County
Kimberly Graham head shot

Kimberly Graham

County Attorney

Term expires: 2027

As Polk County Attorney, I work for you. I’m working to create a healthy, safer, thriving Polk County where all victims of crime are heard and supported and everyone is treated equitably in the criminal legal system, regardless of race, income, gender or sexual orientation.

I’m the daughter of working-class parents and was a first-generation college student. I earned my undergraduate degree from the University of California-Irvine in 1991 and my law degree from Drake University Law School in 1999.

I’ve been working since I was 14 years old and held multiple jobs before becoming an attorney. I was a food server, housecleaner, teaching assistant, and then a union flight attendant with the APFA for 12 years, working my way through college and law school.

After graduating from law school with honors, I worked for 23 years in private practice as a court-appointed defense attorney for low-income people, as an attorney for parents or children in Child in Need of Assistance cases, and as a mediator.  From 2018 to 2022 I also served as the attorney and guardian ad litem for children of the participants in the Polk County Recovery Court program.

I assumed the responsibilities of the Polk County Attorney on January 3, 2023, and am the first woman elected to the role.

I’m also a mom to one smart, kind adult son and I live in Des Moines.

Violent crime, and especially gun violence, is shredding the fabric of our communities across the nation. I will work hard every day to hold people accountable for harming others in our community and to create programs and policies that prevent crime, like effective diversion and restorative justice programs.  Please reach out to the Polk County Attorney’s office if we can be of help in any way.  We are here to serve you!