Latest news with #Luster
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Courier Journal great Bill Luster, ‘the most beloved person in all of photography,' dies
Bill Luster, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer for The Courier Journal and member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, died Thursday after battling the types of diseases that come with being older. He was 80. He used light and a camera to tell stories in the newspaper in such a way that few could equal. Whether it was Barack and Michelle Obama sneaking a quick dance outside the White House's Blue Room, or a dog stretching while country folk gathered in lawn chairs under a shade tree, Luster had a knack for conveying an entire story in a single frame. 'He operated in such a quiet way, I don't think he ever forced his way into a situation,' said Jay Mather, a former Courier Journal photographer who shared the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting with reporter Joel Brinkley. 'He gained the trust of subjects easily because of his quiet manner.' Standing just 4'11', Luster was a giant in the world of photojournalism — a world where he used his height as an advantage. He loved to tell the story of when actor John Wayne visited Louisville in 1976 to be grand marshal of the Pegasus Parade. Luster met his plane at the airport and as Wayne climbed off the plane, Luster scrambled backward as he shot. 'He got about 10 feet away, knelt down and said, 'How's this, little pardner,'' Luster wrote in 2008. 'So I do have some advantages, and I still treasure that picture.' Back in the days before digital photography, when photographers had to print pictures using a device called a photo enlarger, Luster needed to stand on a stool — known as a 'Luster Lifter' — to see what he was doing. His photos had a unique perspective both literally and figuratively. Michael Clevenger, The Courier Journal's director of photography, said when he was a young photographer he figured out that talented photographers at the newspaper like Luster didn't necessarily love what they were shooting, but 'what they really loved was telling the best story they could through photos — and Bill was a master at that.' Photographers, Clevenger said, often have just one chance — and a small rectangular box — to tell a story. 'What Bill did best was he used that entire rectangle. Edge to edge, he told stories. … I'm always amazed at how good he was at protecting that space.' In 2010, Luster won the Joseph Sprague Award, the highest honor in American photojournalism, from the National Press Photographers Association. He also won the Joseph Costa Award for Innovative leadership from that organization. C. Thomas Hardin, a longtime photographer and director of photography at the CJ, said Luster had skills few other photographers could claim back in the days before auto-focus camera lenses were available. "He was a great sports photographer," Hardin said. "He had terrific eye-hand coordination. ... He had the ability to follow-focus as the action happened in front of him. Very few people had the innate ability he had." Over the years, Luster was named Sports Photographer of the Year and the Visual Journalist of the Year by the Kentucky News Photographers Association. In 1982, he was named runner-up for Newspaper Photographer of the Year from the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. Over the years, he gained exclusive access to the White House under several U.S. presidents, including Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Barack Obama — and he shot photographs of every president from Lyndon Baines Johnson to Obama. Luster had two photo essays appear in The National Geographic magazine — the holy grail of news photographers — and had images published in Time and Newsweek, according to his website. Sam Abell, who worked for National Geographic for more than 30 years and has known Luster since he was a photo intern at The Courier Journal in the late 1960s, said Luster's piece on organ transplants was the "single most difficult story anyone had ever done for National Geographic" both in terms of subject matter and emotionally as he had to photograph people while they were making the excruciating decision about donating a loved-one's organs. "Bill Luster is the most beloved person in all of photography," Abell said. "He had a combination of things: personal charisma, absolute hard work, and belief in the high calling of photography." He covered 55 Kentucky Derbies, continuing to shoot them even after he retired until just a few years ago when his health and mobility issues made it impossible for him. But beyond his work as a photographer, he was a consummate prankster. For decades, he would make up outlandish tales for young reporters, photographers and interns about his previous career as a jockey and the time he had a mount in the Kentucky Derby — tales that were believable because he was a tad under 5 feet. In reality, Luster wrote that a man in his hometown once convinced him he could be a jockey and urged him to climb into the saddle. 'I promptly fell off.' Mather recalled that Luster would often send interns to photograph a man who ran a local laundry who had let it be known over and over again that he did not want his picture taken. At lunch, he'd sometimes pilfer pieces of silverware and drop them into the purses of female coworkers who went along, said Mary Ann Gerth, a former photographer for The Courier Journal who grew up in Luster's hometown of Glasgow, Kentucky, and was photographed by him at a parade when she was a child. 