Larson goes full-time as county attorney

Melissa Larson classified it as a bittersweet feeling last week as she took a portion of the lettering off of the front window of her office on the southwest side of the Greenfield square.

Larson went full-time Tuesday, July 1, as Adair County’s attorney. By law, that prohibits her from having a private practice.

While this is the first time since 2011 that she hasn’t been in a private practice and the first time since 2016 that her name isn’t on the practice, Larson was approved by the board of supervisors last winter to go full-time as county attorney. It is a move that she believes will be a benefit to the county’s residents.

According to the Iowa County Attorney’s Association, there are now 68 full-time county attorneys in Iowa.

“We obviously have a pretty robust criminal docket. We have everything from traffic to another first degree murder,” Larson said. “So, we have a little bit of everything.”

Beside prosecution, Larson is the top legal advisor for all county departments. When a county official has a question, she’s the one they go to, day or night. That takes a detailed, timely and unwavering investment to keeping the county safe.

The are other projects Larson also looks forward to seeing toward the finish line. The first is to improve the quality of victim and witness coordination services. This focuses on ensuring victims of criminal activity know what their rights are when cases are going on, notifying them that they can be involved in the case if they would like to be.

“We’re working on revamping forms and better notification systems,” Larson said.

Larson went on to say the county is looking into possibly becoming a part of the county attorney’s collection program, which would allow the county to collect court debt from those who have a suspended or revoked driver’s license by way of a payment plan. That could lead some to get their license reinstated sooner.

At the state level, Larson serves on the prosecutor recruitment and retention committee through the Iowa County Attorney’s Association.

“In rural Iowa, lawyers are scarce, but so are prosecutors. In the last few years, we’ve had a lot of turnover — not in this county thankfully, but a lot in surrounding counties. It has been a challenge to find qualified prosecutors to come in,” Larson said. “Prosecutor recruitment and retention is very important. I also serve as the chair for the juvenile justice committee. I’ve been doing that role for about a year and a half now.”

Going full-time with the county will allow Larson more time for various training opportunities. In September, she’s attending a federally-funded digital evidence training in Alabama.

Larson, who has been county attorney since 2019, expressed gratitude to the board of supervisors — especially retired Supervisor John Twombly — who saw a need for a full-time county attorney.

Increasing her pay, along with the increase in hours, also boosts the pay her staff receives. Having two 35-hour part-time staff members helps her office keep the pace they need to maintain, she said.

Larson’s primary “why” for becoming a lawyer was to help children. While she’ll miss aspects of her private practice like mediation and step parent adoptions, she knows her increased attention to her county attorney role will also have a direct result in the lives of families and children.

“We’re dealing a lot with families. If we can help a parent get sober or help families get mental health therapy, that means those kids are going to grow up in a better environment,” Larson said. “I think that leads to safer futures for everybody.”