Peter Mommer

Peter Mommer is on the job as an assistant attorney in the office of Tama County Attorney Brent Heeren. Mommer’s appointment was approved by the Board of Supervisors on July 5. He replaces Pam Dettmann who is leaving the post in early August.

Peter Mommer is a native of Grundy County, number six in a family of eight kids growing up on a farm outside of Dike.

Of the eight, he is the only one in the legal profession, but his family has quite a tie to law enforcement in Tama County.

His great- great grandfather, Frank August Mommer, Sr., served as Traer Town Marshal. And he died in the line of duty when investigating a drugstore break-in in Traer on Aug. 13, 1925.

That link only fully came to light to him last Friday afternoon when Heeren and Peter checked the internet for more information on the marshal late Friday afternoon, July 8.

Frank August Mommer

“My family and I are limited on the information that we have regarding my great-great grandpa. I remember my grandpa (Russell Mommer) speaking about him in passing from time to time, but nothing regarding his murder – just that he was the Tama Marshal,” Peter Mommer wrote in an email response to The News-Herald.

Education – Experience

“It has always been my intention to return to Iowa.” Mommer wrote in a reply to The News-Herald. “Having traveled the world and lived in many different places, I always felt drawn back to my home – and Iowa has always been my home. The people of Iowa are different than most places.

“The people of Iowa are warm, trusting, and honest. Iowa is one of the few places left in the country where people still do business on a handshake; where parents can let their children play freely without concern, where the art of conversation is still practiced. Iowa is and will always be a place that I call home – and it is good to be back.”

Peter Mommer earned a B.A. in Political Science (pr-law) from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Cum Laude in 2006 where he also was a two-time national water ski champion.

He served at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) Young Leader; Peacekeeping Internship: Balkans.

From 2008-09 he attended The University of Queensland Brisbane, Australia, receiving a Master of International Studies in Peace Conflict Resolution.

He graduated Cum Laude receiving his Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University in Lansing in 2013.

Since then, he worked for over a year at Garcia, Artigliere and Medby which he said is a large law firm located in Los Angeles, Calif., that defends the largest chain of nursing homes and hospitals in the United States,

He then headed his own law firm in his home town of Dike for more than 2 1/2 years and, most recently, served as a State of New Mexico Assistant District Attorney.

Family

Peter’s father, Jack, and grandfather, Russell served in the U.S. Military with his father in the Air Force for six years and later serving as an American Legion Commander for 45 years and grandfather as a U.S. Army lieutenant during World War II. Both farmed following military service. His mother was a stay-a-home-mom, Peter notes.

His brothers and sisters have diverse professions (which he lists oldest to youngest): Jasen Mommer (linemen), Erin Fernandez-Mommer (professor of Spanish at Greenriver Community College in Washington State), Kristi Druvenga (teacher in Olwein), Shannon Singh (surgical tech in Fargo, N.D.), Brett Mommer (scientist in Washington State), and John Mommer (Marketing Director of HO Sports in Washington State).

From The Iowa Department of Public Safety Peace Officer Memorial Page Remembers site on the internet here’s the account of Marshal Frank August Mommer, Sr. :

Tama County Sheriff’s Office

Marshal Frank August Mommer, Sr.

Marshal Mommer was shot on Thursday, August 13, 1925, when he interrupted two suspects attempting to break into a safe at a local drugstore. He confronted the two suspects inside the store but was shot in the stomach by one of them.

The two men fled the scene as local citizens came to Marshal Mommer’s aid. He was taken to a hospital in Waterloo where he died Friday, August 14, 1925.

One of the suspects was apprehended several days later but the other suspect fled the area. The suspect who fled, who turned out to be the store owner’s son, was apprehended in Vancouver, Washington, six years later. He was sentenced to life in prison on January 9, 1932. He was paroled September 3, 1952. The other suspect, also sentenced to life October 17, 1925, was paroled in 1941.

Marshal Mommer was 63 years old.