As the Greene County Sheriff’s office continues their investigation into several incidents that stemmed from a weekend event, one landowner is speaking out.

Craig Flack owns River Farm Recreation, located on 222nd Street, west of Jefferson, and this past Saturday was the annual big summer event. However, he tells Raccoon Valley Radio the allegations against the event are blown out of proportion. 

The Sheriff’s office and the Jefferson Police Department made three OWI arrests and responded to a fatal traffic incident that killed 60-year-old Ronald Kolbeck of Jefferson. Sheriff Jack Williams said a deputy witnessed Kolbeck at the event before he left later that evening. The Iowa State Patrol is continuing their investigation, but officials confirmed that since Kolbeck died no charges will be filed. However, they are looking into a blood test that was taken. Flack says Kolbeck was volunteering and working the entire time he was at the event and he never witnessed him drinking alcohol. As to the accusations of underage drinking and having only one hired officer at the event, Flack says they had 30-40 staff who were strict and helped keep people safe. 

The event was for anyone 18 and over, and Flack says they kept a close eye at the gate and even turned people away that weren’t at least 18-years-old. He points out they didn’t have an alcohol vendor and were never serving alcohol to anyone. The event was publicized as BYOB (Bring Your Own Beverages). 

Flack says Iowa Chill was a promoter of the event and sponsored a volleyball tournament that organized 30 teams. He adds that when he bought the property and turned it into a recreational area, his goal was to pay it off, which he says he has to do events like this past Saturday to help pay what he owes on the property. Flack felt disappointed when the allegations started coming out and he feels he’s been treated unfairly. 

Flack says he is continuing to plan for next summer’s event and wants to hire a professional security team as well. He describes it as a labor of love for him to put on events like this past weekend. 

We’ve previously reported that Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn said no additional charges have been filed at this time. He won’t make his final decision until the investigation is complete.