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 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 Mankato...

Judge Daane was appointed to the bench in July 2021. 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 a Judge Advocate officer with the...

Judge Deck began judicial service as a Woodbury County Magistrate on November 3, 2014. He was then appointed District Court Judge in 2017. He attended West High School in Sioux City and graduated magna cum laude from Morningside College in Sioux City in 2003 with a B.A. in American History....

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 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 2012, was...

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 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 served as...

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 Smith was appointed district associate judge in 2018 and district judge in 2024. He served as magistrate for Calhoun County from 2016 to 2018. 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...

Judge Tiefenthaler 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 internship in the Woodbury County Attorney’s office....

Judge Bennett Finn was appointed as a district associate judge in August of 2025. She received her undergraduate degree from Drake University in 2002 and her Juris Doctorate from Drake University Law School in 2006. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Bennett Finn was in private practice in...

Judge Cord 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 Sioux City...

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 Nelson 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 Legal Department,...

Judge Noll was appointed to as District Associate Judge in 2022. She attended the University of South Dakota, earning her undergraduate degree in 2003 and her law degree in 2006. She served as a Woodbury County Magistrate from 2018 until her appointment. Prior to her appointment, she was in private...

Judge Forker Parry was appointed as District Associate Judge 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 appointment....

Judge Phillips was appointed to the bench in October 2021. 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 Dakota Law School in 1999 before returning back...

Judge Daniel Vakulskas 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. Cooley Law...

Judge Wicks was appointed as District Associate Judge in 2024. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska, Omaha, majoring in criminal justice and a minor in political science and speech communications. She received her law degree from Washburn University, School of Law in 2011. She served as...

Judge Hensley 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 the Iowa...

Judge Hoffmeyer 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 private practice...

Judge Jarman became a Senior Judge 2018.

Judge Larson 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 in...

Judge Whittenburg 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 practice...

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...

Magistrate Cody Farrens, of Sioux City, was appointed in October of 2024. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and his law degree from the University of Iowa. He is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association, the Woodbury County Bar Association, and is licensed to...

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....

Angela Kayl was appointed to serve as the Monona County Magistrate in 2024. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Bellevue University in 2001 and her law degree from Thomas Cooley Law School in 2006. She has been in private practice since 2006. She is a member of the...

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 Justin Reininger was appointed to serve Ida County in 2025. He earned his undergraduate degree from Midland University in 2016 and his law degree from The University of South Dakota School of Law in 2019. Magistrate Reininger is an attorney with Boerner & Goldsmith Law Firm, P.C. in Ida...

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...