Matt Zeitler, 44, of Douds, Iowa
VAN BUREN COUNTY, IOWA -- Update May 14 2:15 p.m.
The following is an email that Matt Zeitler sent to KTVO news unchanged.
this is coachz, i wanted to give all of you some idea of who i am not what ktvo has made me out to be. i am a good person and would help anyone out that needs it. i have apolagized to my bb team, my administration, my 3daughters and that is all i feel that i need to . i spend 4 months in the winter coaching bb, june july and august with traveling to team camps and leagues we play in on sundays. i have 3 girls playing on the iowa lightning aau bb team which we travel to kc , south dakota, missouri, kansas and nebraska, i farm and sell vehicles with my own company. once or twice a week when im home my wife and me go out for supper and play cards, now for all you people that go out , you go have supper , have less than 4 drinks in 5 hours , haul 2 people home that ask for a ride and then you head for home and a state trooper has been watching the local town, follows you , stops you for what ever reasons he wants to and he is always right just like ktvo has reported, you go what? and here we are . its sad when the media has made this out to be in the same sense as the fairfield coach, this is not even close , i will be a better person for what has happened whether im guilty or innocent but idont understand how it can be the headlines for ktvo, what do you have to gain? again to my community, my kids , my parents im sorry
Coach Matt Zeitler
Van Buren Girls BasketBall
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A Heartland high school basketball coach is accused of drunk driving.
According to court documents, Matt Zeitler, 44, of Douds was pulled over in Van Buren County May 7 for suspicion of drunk driving.
That traffic stop happened at about 1:45 a.m. near Pittsburg, Iowa.
Officials said Zeitler's blood alcohol level was .093. The legal limit in Iowa is .08.
Zeitler is charged with first offense operating while intoxicated.
He is the varsity girls basketball coach at Van Buren Community Schools; however, he is not a teacher in the school district.
KTVO spoke with Van Buren Schools Superintendant Lisa Beames Friday.
Beames told us the district is aware of the incident, and she said it is a personnel issue.
She said the school is handling the situation internally.
Zeitler is scheduled to appear in court on May 25.
A woman claiming to be Matt Zeitler’s wife, Teri, took issue with KTVO’s story about her husband. Below is the e-mail she sent KTVO News Friday evening after the story aired on our broadcasts:
The story you chose to share with your viewers about Matt had NOTHING to do with coaching or the fact that he IS a coach.
1) He was NOT coaching at the time
2) He did NOT have kids in a vehicle with him
3) HE was on his OWN PERSONAL TIME during his OFF season from coaching
AND
4) HE is NOT a teacher!
If you want to compare apples to apples find another coach that was picked up on the clock with kids in tow and you'll have a story. Rather than trying to compare the unfortunate incident that happend to the Fairfield Golf Coach that was ON THE CLOCK to this one. Yes, he's a coach. Was he coaching? No. Did he just come from coaching? No. Was he going to be coaching in the morning? No. Hmmm.
Truth be known, Matt took TWO people home from downtown Keosauqua just before that who needed rides because they'd had too much to drink. He was HELPING someone else out before he even went home!
He'd had THREE & a HALF beers to drink in FOUR hours and 15 minutes!
We were in a car we had just got licensed and that had TINTED WINDOWS that the Trooper sat and scoped out in small town IA for something to do and then followed us OUT OF TOWN just to pick us up! For tinted WINDOWS?!
Anyone and everyone that ever hangs out in downtown Keosauqua, IA can tell you and WILL tell you that Matt Zeitler is NOT a town drunk. He NEVER comes in and gets all drunked up. We eat supper, we play cards, and we visit with friends and alot of times hunters that don't know the area. We go home and mind our own business and life goes on.
Also, you seem to have neglected to mention all of the OTHER people that were picked up and charged with, yet not convicted of OWI and what their job titles are!
Where are those stories?
You think it's NEWS to try to take down someone's reputation over a story that doesn't even jive with the theme you're going for?
Really disappointing.
Teri Zeitler, Matt's WIFE.