Judges and Magistrates

Judge Tott was appointed to the bench in September, 2014. He graduated Cum Laude from Creighton University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration in 1989 and Magna Cum Laude from Creighton Law School in 1991. Judge Tott served as a part-time Associate Juvenile Judge from 1994 to...

Judge Andreasen was appointed as a district judge in January 2008. He had served as a magistrate in Woodbury County in 2006 and 2007 before his appointment to the bench. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in 1989 and his law degree from the same institution...

Judge Borth, Spencer, was appointed as district judge in June of 2018. He served as district associate judge since his appointment to the bench October, 2009. He served as Assistant Clay County Attorney and was in private practice in Spencer since 1997. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from...

Judge Daane was appointed to the bench in July 2021. A native of Sturgis, South Dakota, he received his undergraduate degree in 1982 and his Juris Doctorate in 1985, both from the University of South Dakota. After law school, Judge Daane served three years on active-duty in the Army as...

Judge Deck began judicial service as a Woodbury County Magistrate on November 3, 2014. He was then appointed District Court Judge in 2017. He was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa. He attended West High School in Sioux City and graduated magna cum laude from Morningside College in Sioux...

Judge Hindman was appointed to the bench in August 2018. He earned his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Morningside College in 2007. He attended the Drake University School of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Drake Law Review, and he graduated Order of the Coif and ranked...

Judge Mayer, Rock Rapids, was appointed to the bench in August 2020. She received her undergraduate degree from Briar Cliff University in 2006 and her J.D. from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 2009. Prior to her appointment, Judge Mayer worked in private practice from 2009 to...

Date of Appointment: 2002 Judge Neary received his bachelor’s degree in German from Westmar College, Le Mars, in 1981 and his law degree from the University of South Dakota in 1987. Judge Neary served as a part-time magistrate for Plymouth County in the mid 1990s and was an assistant federal...

Judge Petersen, Spirit Lake, was appointed to the bench in 2012. He was born and raised in Hartley, Iowa. Judge Petersen received his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in 1990 and his law degree from Hamline University in 1993. He practiced law in Atlantic, Iowa from 1993-2000 and...

Judge Sailer was appointed to the district court bench in December 2019. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Nebraska in 1987 and his Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Colorado in 1994 and, lastly receiving his J.D. from Creighton Law School...

Judge Sandy, Spirit Lake, was appointed to the bench in March of 2021. He earned his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of St. Thomas in 2007. He attended the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law & Public...

Judge Tiefenthaler was raised in Breda, Iowa. He graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice in 1991 and from the University of South Dakota Law School in 1994. During law school in 1994, he served a clinical for...

Judge Whittenburg, Spencer, was appointed to serve as district court judge in 2004. Prior to her appointment, she served as Clay County magistrate since 1989. She attended Drake University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1980 and her law degree in 1986. She had been engaged in the private...

Judge Cord, Sioux City, was appointed to the bench in 2018. He earned his B.B.A. degree from the University of Iowa in 1988 and his law degree from the University of South Dakota in 2005. Prior to his appointment, Judge Cord worked in private practice as a partner in a...

Judge Ditsworth was appointed to the bench in November 2021. She received her undergraduate degree from Buena Vista University in 1999 and completed her Juris Doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law in 2003. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Ditsworth worked in private practice. She is a...

Judge Gales was appointed to the bench effective February 25, 2014. She works primarily in the three-county area including Emmet, Kossuth and Palo Alto counties. Her previous legal experience included working in the U.S. Department of Justice-Antitrust Division in Chicago, Illinois, serving as an Assistant Kossuth County Attorney and as...

Judge Hensley, Sioux City, was appointed to the bench in 2000. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Morningside College in 1984, his law degree from the University of Iowa in 1988. Judge Hensley previously served as first assistant public defender for Woodbury County. He is a member of...

Judge Nelson, Sioux City, was appointed to serve Woodbury County in 1997 as a magistrate. He was appointed district associate judge in 2006. He attended the University of Iowa, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1987 and his law degree in 1991. He has worked at the Sioux City...

Judge Jessica Noll, Sioux City, was appointed District Associate Judge in 2022.

Judge Forker Parry. Sioux City, was appointed to the bench in 2017. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of South Dakota, majoring in criminal justice, and her law degree from the University of South Dakota in 1998. She served as a Woodbury County Magistrate from 2008 until her...

