Madison County Elections Deputy Mikayla Garside (a.k.a. Mikayla Simpson) is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, March 4 at 9 a.m. The hearing stems from a second arrest connected to a January 14, 2026 traffic stop by Winterset police. The original charges on January 14 were for running a stop sign and driving with a suspended license. On February 20, 2026, Garside was formally charged with OWI in connection with the same January 14 traffic stop. All parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Following the January 14 arrest in Winterset, Garside was released after Madison County Auditor Michele Brant posted $300 bond on Garside’s behalf. Records indicate that Garside’s license had previously been suspended, reportedly in connection with a September 20, 2025 traffic stop in Warren County by Carlisle police. In the September incident, records indicate she was stopped for speeding. The officer noted signs of impairment, including a failed horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test. A breath alcohol concentration of .074 was noted in the police report. Following that arrest, Madison County Attorney Stephen Swanson personally posted $236.13 bond for Garside’s release. No arrest for OWI was made in conjunction with the September 20 traffic stop.
On January 28, 2026, Garside appeared in court in Madison County regarding the January 14 charges of running a stop sign and driving with a suspended license in Winterset. The Madison County Attorney’s Office served as the prosecuting attorney at which time the stop sign charge was dismissed and the suspended license charge was reduced to driving with an expired license.
Special prosecutors are typically appointed when a County Attorney has a conflict of interest or when an independent prosecuting authority is otherwise deemed appropriate. While Swanson’s office is listed as the prosecuting office for the initial January 14 charges, on February 25, Swanson filed a request for the appointment of a special prosecutor in the OWI case. Available records do not specify the reason for the request.
As noted above, court records show that Swanson previously posted bond for Garside in Warren County, and later his office acted as the prosecuting authority in the case for the January 14 charges which were pled down to a lesser charge. Swanson and Garside also share the Madison County Courthouse as their workplace. As County Attorney, Swanson’s office provides legal services to county departments in official matters, including for the Auditor’s office, where Garside works as the county’s Elections Deputy.
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