Vanessa Strazdas – Newly appointed Cass County Attorney.

(Updated 9:50-a.m.) The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Friday), announced the appointment of Vanessa Strazdas, an attorney with the Strazdas Law Firm in Omaha, to fill a vacancy position for the Cass County Attorney’s Office. Strazdas has accepted the job to succeed Michael Hooper, who was appointed Jan. 11th as 4th District Judge, by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.

Board Chair Steve Baier thanked Mr. Hooper for his work in seeking applicants for the position and for his service to the County.

Supervisor John Hartkopf said of Strazdas, she wasn’t only the unanimous choice of the board

(He said she was highly recommended by law enforcement and judges.)

He said also, the County is spending a lot of money on law enforcement, and it’s not because they’re out there issuing tickets.

(He said it is because of the “Underground war on methamphetamine,” and the Board feels they are supporting law enforcement in making their decision to hire Strazdas.)

Strazdas brought her family with her to the appointment hearing and swearing-in, and promised to uphold the law and serve the citizens of Cass County.

Strazdas grew up in Omaha, NE, where she attended Central High School.  She is a National Merit Scholar and has a degree in Computer Science from the University of NE at Omaha.  She graduated with honors from Creighton Law School, where she concentrated her studies in Litigation and Criminal Law.  Strazdas is a member of the Iowa Bar. Iowa Code says a special election may be requested within 14 days of official notice from the time an appointment is made. The petition must have no less than 582 signatures. In addition to Strazdas, three candidates were interviewed for the County’s top position. They included Robert Engler (With the Cambridge Law Firm, in Atlantic); Anne Rohling, a lawyer from Council Bluffs who owns her own law firm and Marti Sleister, an experienced trial attorney in criminal and juvenile law, with the Sleister Law firm in Fremont, NE.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors also approved the appointment of Administrative Assistants to the Cass County Attorney. Bev Groves and Eva Jensen will continue with the roles they served as Hooper’s Assistants under the new County Attorney.  The Board tabled a decision to fill a vacancy term of a Cass Township Trustee (an appointed position), because they are no current applicants for the job.