(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors today (Tues.) approved a request from John M. Sandy to hold an investiture ceremony in front of the courthouse on June 18th. Sandy was appointed last month by Governor Kim Reynolds to fill a judgeship in Judicial Election District 3A. He told the supervisors it’s a historical milestone for Dickinson county…
“The last attorney who maintained a private practice in Dickinson county and was a Dickinson county resident appointed to the district court bench, was Judge Harry Narey. Judge Narey was born in 1885, which was 20 years after the civil war ended. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1907 and started his practice here in Spirit Lake that year. He was sworn into the bench in 1944 and he ultimately retired in 1959. There hasn’t been a district court judge since Judge Narey from Dickinson county appointed to the bench that was a native of Dickinson county.”
Sandy says it’s important from another standpoint as well…
“It’s not about me, but I think it’s important that the community see it as a public way as possible, this ceremony. Because there’s 10 judicial districts in 3A and to have one of the five judges presiding over all of northwest Iowa come from this county, I think it’s a pretty special deal.”
Sandy made the request for the outdoor event to accommodate social distancing. He says he’s exploring the possibility of having the ceremony at the Nature Center in the event of inclement weather.
