Roll of Honor
Incident
Conservation Officer Steve Reighard died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 during a presumed exposure while on duty.
Officer Reighard had served with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for 16 years and was assigned to Dickinson County.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Conservation Officer Steven Reighard died on January 8, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 59.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IA-1BB49C1D- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Conservation Officer Reighard gave the Iowa Department of Natural Resources 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Des Moines community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Conservation Officer Reighard.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Conservation Officer Steven Reighard is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In IA, 12 of 226 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 5.3% of this state's fallen. That is 3.8 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Steven Reighard's cause is highlighted.
How Steven Reighard Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Steven Reighard is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Iowa Department of Natural Resources are honored on badge.nw.
