KC area woman killed in Iowa shooting planned to get married, go to dental school
For the past two days, Steven Rettinger says, he has tried to maintain his normal daily routine when the memories of his daughter Micalla bubble up unexpectedly.
The memories take him back to when he threw batting practice to her in the driveway. During the winter, they hit softballs in the garage, before she became a standout player on Park Hill High School’s team. They went to Mass together on Sundays.
Last Sunday, out of nowhere, she was shot on an Iowa highway.
“I can go on through my day and do regular stuff but then a memory will creep in and it takes you by surprise and bring you to your knees,” Rettinger said Tuesday at his Kansas City home.
Micalla Rettinger, 25, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, was fatally wounded when she was struck by a bullet while driving on a U.S. 218 highway in Waterloo, Iowa. She was hit in the neck and died at the scene.
Rettinger said he and his family struggle with the loss, especially with no idea why the shooting occurred.
“It saddens me greatly, I think the world lost a good soul,” he said.
Micalla was picking up her boyfriend from his job at a Cedar Falls bar when a bullet from an unknown shooter hit the car. Another adult passenger was also in the car, police said.
Rettinger said Micalla managed to pull the car over to avoid crashing.
Her boyfriend, Adam Kimball, 32, was also injured and was treated at University of Iowa Hospitals. The second passenger in the vehicle was unharmed.
A $14,000 reward is being offered to anyone with information about the shooting, said Maj. Joe Leibold of the Waterloo Police Department.
There is nothing to indicate the victims were targeted or had been involved anything that would have led to the shooting, Leibold said.
Investigators are studying ballistics and evidence collected at the scene in an effort to determine exactly where the gunshot was fired. They are also trying to track down who may be involved in the shooting or had been hunting in the area near the Cedar River between the U.S. 218 bridge and the Conger Ave bridge.
Police asked anyone to alert them if they may have seen any suspicious activity in the area or may have video from a trail or surveillance camera.
Rettinger said his daughter was shot in the neck and the same bullet lodged in the tongue of her boyfriend. The bullet apparently came from a wooded area, based on its trajectory, he said.
Micalla grew up in Lenexa and attended Park Hill High school in Kansas City, where she was an all-state and all-Metro softball player.
Earning a scholarship at the University of Northern Iowa, Micalla was a four-year starter, where she played centerfield.
She received second-team Missouri Valley All-Conference honors her junior and senior seasons and led UNI Panthers in hits her senior year.
“I am devastated,” head softball coach Ryan Jacobs said in a statement. “I can still see the smile on her face and I remember the way she always thought of other people first in a genuine way.”
Micalla earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 2016, an accomplishment that made her father proud because Micalla was student-athlete.
Plans after college included attending dental school at the University of Iowa. Micalla worked as a dental assistant and at a bar while she studied for the dental school admission exam.
She was scheduled to take the test next month, Rettinger said.
Micalla, who was also known as “KK,” is remembered for her kind heart and sweet spirit. She loved animals and was the owner a husky. Micalla and Kimball had been dating for two years and were planning to get married.
“We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love, prayers and support as we cope with the loss of our KK,” according to a statement from her mother, Brenda Harper, and sisters Maria Bohnet and Ellayna Rettinger.
“Micalla brought great joy into so many lives; she would want us to live out loud and be extra kind to one another as the best way to remember her,” the family said. “We’d also like to thank those that are searching for answers, and to encourage anyone who could assist their efforts to do so immediately.”
The family has created a scholarship in honor of Micalla at UNI. The Kansas City Pet Project is accepting donations in Micalla’s name, Rettinger said.
“She was a good-hearted person. She had lots of friends. She was kind to everyone, animals included,” he said.
Rettinger said he and his family are devastated by the loss and are seeking comfort in their Catholic faith.
“If the person who did this is remorseful, I would forgive them,” he said. “None of this makes sense. An innocent life snuffed out for no reason.”
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked call Waterloo Police Department Investigations Division at 319-291-4340 Option 7.
This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 8:30 PM.
