NW IA daycare worker sentenced for child endangerment
March 18th, 2026 by Ric Hanson
(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa woman has been sentenced on multiple child endangerment charges stemming from incidents at a daycare in Inwood. Thirty-one-year-old Elizabeth Kainrath was sentenced on March 10th in Lyon County District Court on five counts of child endangerment, all aggravated misdemeanors.
Authorities say the charges date back to March of 2024, when Kainrath was working at a daycare and allegedly grabbed and dragged young children, including lifting a two-year-old by one arm and dropping the child. She later entered a guilty plea to all five counts as part of an agreement with prosecutors. Kainrath was sentenced to jail time on each count, with most of that time suspended, and will serve a total of 10 days.
Kainrath has also been placed on probation for two years, ordered to complete anger management, pay fines and restitution, and has been added to the Child Abuse Registry. That means she can no longer work in jobs involving direct contact with children.




