S P E C I A L
F E A T U R E :
M E E T
T H E
J U D G E S
Author: Lyndsey E. Siara – Thirteenth Judicial Circuit
Judge Isom was featured in her local newspaper
for her work as a legislative secretary for an Iowa
state representative in her high school senior year.
Continued from page 14
Take the “Rickert” in her name. After talking with
Judge Isom, I have no doubt the prominent use of her
maiden name stems from the deep pride she has for her
father and the fondness she feels for her childhood. Judge
Isom is a Midwesterner — born in Iowa. After her father
joined the Air Force ROTC when Judge Isom was a
young girl, Judge Isom and her family spent some time in
Denver, Colorado. Judge Isom jokingly confessed that it
was there that she discovered she was, in fact, a girl. It
took her kindergarten teacher telling her that she needed
to put down the blocks and go to the “girl section,” filled
with dolls and cookware, that this realization dawned on
her. She laughs, “I was such a rebel — at four years old.”
I learned that this rebel spirit would serve her well later
in life.
Her affinity for bears, which was also nurtured in
Colorado, is the reason why you will find bear figurines
and a painting of dancing bears adorning her office. At
that same Air Force school where girls were instructed to
play in the “girl section,” Judge Isom recalled a teacher
suggesting, after what must have been a lesson on forest
animals, that the children “walk home like a bear.”
So Judge Isom took it literally, greeting her mother on all
fours, in the snow no less. Captain Kangaroo, a chi ldren’s
television show featuring a dancing bear, contributed
to her love of bears too. In addition to inspiring her
love of bears, Judge Isom’s childhood years in Denver also
inspired her love for the mountains.
The remainder of Judge Isom’s formative years were
spent in Iowa on her family’s farm. Her father was the
farmer; her mother the school librarian. Her mother’s
easy access to Judge Isom’s teachers and report cards
ensured that academic success was a priority. In her teen
years, Judge Isom found clarity about her career
aspirations. When Judge Isom was thirteen, her father ran
for state legislator. She went door-to-door campaigning
for him. In the end, he lost the race — to a lawyer. After
that experience, Judge Isom’s perception, perhaps colored
by some teen naivety, was that lawyers were more
empowered and in control of their destiny. She wanted
Continued on page 16
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