Law enforcement officers in southwest Iowa will pause this week to honor two State Troopers who died in the line of duty.

Trooper Lance G. Dietsch

Local and State authorities, along with members of the Iowa Legislature, will be pay tribute to Troopers Lance Dietsch and Stan Gerling, by dedicating two bridges to the men in Cass County.The bridges are located northeast of Lewis along Highway 6, as it traverses Indian Creek, and Turkey Creek, respectively.

Members of the public are invited to attend the dedication ceremony as a show of support for those who serve and protect Iowa Communities. The ceremony will take place beginning at 10-a.m. Thursday, at the Iowa State Patrol’s State Radio Office, located at 56911 Whitepole Road, just west of the Lewis turnoff from Highway 6.

Trooper Pilot Lance Dietsch and Trooper Stanley Gerling were killed in an airplane accident on June 30th, 1989, southwest of Atlantic.

Trooper Stanley E. Gerling

The pair had been searching for an elderly man who had wandered off, and were about to call off the search when they troopers located him in a soybean field. They began to circle the area when the plane made a sudden turn and crashed vertically into the ground. Troopers Dietsch and Gerling were the first aircraft fatalities since the addition of the Patrol Airwing in 1956.