Hawkeye Reporter

Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed Derek Johnson to the position of district court judge in Judicial Election District 2B, according to a Dec. 29 release from the Office of the Governor of Iowa.

Johnson previously served in the same judicial district as an associate district judge before his appointment.

"Johnson fills the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Gina Badding to the Iowa Court of Appeals," the release states.

Johnson graduated from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake with a bachelor's degree in business in May 1996 before earning his law degree from Drake University's Law School in Des Moines in May 1999, according to the Iowa Judicial Branch's official website.

Upon receiving his law degree, Johnson went on to work as an associate attorney at Blake Parker Law Office from 1999 until 2004.

He then established the Derek Johnson Law Office to begin his private practice before being named a district associate judge in 2020.

Judicial Election District 2B is comprised of the following counties: Boone, Calhoun, Carroll, Greene, Hamilton, Hardin, Humboldt, Marshall, Pocahontas, Sac, Story, Webster and Wright.

Reynolds, Iowa's 43rd and first female governor, has an extensive history of public service, previously serving as Clarke County Treasurer for four years prior to her November 2008 election to the Iowa Senate.