Shawn Showers of Washington County has been appointed chief judge of the Eighth Judicial District, located in southeast Iowa. Showers, a district court judge, will succeed Chief Judge Myron Gookin, who is retiring on July 7. Showers, who was appointed to the position by Chief Justice Susan Christensen, begins his new role on July 8. Showers was appointed to the Iowa District Court in November 2016. As chief judge, Showers will supervise all judicial officers and court employees in the district, supervise the performance of administrative and judicial business in the district, set the times and places of holding court, designate presiding judges, and serve on the judicial council, which advises the state’s supreme court on administrative matters affecting the trial courts. In addition, he will continue to preside over cases. The district has 11 district court judges, nine district associate court judges, 14 part-time magistrates, seven senior judges, and 120 employees, with an operating budget for the current fiscal year of approximately $16.3 million. More than 60,000 cases were filed in the Eighth Judicial District in 2024.