Judge Kale Burdick was the first of this year’s judges to host a senator through the Judicial-Legislative Visit Program inviting Senator-elect Tim Gragert to attend court in O’Neill in mid-December. 

Judge Burdick had not met the future senator other than when Gragert was campaigning. 

After a busy morning in county court with Burdick, the senator-elect had lunch with staff of district court, county court, and probation.  He spent the afternoon with Chief Probation Officer Tara Sprigler-Price, probation staff, and Problem-Solving Court staff. As a result, Burdic was able to give Senator-elect Gragert contact information for all judges within the legislative district, inviting Gragert to contact anyone in the district with questions or concerns.

Burdick remarked that the visit went very well but thought they might have overwhelmed the new senator with the volume of information.  All in all, the court’s view is that the Judicial-Legislative Visit Program is valuable on many levels, particularly for senators who do not have a background in the court system.