Mills County Attorney Submits Resignation

Mills County is in the market for a new county attorney following the surprise resignation of Tricia McSorely.

Less than half way through the four-year term she was elected to serve in November 2014, McSorley has tendered her resignation to take a position with an insurance firm in Omaha. Her last day on the job will be April 22.

“It’s a good move for my family,” McSorley said. “It’s a job opportunity that came up that I really couldn’t pass up.”

McSorley has worked in the county attorney’s office since 2010. She was appointed to replace former county attorney Eric Hansen, who left the job in October 2014, two months before his term was set to expire. A month later, in November 2014, she was unopposed in the general election after defeating Ashley Kissel in the Republican primary five months earlier.

During her 18 months as county attorney and the four years she spent as assistant county attorney, McSorley said she’s help shepherd positive changes and improvements within the office.

“I feel like we’ve changed the office and really brought it up to date,” McSorley said. “I started the County Attorney Collection Program, which is something I ran on. It allows us to collect delinquent court debt - fines, court costs and  restitution. It brings revenue back into the county and also allows people to get back on their feet – maybe driving or getting their license back.

“We’ve also implemented a paperless filing system and case management system.”

McSorley said she’s a strong believer in having an open door policy and it’s something she’s stressed during her time in office.

“We’ve always had an open door policy for the community,” she said.

“That’s been very enjoyable to develop those relationships with some of the citizens here in the county. That’s not something you see in the larger communities.”

Working with students at the alternative high school in Glenwood has been an aspect of the job McSorley has found to be particularly rewarding.

“I do a lot of work with the alternative high school. That’s one of the things I’m most proud of and enjoy the most as far as community involvement goes,” McSorley said. “We do a mock trial once a year and we work with the kids in classroom.”

As for her work in the courtroom, McSorley said she’s had a good conviction rate as the county attorney and as an assistant. 

“We’ve resolved some big criminal cases and  more people have gone to prison than what we had seen around here in years,” she said.

McSorley’s resignation was formally approved Tuesday morning by the Mills County Board of Supervisors. The supervisors will be responsible for appointing McSorley’s replacement and finding a new assistant county attorney to replace James Burger who is likely leaving the office in late May after accepting a position with the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office.