Board names Dawn Wilson county attorney effective July 1; extends inter-county contract timeline

The Osceola County Board of Supervisors voted to appoint Dawn Wilson as the county attorney, setting a July 1 start date to allow time for the appointee to relocate and meet residency requirements.

The appointment followed a recommendation from the interview committee, which reported it had conducted final interviews and recommended Wilson. Committee members provided the board with Wilson’s application materials at the meeting and said the candidate is an Iowa native currently residing in northwest Iowa.

Board members discussed the earliest permissible appointment date under county code and noted the code requires residency on the day of appointment. Staff said the earliest date originally noticed was June 1 but that both the candidate and the county had indicated July 1 would be preferable to allow time to secure housing. Supervisors agreed to set the appointment for July 1.

A motion to approve the committee’s recommendation and set the start date as July 1 was made by Supervisor Schulte and supported by Supervisor Loring; the motion was approved by voice vote.

The board also approved a short extension of the county’s contract for county attorney services with Lyon County to cover the interval until the new appointee begins. County staff requested a 15‑day extension from the neighboring county to align the end of the shared-services arrangement with the July 1 start date; the board approved the request.

The board noted it would finalize any additional administrative paperwork related to the appointment in the coming weeks and that the county’s existing sharing agreement would be extended as needed to maintain continuity of legal services until Wilson begins.