Overview
- A resident and former council member, Matt Dalbey, delivered a two‑minute invocation that closed with the words “Hail Satan” at the start of the Oct. 6 Ottumwa City Council meeting.
- After the Pledge of Allegiance, New Life Center pastor Rick Bick interrupted to call the invocation a curse and demanded an immediate response, prompting Mayor Benjamin Foote to order a 30‑second moment of silence.
- Dalbey told local reporters that the text is used by The Satanic Temple of Iowa and that the words do not reflect belief in a supernatural Satan, describing the group as non‑theistic.
- The invocation was allowed under a January resolution that admits voluntary two‑minute prayers from any faith or belief system, bars prior content review by officials, and passed the council 4‑1 with Cara Galloway voting no.
- Officials say Dalbey is scheduled to speak again on Nov. 3 and that the episode has prompted heavy public reaction, renewed council debate over the policy, and warnings that narrowing the rule could invite constitutional legal challenges.