Judge Dean G. Dankelson

Judge Dean G. Dankelson received his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Missouri- Columbia in 1986 and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina in 1989. He began his legal career working in personal injury and workers’ compensation law. In 1993 he was hired as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Jasper County. He was elected as Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney in 1998 and was re-elected in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014.

While the prosecuting attorney he was elected to the board of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, serving as president in 2010 and 2011. He was the first person to serve two terms as president. He was selected as the Prosecutor of the Year in 2011. In addition, he was named an Influential Lawyer by the Missouri Lawyers Weekly and a Friend of Education by the Missouri State Teachers Association. He served on many other boards and commissions in Jasper County, including the Children’s Center of Southwest Missouri, the Joplin Sports Authority and the Carl Junction Education Foundation. He was also an adjunct professor at Missouri Southern State University from 1999-2015.

Judge Dankelson was elected in 2016 as Circuit Judge of Division 2. He is currently the Presiding Judge of the 29th Judicial Circuit. He hears civil, criminal, juvenile cases, and treatment court. His wife, Debbie, and he live in Carl Junction and they have 3 children.