while intoxicated and driving when she legally was not supposed to be on the road.
The Cerro Gordo County Jail lists fresh charges of OWI, third or subsequent offense; driving while barred; driving while license suspended, denied, revoked or barred; driving while license denied, suspended, canceled or revoked; and failure to provide proof of financial liability.
Her bond was listed at $8,000 cash or surety.
The allegations represent another potentially dangerous chapter in a history involving repeated impaired driving. Drunk driving places motorists, passengers and pedestrians at risk, and Ward’s court record shows that previous felony convictions, incarceration, probation and license restrictions have already been used in efforts to address her conduct.
Her most recent felony OWI conviction came from a March 15, 2023 incident in Cerro Gordo County.
Ward pleaded guilty to operating while under the influence, third offense or subsequent offense, a Class D felony. She also pleaded guilty to second-offense marijuana possession. Charges of driving while barred and unlawful possession of a prescription drug were dismissed.
The felony OWI conviction resulted in a prison sentence and a $3,125 fine. Court records also referenced placement in Iowa’s OWI Continuum program. Her marijuana conviction brought a 365-day jail sentence and another fine, with the sentences running concurrently.
And 2023 was not Ward’s first felony drunk-driving conviction.
Floyd County records show Ward was prosecuted following another incident on May 19, 2020. She eventually pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated, third offense, a Class D felony, and driving while barred, an aggravated misdemeanor.
That OWI conviction brought a five-year prison sentence. Most of the sentence was initially suspended, and Ward was placed on lengthy probation along with residential and treatment-related requirements.
She repeatedly ran into trouble while under supervision.
Court records document probation violations dating from December 2021, March 2022, June 2022 and March 2023. The record ultimately states that Ward’s probation was revoked, the original five-year prison sentence was imposed and modified, and she was placed into the OWI Continuum program.
The history stretches even farther back.
NorthIowaToday.com has been documenting Ward’s drunk-driving arrests and other encounters with law enforcement for more than a decade.
In April 2015, NIT reported that Ward had been caught driving drunk yet again in what was described at the time as her fifth drunk-driving incident:
Yes, again: Mason City woman caught drunk driving for fifth time, faces felony
Months earlier, NIT was on the scene as Ward underwent field sobriety testing in the Wendy’s parking lot in Mason City before being taken to jail:
Three arrested at Wendy’s parking lot Sunday
Ward had also been jailed earlier that month following another Mason City incident:
Clear Lake woman arrested again
By September 2015, Ward was again making news while facing a felony willful-injury allegation as she simultaneously dealt with drunk-driving cases:
Habitual drunk driver faces felony willful injury charge after allegedly stabbing man
More than a decade later, despite felony convictions, probation, prison, treatment programming and restrictions on her ability to legally drive, Ward is accused of returning to a North Iowa roadway and committing another serious OWI offense.
The September 6, 2026 charges are allegations. Ward is presumed innocent of the new offenses unless and until proven guilty in court.