Wiegand seeks return as District Court Clerk 

SIDNEY – Mindy Wiegand is eyeing a second term as Cheyenne County District Court Clerk. 

She is nearing the end of her first term. 

“It’s been fantastic. We’ve accomplished a lot in what feels like a long timer but also a short time. We’ve accomplished quite a little in a short amount of time. It’s been really, really, awesome,” Wiegand said. 

The District Court Clerk is the administrator of the Court, she said. 

“We are the administrative backbone of District Court. So, that involves ... we are the ... we maintain the records of the Court; anything with a case file, receiving and processing paperwork. We report judgements of the Court. We receive the monies of the court. I am the jury commissioner as well, so with that, I am responsible for building and maintaining the jury pool every year; sending out qualification forms, sending out summons, getting together a qualified jury pool for County Court and District Court jury trials,” she said. 

She said they are also Passport Acceptance Agents. 

“There’s quite a few services that my office offers,” she said. 

Wiegand said leadership is an essential part of the District Court Clerk’s duties. 

“The leadership piece of it; we have an excellent team, and they truly share the same goals and values that I do that it truly is public service, and I’m so grateful for that,” she said. 

Her focus is increasing efficiency, including the office’s digital presence. 

“Our focus has been ... we came into it and we didn’t want to eradicate systems just for the sake of change. We wanted to make sure we were very purposeful, and intentional with changes that we made. So, shortly after taking office in 2023, we went to move our case files from the year prior into the vaults, and we filled up our last drawer. We didn’t have any more space downstairs, upstairs. Every inch was capitalized. So, we had to do something different. We had to find a new process. And fortunately, there were already statutes, Supreme Court rules, retention allowances that we could become digital, for retention. So we really dove headfirst into that figuring out how to fall within those guidelines. If it was something we could do,” she said. 

The goal was to do it in-house without spending a significant amount of money. It happened with the skills of office staff. The conversion process started in February 2023 and by July the Cheyenne County District Court was paperless. 

The move to digital resulted in other improvements, she said. 

She has worked in the District Court Clerk's office since 2018. 

She said if elected she wants to continue the process made in her first term. 

The work of the courts intersects with people at some of the most important and difficult days of their lives. She wants to provide clarity and stability in those situations is rewarding, she said.