'I found many of the forks and spoons in my purse before we left the restaurant. For the rest, my apologies to the Bristol," she said. He was also the target of pranks. Mather said he and Luster for years traded a self-serving book published by a photographer at another newspaper — trying to find inventive ways to slip it to the other person. After that joke grew old, they traded a gaudy plaster of Paris pig. Mather said he finally got the best of Luster when Pete Souza, the chief photographer for Reagan and Obama, snuck the pig into the White House for Luster to find while he was there photographing Obama. "He's a very determined photographer ... he pursued excellence, no matter the assignment, whether it's a photo of the president of the United States, the Kentucky Derby, or University of Kentucky basketball, or some community assignment around Louisville," Souza said. "But he also had a good sense of humor; he liked to play practical jokes, and he liked to tell stories about practical jokes after the fact," Souza said, noting that one of his favorite pranks happened more than 40 years ago "and he was still telling that story this year." He was a University of Kentucky basketball fan who never forgave Duke star Christian Laettner for hitting the shot in the NCAA's 1992 regional finals knocking UK out of the tournament. In a video at his retirement party, his coworkers included a clip of Laettner speaking directly to Luster, 'Hey, Bill, remember me?' He was a Democrat. During the 2024 election, a Donald Trump campaign sign mysteriously appeared in his front yard. His son, Joseph, quickly removed it and put it in the trash. Retired CJ photographer Pam Spaulding was often the target of his pranks. He once had the light switches in her house changed so that "up" was off and "down" was on. And he often stole her keys and moved her car in The Courier Journal parking lot so she couldn't find it. Before she left for an interview for a Neiman Fellowship at Harvard University, Luster and Mather snuck into her house and hid a frying pan, a tambourine and a copy of the Yellow Pages in her suitcase. "When I got to Boston and opened my suitcase, It took me about 30 seconds to figure out Bill did it," Spaulding said. "When I called him, as soon as he heard my voice, he was on the floor laughing. ... But it wasn't just me, everyone in the country has been pranked by Bill Luster." Charles William Luster was born in 1944 in Glasgow, Kentucky, to Betty and Earl Luster. Earl Luster was a civil engineer and was just starting a long career in the military with posts around the world and around the country when Bill Luster was born. Betty and Earl Luster soon split up and when Bill Luster was 4 years old, Betty married Joe T. Hall, a local rural free delivery carrier in Glasgow who raised his wife's son as his own. Bill Luster graduated from Glasgow High School in 1962 and headed off to Western Kentucky State College, where he began dabbling in photography as a hobby. He returned home to Glasgow in 1964 where he became a photographer and sportswriter for the Glasgow Daily Times. He improved his skills there for five years — occasionally shooting freelance photos for The Courier Journal — before The Courier Journal and Louisville Times hired him in 1969. He married the former Linda Shearer in a ceremony at Highland Baptist Church in 1976. Over 42 years at the Courier Journal, Luster would become the most well-known of the newspaper's photographers, winning some of the biggest national awards and leading the National Press Photographers Association as its president for a term. He had stints as the newspaper's director of photography and was the paper's chief photographer when he retired in 2011. He was part of the teams that won two Pulitzer Prizes for The Courier Journal. The first was the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for the newspaper's coverage of court-ordered busing, and the second came in 1989 when the newspaper's news and photo staffs won the award for local reporting for its coverage of the Carroll County bus crash. The crash — the nation's worst drunken-driving accident — killed 27 adults and children on a church bus returning to Radcliff, Kentucky, following an outing to Kings Island amusement park near Cincinnati. Luster's iconic photo of police investigators peering at the burned-out shell of the bus on the newspaper's front page on May 16, 1988, gave readers a graphic image of the tragedy that happened two nights before. Luster was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2012. He is survived by his wife, his son, Joseph, and daughter-in-law, Lauren, and two grandchildren. Joseph Gerth can be reached at 502-582-4702 or by email at jgerth@ You can also follow him at @ This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Bill Luster, former Courier Journal photographer, dies at 80
Irish Independent
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Maria Somerville: ‘I loved the Spice Girls but I'm not sure you would be able to tell on this album'
