Winneshiek County Authorities release information on two accidents and separate arrest incidents

No injuries reported but a number of pigs were lost in a Semi accident in Winneshiek County.  The accident occurred on April 18th at 6:24pm on Highway 139 near 313th Avenue.  19-year old Cooper Wyatt Granzow of Hubbard was operating a 1999 Kenworth Semi with a cargo load of over 100-pigs. Granzow was southbound and was navigating a corner when a northbound vehicle was in his lane of travel.  Granzow steered into the ditch, struck a field driveway, the vehicle turned onto the passenger side and the vehicle came to rest.  Granzow was not injured but a large number of pigs in the upper deck of the trailer were ejected through the roof, and several pigs had to be euthanized.  Damage totaled over 30-thousand dollars.

A Lansing woman was injured in a one-vehicle accident in Winneshiek County.  The accident occurred on April 16th at 1pm.  75-year old Ann Marie Langford was operating a 2022 Dodge Charger eastbound on Old Stage Road near the intersection of Cedar Valley Road.  The Langford vehicle left the roadway, went into the ditch and struck an embankment.  The vehicle then went airborne over the driveway where it continued until colliding head-on with a tree.  Langford received minor injuries and was taken by EMS to WinnMed Hospital.  Damage totaled 20-thousand dollars.

Date: 4/17/2026

Time: 7:08 pm

Incident/Charge: Serious Misdemeanor Possession of Controlled Substance & Trespassing

Location: 380^th Street and North Bear Road, Decorah, Iowa

Person: Nicole Benser

Address: Farmersburg, Iowa 

Age: 38

Incident Details: On April 17, 2026 Nicole Benser was observed walking through the woods with a chain saw in her possession and the property owner called 911. The Sheriff’s Office responded and initiated an investigation. Winneshiek County K9 was used, and illicit narcotics were located.  Nicole Benser was placed under arrest and transported to the Winneshiek County Jail for Serious Misdemeanor Possession of Controlled Substance & Trespassing.

Date: 04/15/26 

Time: 18:00  

Incident/Charge: Arrest warrant for Violation Of Probation  

Location: TRANSPORTED FROM THE FLOYD COUNTY JAIL TO THE WINNESHIEK COUNTY JAIL.  Person: DEREK FACTOR  

Address: CHARLES CITY, IA 

Age: 29 

Incident details: DEREK FACTOR was arrested and booked into the Winneshiek County Jail  on an arrest warrant for Violation Of Probation. 

Sex Offender Who Failed to Register Sentenced to Federal Prison 

A man who came to Iowa from Minnesota and did not register with the state sex offender registry was sentenced on April 15, 2026, to more than two years in federal prison. Blake William Johnson, age 31, from Austin, Minnesota, received the prison term after a December 29, 2025, guilty plea to failure to register as a sex offender. 

Information from sentencing and other hearings showed that Johnson was previously convicted of electronic solicitation of children in 2022 in Minnesota after he repeatedly messaged an online profile represented to be that of a female child under the age of fifteen. The profile was operated by an undercover law enforcement agent. Johnson sent explicit messages to the profile, including pictures of his genitals. In July 2025, Johnson absconded from correctional supervision in Minnesota. He began living in Iowa and was arrested on August 21, 2025. Johnson did not register with the state of Iowa sex offender registry as he was required to do. In addition to his sex offense conviction, Johnson’s criminal history includes convictions for drug possession, burglary, domestic assault, and violating a no contact order. 

Johnson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Johnson was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Johnson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 25-CR-2057.