DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds has appointed a northwest Iowa state district court judge to the Iowa Court of Appeals.

Reynolds announced the appointment of Julie Schumacher, of Schleswig, on Aug. 29 to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Chief Judge Gayle Nelson Vogel.

Schumacher is a district court judge in a six-county northwest Iowa judicial district. She has previously served as an associate judge, an assistant county attorney for Crawford County, and an assistant city attorney for Denison. She also was a lawyer in private practice in Denison for nearly 20 years.

The State Judicial Nominating Commission, which is responsible for selecting nominees for appointment to the Iowa Court of Appeals, is accepting applications for a new vacancy that will occur when Judge Amanda Potterfield retires Dec. 25.