Indie songsmith Maria Somerville on how she struggled to surrender control as she sought a less 'introverted' second album The old adage says you can't go home again, but that is precisely what Maria Somerville did. After years in Dublin, the Galwegian musician returned to her home village on the shores of Lough Corrib in the midst of the pandemic. It was there that her second album Luster, released last month, began to take form. The fibres of her Connemara home are woven throughout every note. 'It was kind of an accident, because I was only supposed to go back for two weeks,' she says. 'The city didn't feel great at the time, and there were more rentals [available in Galway] because of the pandemic. I was in this house on the Corrib, and they said I could stay on, so that's kind of what happened.' She shrugs. 'It was kind of a happy blessing, I suppose. But it's also been nice to be back.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
A Hunting Personality Is Suing a Game Warden, Claiming Bogus Bait Charges Ruined His Reputation
A self-described 'renowned hunter' in Iowa is suing a state game warden, claiming the warden violated his constitutional rights and pinned him with bogus bait charges. No bait was found on the property during hunting season, though soil tests showed some salt had been present on the property at one time, and the charges were dismissed months ago. Still, the hunter Mark Luster claims in his lawsuit that the officer's allegations, along with the court case and resulting publicity, have stained his reputation and harmed his business. Luster is now seeking compensation for the money he spent defending himself in court, along with punitive damages for the defendant, Officer Dan Henderson of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The DNR did not respond to a request for comment as of press time. Filed May 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, the hunter's lawsuit accuses Henderson, who has 15 years with the DNR, of violating the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure. It alleges that Henderson deliberately and illegally obtained a search warrant to pin Luster with charges of hunting over bait, all in an effort to punish him for his success. 'No doubt, Luster is known to the DNR. Luster is a professional hunting consultant and a renowned hunter,' reads a copy of the lawsuit obtained by Outdoor Life. 'Luster has been incredibly successful as a professional hunter, and he has 'bagged' some of the most prized trophy-worthy bucks. With this success, however, has come animosity from other hunters and the DNR, including its officers like Officer Henderson.' Read Next: Game Wardens Can Surveil Private Land with Trail Cams. But That's Now Being Challenged in Pennsylvania's Supreme Court To support the claims of Luster's 'expertise,' the lawsuit mentions the 209-inch Iowa buck, nicknamed 'Zeus,' that Luster tagged in 2020 and was featured in Bowhunter magazine. But there is another whitetail buck at the root of Luster's lawsuit — one he killed the past season. On Oct. 14, 2024, Luster arrowed a big whitetail buck with a bow, according to the suit. He was on a hunting property in Henry County that he and a friend owned under a LLC, and he was able to recover the deer the next morning. Just before 11 a.m. on Oct. 15, Luster posted a picture of the dead buck on Facebook along with a single-word caption: 'Checkmate!' Roughly two hours before Luster posted that photo, however, Officer Henderson had received a Turn in Poachers complaint about Luster from an unnamed source. The informant told Henderson they knew Luster had been baiting the hunting property because they flew over the same property with their drone on Aug. 10 and took pictures of bait there, which they shared with the game warden. The bait wouldn't have been a violation of Iowa's game laws, which require hunters to remove any bait from a hunting area at least 10 days before the start of the first deer season. (The 2024-25 season opened in September.) The tip led Henderson to investigate further, though, and while looking through Luster's Facebook photos he found two trail camera pictures that were taken Oct. 9, and which showed a buck standing over a bare dirt spot near a blind and a bean field. Henderson used those trail cam photos to apply for a search warrant on Oct 16. During his sworn testimony, he told the judge he'd learned of the buck Luster harvested 'in passing,' and he said the bare spot in the photos was clearly an area where bait or minerals had been placed at one time. The judge issued the warrant, which allowed Henderson to collect soil samples at the hunting property. Lab analysis of those soil samples showed 'over 500 Mg of sodium at the bait site as well as DEET being a chemical used in the bait,' according to the lawsuit. And on Nov. 15, Luster applied for a second warrant to search Luster's house, pointing to the lab results as probable cause. (The presence of sodium could have meant that a salt block or other minerals had been placed there at some point, although the lawsuit contends that this concentration is within the normal range for soils in southeastern Iowa.) On Nov. 18, Henderson executed that search warrant and charged Luster at his residence with three misdemeanors. One was for making a false ownership claim to get a landowner's tag, and the other two were for hunting deer in the presence of bait. Luster's case was heard in Henry County, where he killed the buck in October. On Jan. 10, the state dismissed the first charge; it had verified that Luster was a part owner in the LLC that owned the hunting property. The other two charges were dismissed in March, according to the lawsuit, which states that both bait charges (hunting over bait and 'attempting to hunt over bait') were unfounded. Luster's attorney takes those claims one step further, alleging in the suit that Henderson was acting 'maliciously' by bringing the charges and violating Luster's Fourth Amendment rights in the process. 