Howard County Prosecuting Attorney Deborah Riekhof is ramping up her campaign for re-election. Currently nearing the end of her second-consecutive term, she has served 10 years in the position—two four-year terms and a two-year term after having been appointed by the Missouri Governor following the resignation of then prosecutor Stephen Murrell. In addition, Mrs. Riekhof has served as the Fayette Municipal Prosecutor for 12 years and recently assumed the role of New Franklin Municipal Prosecutor.

During the current term, Mrs. Riekhof’s office has collected and returned to victims more than $120,000 in restitution and received more than 2,400 case referrals from law enforcement. The prosecutor’s office has two assistants that facilitate processing cases, collecting restitution, and advocating on behalf of victims. 

During Mrs. Riekhof’s tenure, the 14th Judicial Circuit Court has continued to receive the Daniel O’Toole award for excellence in service and in the delivery of timely justice to the public, an award granted by the Missouri Supreme Court that acknowledges the efficiency of the combined efforts of Howard County’s judges, clerks, and attorneys.

Mrs. Riekhof has served for 16 years on the Board of Directors of Mid-Missouri Legal Services, a non-profit corporation that provides free civil legal services to low-income people in Central Missouri. She also served on the Board of Hometown Homecare, formerly known as Howard County Home Health & Hospice, from 2010-2021.

Mrs. Riekhof attended college at Central Methodist University and the University of Missouri – Columbia School of Law. She began the practice of law in 2005, initially at Daily Law Office in Glasgow until 2010, when she opened Riekhof Law Office, LLC in Fayette. She and her husband have two children and two grandchildren. They live on a small acreage in the New Franklin School District.

Mrs. Riekhof, a Republican, will face challenger Frank R. Flaspohler, a local attorney who filed as an independent, in the November 8 general election.