Johnson County Attorney's Office fills first assistant post

Since Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness was elected to head the office in 2007, her former position of first assistant county attorney has been vacant.

On Monday, Lyness filled the open position with Dana Christiansen, who joined the Johnson County Attorney's Office in January 2011 as an assistant county attorney.

Christiansen originally is from Mount Vernon and graduated from the University of Iowa's College of Law in 1983. He served as Burlington assistant city attorney from 1984 to 1986 and as Burlington city attorney from 1986 to 1990, according to a news release.

In 1990, Christiansen moved to Iowa City and took the job of first assistant Iowa City attorney until moving on in 1992 to become first assistant county attorney in Muscatine County.

He stayed there until returning to the Johnson County Attorney's Office in 2011.

From 1993 to 1998, Christiansen also was an adjunct lecturer for the UI's graduate program in Urban and Regional Planning.

Lyness, in the news release, said Christiansen's experience in the first assistant role in Muscatine County will be a “valuable asset.”

“He brings 20 years of experience to this position,” Lyness said. “Dana's knowledge and background will benefit our office and the county through additional assistance in administering the duties of the county attorney's office.”

In response to the announcement, Christiansen said that he's pleased and looks forward to working with Lyness “to meet the evolving challenges of prosecution and promote the vision of the office.”