'When he applied for the search warrants as described above, Officer Henderson intentionally and recklessly made material misstatements and omissions in his affidavits in support of those applications,' the lawsuit reads. 'Officer Henderson's intentional and reckless material misstatements were maliciously made by him with evil motive and intent.' The suit points out that Henderson's initial application for a search warrant was based on two pieces of evidence: the trail camera photos taken earlier in October, which don't show any bait on the ground or any sign that deer are eating bait, and the drone photographs taken by the confidential informant who called in the complaint against Luster on Oct. 15. Those photos, however, were obtained illegally, the lawsuit states. Iowa law prohibits drone operators from flying a remotely piloted aircraft over private property, and this simple misdemeanor is elevated to a serious misdemeanor if that aircraft is equipped with a surveillance device, such as a camera. The lawsuit alleges that although Henderson's investigation was sparked by the aerial drone photos and the claims made by a confidential informant, he mentioned neither in his sworn affidavit applying for his initial search warrant — and instead claimed that he learned about Luster's Oct. 15 buck 'in passing.' If Henderson had been upfront about the informant and their claims and photographs, the suit contends, he would have had to 'establish the credibility of the informant' as required by state law, which would have revealed that the drone photos were obtained illegally, and likely would have prevented the judge from issuing a search warrant in the first place. In March, while fighting the charges in court, Luster filed a motion to have the evidence that resulted from those searches suppressed. Henderson chose not to disclose the identity of the confidential informant during that suppression hearing, and when pushed on this by the Assistant Henry County Attorney, both Henderson and the DNR continued to withhold the informant's identity. (It's unclear if this was done according to DNR procedure. Iowa law protects the identity of confidential informants during law enforcement investigations, but it makes exceptions during formal court proceedings.) Read Next: Tennessee Judges Rein in Game Wardens, Declaring Warrantless Searches on Private Land Unconstitutional '[This] failure to disclose the identity of a material witness leaves open the very real possibility that despite Officer Henderson's sworn testimony,' the suit reads, 'no confidential informant unassociated with law enforcement exists.' Taken altogether, the lawsuit contends, the unlawful searches, along with the intentional misstatements and omissions made by Officer Henderson during his investigation, amount to serious violations of Luster's Fourth Amendment rights. 'As a result of the unlawful searches … and Officer Henderson's pursuit of charges against Luster without lawful probable cause,' the suit concludes, 'Luster has suffered injury to his reputation, harm to his mental health, and economic losses.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Professional deer hunter sues Iowa DNR officer, alleging malicious prosecution
A professional hunter is suing a state Department of Natural Resources officer whose alleged false claims damaged his business and reputation. Mark Allen Luster of Burlington is suing Iowa DNR Officer Dan Henderson, in his personal capacity, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, alleging malicious prosecution and 'blatant violations of the Fourth Amendment.' In court records, Luster describes himself as a professional hunter and land management consultant who specializes in designing hunting properties 'to attract the largest and most prized buck deer' for hunting. 'Luster has been incredibly successful as a professional hunter, and he has 'bagged' some of the most prized trophy-worthy bucks,' the lawsuit claims. 'His livelihood is dependent on his reputation and his ability to maintain his hunting license.' In the summer of 2024, Luster began developing an 82-acre hunting property that he owned with a friend through a limited liability company called CWD Research. According to the lawsuit, on Oct. 14, 2024, Luster shot a large whitetail buck with a bow and arrow on his CWD Research property. The next day, he located and harvested the deer, then posted a photo of the kill to Facebook captioned, 'Checkmate!' The same day, Henderson reportedly received an emailed complaint from a confidential informant who had seen the Facebook post and asserted there had been bait placed on the CWD Research property in violation of state law, as evidenced by aerial drone photos the informant had collected several weeks earlier. Henderson submitted an application for a search warrant, seeking to collect soil samples on the property to determine whether bait was being used. Henderson's warrant application alleged there were photos showing a deer 'utilizing' bait in the area, and also suggested Henderson had learned of the illegal baiting through comments someone had made 'in passing,' the lawsuit alleges. In reality, the lawsuit claims, Henderson was trying to conceal the fact that an informant used 'illegally obtained' aerial drone photos. In Iowa, it's a crime to pilot a surveillance drone over any secure farmstead area. 