Ottumwa officials are considering changes to a city council prayer policy less than nine months after adopting it, following a Satanic invocation that city leaders acknowledge complied with rules intended to prevent religious discrimination.
Mayor Benjamin Foote told local broadcaster KYOU that officials have discussed ways to preserve opening invocations while introducing additional safeguards.
The discussions follow an October 6 council meeting where former council member Matt Dalbey concluded his invocation with “Hail Satan.”
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No amendment has been formally proposed, and the council has not scheduled a vote.
The dispute places Ottumwa’s existing policy under scrutiny because the rules permit religious expression without allowing officials to select speakers based on their beliefs.
Ottumwa adopted Resolution 18-2026 on January 20 through a 4–1 council vote. Council member Cara Galloway was the sole opponent.
Official meeting records show council members agreed to add timestamping requirements for volunteer requests and procedures addressing the disqualification of speakers before approving the measure.
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The policy allows city residents to volunteer for opening invocations, with speakers scheduled according to their requests. Officials are prohibited from reviewing the content beforehand.
Dalbey, a former council member associated with the Satanic Temple of Iowa, delivered the October 6 invocation under those provisions.
His remarks prompted New Life Center pastor Rick Bick to object during the meeting, characterizing the invocation as a curse on the city.
Foote subsequently requested a 30-second period of silence before council business resumed.
City officials have acknowledged that Dalbey’s invocation did not violate the existing policy.
The legal framework governing public invocations limits how municipalities can distinguish between religious viewpoints.
In its 2014 decision in Town of Greece v. Galloway, the US Supreme Court upheld legislative prayer as a longstanding government practice while emphasizing nondiscrimination and the absence of coerced participation.
The ruling also rejected the argument that municipal invocations must always use nonsectarian language.
That precedent creates a distinction between revising procedures for all participants and excluding particular religious viewpoints because officials find them objectionable.
Lucien Greaves, cofounder of the Satanic Temple, told KYOU that public religious expression necessarily includes beliefs that some residents oppose.
He argued that municipalities unwilling to accommodate Satanic invocations should discontinue the practice rather than restrict participation.
The dispute could return to the council chamber within weeks. Ottumwa Radio reported that Dalbey is scheduled to deliver another invocation on November 3.
That appearance has not been independently confirmed against a final meeting agenda.
Foote has not identified a specific proposed restriction or a timetable for formal consideration.
