Two candidates for DC district attorney: DA and assistant DA

By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE —  The Dunn County district attorney’s office will be well-represented on the November 8 ballot for the office of district attorney.

Andrea Nodolf, the current Dunn County district attorney, is running as a Republican.

Holly Wood-Webster, an assistant district attorney in Dunn County, is running on the Democratic ticket.

Nodolf, who previously served as the Rusk County district attorney, was appointed by Governor Scott Walker to the Dunn County district attorney’s position in the fall of 2014.

Nodolf replaced former Dunn County District Attorney James Peterson, who was elected as circuit court judge in Dunn County in April of 2014.

Nodolf served as a prosecutor in Rusk County for almost four years before moving to Dunn County.

Prior to becoming the Rusk County district attorney, Nodolf, who has experience in municipal and employment law, worked in a private practice for about five years representing school districts and municipalities in state and federal court.

Nodolf attended law school at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul and earned her bachelor’s degree at Luther College in Iowa.

Nodolf is married and has three children.

While speaking at the Dunn County Town’s Association annual meeting earlier in October, Nodolf said she had increased the conviction rate in Dunn County.

Wood-Webster 

Wood-Webster has served as an assistant district attorney in Dunn County since April of 2011.

In 2010, Wood-Webster served as a special prosecutor in the Dunn County district attorney’s office.

She became a licensed attorney in 2003 and opened a private practice office in Eau Claire in 2007.

Wood-Webster said she became interested in the district attorney’s position when Dunn County District Attorney James Peterson was elected as circuit court judge in April of 2014.

Governor Scott Walker appointed Andrea Nodolf as district attorney in Dunn County in October of 2014. In the time after Peterson was elected as judge until Nodolf was appointed, Wood-Webster unofficially served as the district attorney in Dunn County.

Wood-Webster is a deacon and has served as a youth leader at Peace Lutheran Church in Eau Claire.

She and her husband, Ben, live in Eau Claire and have two children.

Wood-Webster grew up on a small dairy farm west of the Twin Cities, completed her undergraduate work at the University of Minnesota and attended law school at Hamline University in St. Paul.

While speaking to the Colfax Village Board and to the Dunn County Board, Wood-Webster said it is a mistake to focus solely on conviction rates and that each case must be considered on an individual basis to figure out what best serves victims, defendants and society at large.