'Officer Henderson either did not want to disclose that the confidential informant had illegally obtained the information that he was relying on, or he did not want to disclose that the aerial drone photos were obtained through some other improper means,' the lawsuit alleges. A search warrant was issued allowing Henderson to collect soil samples 'in front of cellular trail camera near black hunting blind' and in other nearby sites. On Oct. 16, Henderson visited the property, covered Luster's trail camera for roughly 14 minutes, and collected samples, the lawsuit stated. In November 2024, Henderson submitted an affidavit for a search warrant for Luster's residence, indicating the samples collected by him had shown evidence of bait being used as suggested by the presence of sodium and the chemical DEET. The lawsuit alleges both substances can be explained by factors other than bait. The warrant was granted and while serving the warrant at Luster's home, Henderson also served Luster with three criminal complaints charging him with making a false claim for a license, hunting a deer in the presence of bait, and attempting to hunt a deer in the presence of bait. On Jan. 10, 2025, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the charge of making a false claim for a license, which was based on the erroneous assumption Luster didn't own the CWD Research property. Luster then filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained in support of the other two charges, arguing the search warrants were based on false allegations. On March 18, 2025, prosecutors moved to dismiss the remaining two charges, telling a judge that DNR 'is refusing to disclose the identity of a material witness, despite multiple requests from the Henry County Attorney's Office to do so.' Court filings in the criminal case include images from Luster's trail camera that show 'a buck muffin' — a deer-nutrition product derived from ethanol grains — was on the property in July 2024. Attorneys for Luster told the court that by September 2024 the 'buck muffin had been removed from the property' — a full month before Luster killed the deer in question. Between the time the charges were levied against Luster and their eventual dismissal, Luster's 'life and career were turned upside down,' the lawsuit claims. 'In the professional hunting community, one's reputation is paramount to financial success, and allegations that a person unlawfully hunted with bait provide a significant stain on a professional hunter's reputation,' the lawsuit alleges. 'Luster has suffered significant reputational harm, which has led to his loss of speaking appearances on hunting podcasts, derogation by those that comment on hunting matters, and a loss of business for Luster as a professional land manager and designer of hunting grounds.' As for why Henderson would have included false or misleading information in his warrant applications, the lawsuit posits that Luster's success as a hunter has led to 'animosity from other hunters and the DNR, including its officers, like Officer Henderson.' It goes on to argue that 'Henderson believed that if he were to obtain evidence pursuant to the search warrant he could then pursue misdemeanor charges against Luster for hunting violations, and with a conviction on those charges, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources could revoke Luster's hunting license… Luster is known to the DNR. Luster is a professional hunting consultant and a renowned hunter." The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for unlawful search and malicious prosecution. Henderson has yet to file a response to the lawsuit and did not return a call seeking comment. The DNR is not named as a defendant in the case. Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions:kobradovich@ This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Professional deer hunter sues DNR officer over alleged false claims
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Professional deer hunter sues DNR officer, alleging malicious prosecution
Court filings in the criminal case against deer hunter Mark Luster include images from Luster's trail camera that show "a buck muffin" -- a deer-nutrition product derived from ethanol grains -- was on Luster's property in July 2024. Attorneys for Luster told the court that by September 2024 the "buck muffin had been removed from the property" -- a full month before Luster killed a deer on the property, resulting in charges that were later dismissed. (Photo from Iowa District Court records) A professional hunter is suing a state Department of Natural Resources officer whose alleged false claims damaged his business and reputation. Mark Allen Luster of Burlington is suing Iowa DNR Officer Dan Henderson, in his personal capacity, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, alleging malicious prosecution and 'blatant violations of the Fourth Amendment.' In court records, Luster describes himself as professional hunter and land management consultant who specializes in designing hunting properties 'to attract the largest and most prized buck deer' for hunting. 