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 a sole practitioner in Algona, Iowa. Judge Gales received her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and her law degree from Duke University School of Law. She is a member of the Iowa State and Kossuth County Bar Associations. She is married with three children.