Judge Phillips was appointed to the bench in October 2021. She was born and raised in Holstein, Iowa. Judge Phillips graduated Cum Laude from the University of South Dakota with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice in 1996. She received her law degree from the University of South...

Judge Smith was appointed district associate judge in 2018. He has served as magistrate for Calhoun County since January of 2016. He graduated from Truman State University in 1995 with a BA in Communications and from the University Of Iowa School Of Law in 1998 with High Distinction. Judge Smith...

Judge Daniel Vakulskas, Sioux City, was appointed to serve Woodbury county in 2017 as a magistrate. He was appointed district associate judge in 2018 and serves Plymouth and Sioux counties. Judge Vakulskas graduated from the University of Iowa with his undergraduate degree and received his law degree from Thomas M....

Judge Ackerman has been a lifelong resident of Woodbury County, Iowa. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Morningside College in Sioux City with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1979. Subsequently, he graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1982 with High Distinction. Judge Ackerman was in...

Judge Hoffmeyer, Sioux City, was appointed to the bench in January 2001 and appointed to serve as chief judge January 1, 2008. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 1979 and his law degree from Creighton Law School in 1982. Judge Hoffmeyer was engaged in...

Judge Jarman became a Senior Judge 2018.

Judge Larson, Spirit Lake,is a resident of Dickinson County and routinely hears cases in Dickinson, O'Brien and Osceola counties and will occasionally preside in the other counties as needed. Judge Larson received his bachelor's degree from Iowa State University and graduated from Creighton School of Law. He spent 17 years...

Judge Scott, Rock Valley, was appointed to the bench in 1994. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of South Dakota in 1974 and his law degree from the same institution in 1976. He worked as an assistant Sioux County attorney, an alternate district associate judge, and in private...

Magistrate Brad Bonner, Denison, was appointed to serve Crawford County in 2022. He earned undergraduate degrees in philosophy and psychology from Iowa State University in 2003 and his masters in administration and law degree from University of South Dakota in 2006. He is in private practice in Denison.

Magistrate Brian Buckmeier, Sioux City, was appointed in September 2018. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Dakota in 1984 and his law degree from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1987. His past experience includes Assistant Woodbury County Attorney and private practice at...

Magistrate Tobias Cosgrove was appointed to serve Osceola county in 2017.

Magistrate De Jong was appointed to the bench in March 2022. He received his undergraduate degree from Bethel University in 2010 and his Juris Doctorate from Drake University Law School in 2014. Prior to his appointment he worked as a lawyer at Klay Law Firm beginning in 2015. He is...

Graduate of Estherville High School, Mankato State University, J.D.from Drake Law School in 1988, Admitted and practices in State and Federal Courts. Works at Forsyth Law Firm,a general practice law firm in Estherville Iowa. Served as City Attorney for Estherville 2008-2013, Assistant Estherville city attorney 1988-2008. Also served as city...

Magistrate, Kevin J. Huyser, Orange City, was appointed to the bench in February 2021. He earned his B.A. degree from Central College in 1990 and his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1994. Following graduation from law school he served on active-duty as a judge...

Magistrate Joly was appointed to the bench in August 2021. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1999 and her J.D. from the University of Iowa School of Law in 2001. Previously she work at the Vakulskas Law Firm from 2002 until her appointment....

Magistrate Mark J. Laddusaw was appointed in 2000 to serve Kossuth County in District 3A. Laddusaw received his undergraduate degree from Buena Vista College in Storm Lake and his law degree from Creighton University in 1992. He is in private practice with the firm of Lynch and Lynch, in Algona,...

Magistrate Lisa Kay Mazurek was appointed to serve Cherokee County commencing December 1, 2010. She was an associate attorney with Miller, Miller, Miller PC from 2006 to 2010. She was awarded an internship with the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa in Cedar Rapids. Her graduated from...

Magistrate Kara Minnihan was appointed as the Monona County Magistrate and began work on Dec. 9, 2014. From 2008 – 2014, Magistrate Minnihan worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Iowa. From 2003 to 2005, she was in private practice. She started her legal career as a...

Magistrate, Abby Walleck, was appointed in Clay County in February of 2023. She earned her undergraduate degree from Creighton University in 2001 and her law degree from Creighton University School of Law in 2003.Magistrate Walleck is a partner in the Maahs & Walleck law firm where she has a mostly...

Magistrate Wicks was appointed to serve Woodbury County in 2023. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from University of Nebraska – Omaha in 2004 and her law degree from Washburn School of Law in 2011. Magistrate Wicks worked in the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office as Assistant...