Howe Mayor Karla McDonald on Thursday praised the city's departing police chief and said she was troubled by how his tenure ended, a day after city officials confirmed that Chief Jake Sullivan had resigned.
"Through my time working with chief Sullivan, I found him to be transparent, thoughtful, and willing to provide honest advice," McDonald wrote in a statement reported by KTEN. "I am deeply concerned about the circumstances that led to his resignation."
She added that she would not let Sullivan's years of service and his contributions to the community "be forgotten or overshadowed by speculation surrounding his departure."
The statement did not describe the circumstances McDonald referred to, and no reason for the resignation appears in the city's agenda packet or in KTEN's and KXII's reports.
How the city is handling it
A city council member told KXII that council members received an email earlier this week saying Sullivan had submitted his resignation. Sullivan has led the department since 2024, the station reported.
In his written report for the council's Tuesday, Oct. 20, meeting, City Administrator Monte Walker says Lt. Seth Sparks has been named officer in charge and "reports a healthy atmosphere" in the department.
The agenda packet lists two related items. In a memo dated Oct. 13, Walker writes that the city attorney advised the council to ratify the resignation rather than handle it as a standard "discuss, consider, and act upon" item.
