Photo by Deb Gau Judge Michelle Dietrich, at left, presented Lyon County District Court Administrator Karen Bierman with a certificate recognizing her years of service with the court during a reception Friday. Bierman is retiring after a 31-year career working in the district court.

MARSHALL — It takes a lot of people to keep the Lyon County District Court running from day to day. But Karen Bierman said that teamwork was something she’s loved about working there.

“Since day one, I’ve really felt part of something larger here,” she said.

Bierman, the Lyon County Court Administrator, is retiring after a 31-year career with the Lyon County District Court. A reception was held for her on Friday afternoon, where she was presented with a certificate honoring her years of service.

When she started working at the courthouse, Bierman said she didn’t know it would eventually lead to her becoming court administrator. Karen and her husband Gaylen Bierman moved to Marshall in 1987.

At the time, she said, “I applied for an ad in the paper for a part-time court deputy.”

Over the years, Bierman would go on to become a court operations supervisor. In 2004, she became the court administrator for the Lyon County District Court.

“It’s just evolved over time,” Bierman said. But it’s been a career path she’s enjoyed a lot, she said.

The job of court administrator might not be one many people are familiar with when they think of the judicial system. But there’s a lot that court administrators do that makes it possible for the system to operate. For example, as court administrator Bierman was responsible for summoning potential jurors for the Lyon County District Court. Each county has its own pool of jurors, she said.

The responsibility was something she took seriously.

“I think it’s such an important part of our free society, that we have the ability to have juries of our peers,” Bierman said.

In different side to her job, Bierman has also officiated at many weddings.

“They’re fun,” she said. She didn’t have an exact count of the ceremonies she’s performed over the years, but she’s married couples at venues ranging from the courthouse to parks, barns and even boats.

“I had one couple who were married on Halloween, and they came back and wanted to renew their vows on Halloween,” Bierman said.

“There’s something different every day,” she said of her work. “That’s probably what’s interesting about this job.”

There have been challenging situations Bierman has worked in over the years. One example was the court case and trial of Olga Franco del Cid, who was charged and later convicted in connection with the deadly 2008 Lakeview school bus crash. The trial was held in Kandiyohi County instead of Lyon County, and Bierman said she traveled to Willmar to work through the jury selection process.

Bierman has also seen a lot of changes at the Lyon County courthouse in the past three decades. She’s worked with five different judges who have been chambered in Marshall over the course of her career. Part of the changes has also been the evolution of technology for court record keeping and documents.

“I did not start when we were still doing things by hand, but it wasn’t very far in the past,” she said. Computers have become more and more important for the courts, with Minnesota switching to an electronic filing system in 2015.

“I think we’ve become better at serving the public,” she said. The electronic system has made it faster and more accessible to get public court documents.

The Lyon County District Court has also gone through three building renovations since Bierman started working there. The most recent — and most extensive — construction was completed in 2016.

“I can’t say enough about how well the county did in the renovation,” Bierman said. The project added on to the Lyon County Government center to create larger courtrooms, but it also made room for a new court administration office and improved security. It’s been a positive thing for all the court staff, she said.

Bierman said working as part of a team has been one of the rewarding things about her career.

“That’s what I’m going to miss,” she said. As court administrator, she’s not only worked with the Lyon County District Court office and judges, but area attorneys and county and local law enforcement.

“We have a terrific team in Lyon County,” she said.

Lyon County’s district court also works together with the larger Minnesota judicial system. Lyon and other area counties not only have their own court locations, but they’re part of a 15-county judicial district. Bierman said she also felt like part of a larger team because she worked with the Minnesota state court administrator’s office.

After Friday — her last day at work — Bierman said she and Gaylen will be moving to Pierre, S.D., to be closer to family.

There are a lot of key figures in Lyon County’s law courts and law enforcement who are retiring around the same time, Bierman said. She’s retiring in the same year that Judge Leland Bush, Lyon County Sheriff Mark Mather, and Marshall Public Safety Director Rob Yant all said they would be stepping down.

It’s an interesting circumstance, she said. But at the same time, there are still good people who will be taking on those roles as part of the Lyon County team.

“I know the people starting into those positions will carry on,” she said.