Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram was shot and killed by a suspect in the 1100 block of South Minnesota Street on Wednesday night.

ALGONA — Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram was more than just a cop. He was a husband, a father, a son, a friend.

And on Wednesday evening, the 33-year-old’s life was tragically cut short when he was fatally shot by an Algona man as he attempted to serve an arrest warrant.

“Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram died serving his community,” Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens said during a press conference Thursday morning at the Kossuth County Election Center.

Bayens said Cram answered the call to serve and died because he chose to be a “beacon of light.”

“Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram died because he was willing to stand in the gap between good and evil,” Bayens said. “Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram died a hero.”

Cram embodied the selfless dedication to serving his community, Bayens said, and was the “bedrock” of the Algona Police Department. Cram was a 10-year veteran of law enforcement, beginning his career in 2013 in Nora Springs. He joined the Algona Police Department in 2015.

“Kevin Cram was an outstanding police officer, but he was much more than that,” Bayens said on Thursday. “More importantly, Kevin Cram was a dad. He was a husband. He was a son. He was a friend. Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram was murdered by a coward and I will not speak his name.”

Bayens called the fallen officer’s slaying a “vile act” and resolved that law enforcement will not be deterred from protecting the innocent, “holding evil to account” and to seek justice for Cram.

“The law enforcement community here in Kossuth County is hurting, but they are not broken,” he said. “They are shaken, but their resolve remains strong. Their hearts are heavy, but they will continue to honor Kevin’s legacy by being that beacon of light in their communities.”

According to the Oakcrest Funeral Services website, a memorial fund has been established for Cram’s family at Iowa State Bank, 5 E. Call St., in Algona.

Serving Our Servants, a Fort Dodge-based organization that supports local first responders, is also raising funds to help support the Cram family. Donations can be made on the www.facebook.com/ServingOurServants Facebook page, or by dropping off checks at Kemna Auto Center in Algona, Kemna Auto Fort Dodge or Shimkat Motor Co. in Fort Dodge.

Algona man arrested, charged with first degree murder

An Algona man is sitting in a Brown County, Minn., Jail awaiting extradition on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with Cram’s death.

According to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Cram had located 43-year-old Kyle L. Ricke at 1102 S. Minnesota St. at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Ricke had an active arrest warrant for harassment out of Palo Alto County.

After Cram, 33, told Ricke he was there to arrest him, Ricke shot the officer and fled. Cram was located by law enforcement and emergency medical services quickly and transported to Kossuth Regional Health Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A massive manhunt for Ricke began immediately, and he was eventually taken into custody approximately 110 miles northwest near Sleepy Eye, Minn., shortly before midnight. According to a release from the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Ricke was taken into custody without incident at 29000 210th St. in rural Sleepy Eye.

Ricke has been charged with first-degree murder and will be extradited back to Kossuth County. As of Thursday, Ricke was being held in the Brown County Jail on a $1 million bond. He is also charged with fugitive from justice in Brown County, according to the Brown County Jail Roster Report.

According to the criminal complaint against Ricke, Cram was serving an arrest warrant on Ricke when the suspect took a handgun and shot the officer. After shooting, Ricke allegedly yelled “Too late motherf—” and “I did it cause I am tired of this s–.”

Ricke was also charged with third-degree harassment, a simple misdemeanor, in Kossuth County last month. According to court records, Ricke had an initial appearance for the charge in Kossuth County Magistrate Court on Wednesday morning. He is accused of sending multiple text messages and making several phone calls to an ex-partner who had requested that he not contact her. He was arrested on Aug. 28.

Details about the warrant from Palo Alto County that Cram was attempting to serve were not available by press time on Thursday.

The press release from the Brown County Sheriff’s Office lists several assisting law enforcement agencies, including the Minnesota State Patrol, Iowa Department of Public Safety, Minnesota State Patrol Air Unit, Sleepy Eye Police Department, Iowa State Patrol and the FBI. The Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office and Algona Police Department were also involved.