'Luster has been incredibly successful as a professional hunter, and he has 'bagged' some of the most prized trophy-worthy bucks,' the lawsuit claims. 'His livelihood is dependent on his reputation and his ability to maintain his hunting license.' In the summer of 2024, Luster began developing an 82-acre hunting property that he owned with a friend through a limited liability company called CWD Research. According to the lawsuit, on Oct. 14, 2024, Luster shot a large whitetail buck with a bow and arrow on his CWD Research property. The next day, he located and harvested the deer, then posted a photo of the kill to Facebook captioned, 'Checkmate!' The same day, Henderson reportedly received an emailed complaint from a confidential informant who had seen the Facebook post and asserted there had been bait placed on the CWD Research property in violation of state law, as evidenced by aerial drone photos the informant had collected several weeks earlier. Henderson submitted an application for a search warrant, seeking to collect soil samples on the property to determine whether bait was being used. Henderson's warrant application alleged there were photos showing a deer 'utilizing' bait in the area, and also suggested Henderson had learned of the illegal baiting through comments someone had made in 'in passing,' the lawsuit alleges. In reality, the lawsuit claims, Henderson was trying to conceal the fact that an informant used 'illegally obtained' aerial drone photos. In Iowa, it's a crime to pilot a surveillance drone over any secure farmstead area. 'Officer Henderson either did not want to disclose that the confidential informant had illegally obtained the information that he was relying on, or he did not want to disclose that the aerial drone photos were obtained through some other improper means,' the lawsuit alleges. A search warrant was issued allowing Henderson to collect soil samples 'in front of cellular trail camera near black hunting blind' and in other nearby sites. On Oct. 16, Henderson visited the property, covered Luster's trail camera for roughly 14 minutes, and collected samples, the lawsuit stated. In November 2024, Henderson submitted an affidavit for a search warrant for Luster's residence, indicating the samples collected by him had shown evidence of bait being used as suggested by the presence of sodium and the chemical DEET. The lawsuit alleges both substances can be explained by factors other than bait. The warrant was granted and while serving the warrant at Luster's home, Henderson also served Luster with three criminal complaints charging him with making a false claim for a license, hunting a deer in the presence of bait, and attempting to hunt a deer in the presence of bait. On Jan. 10, 2025, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the charge of making a false claim for a license, which was based on the erroneous assumption Luster didn't own the CWD Research property. Luster then filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained in support of the other two charges, arguing the search warrants were based on false allegations. On March 18, 2025, prosecutors Iowa moved to dismiss the remaining two charges, telling a judge that DNR 'is refusing to disclose the identity of a material witness, despite multiple requests from the Henry County Attorney's Office to do so.' Court filings in the criminal case include images from Luster's trail camera that show 'a buck muffin' — a deer-nutrition product derived from ethanol grains — was on the property in July 2024. Attorneys for Luster told the court that by September 2024 the 'buck muffin had been removed from the property' — a full month before Luster killed the deer in question. Between the time the charges were levied against Luster and their eventual dismissal, Luster's 'life and career were turned upside down,' the lawsuit claims. 'In the professional hunting community, one's reputation is paramount to financial success, and allegations that a person unlawfully hunted with bait provide a significant stain on a professional hunter's reputation,' the lawsuit alleges. 'Luster has suffered significant reputational harm, which has led to his loss of speaking appearances on hunting podcasts, derogation by those that comment on hunting matters, and a loss of business for Luster as a professional land manager and designer of hunting grounds.' As for why Henderson would have included false or misleading information in his warrant applications, the lawsuit posits that Luster's success as a hunter has led to 'animosity from other hunters and the DNR, including its officers, like Officer Henderson.' It goes on to argue that 'Henderson believed that if he were to obtain evidence pursuant to the search warrant he could then pursue misdemeanor charges against Luster for hunting violations, and with a conviction on those charges, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources could revoke Luster's hunting license… Luster is known to the DNR. Luster is a professional hunting consultant and a renowned hunter. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for unlawful search and malicious prosecution. Henderson has yet to file a response to the lawsuit and did not return a call seeking comment. The DNR is not named as a defendant in the case.
