Brookings – The Honorable Gregory J. Stoltenburg, Presiding Judge for the Third Judicial Circuit, announced that the South Dakota Supreme Court has approved the nomination of Abigail A. Howard as the new full-time magistrate judge for the Third Judicial Circuit. The Third Judicial Circuit includes the counties of Beadle, Brookings, Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin, Hand, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Miner, Moody and Sanborn.

Abigail A. Howard began her legal career as an Associate Attorney at Fite, Pierce & Ronning Law Office in Brookings in 2011. In 2013, she joined the Brookings County States Attorney’s Office as a Deputy States Attorney and was then elected as State’s Attorney in 2016. She will begin her duties as Magistrate Judge on Jan. 29.

Howard, a Volga native, is a 2008 graduate of South Dakota State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Spanish. In 2011, she graduated from the University of South Dakota School of Law. She has been active in various community and professional organizations, serving as a board member on the Boys & Girls Club of Brookings, the Eastern Plains Sexual Assault Response Team, and is currently serving as the President of the Young Lawyers Section of the State Bar Association.

She and her husband, Lance, live in Brookings with their son, Truman.