This year brings changes in local government to Musselshell County. Judge Spaulding has decided to retire from our local government, creating an opening for County Attorney Adam Larsen to move into Judge Spaulding’s position upon election, leaving the County Attorney position vacant to be filled through appointment by the Commissioner’s, who have hired Ben Krakowka to fill the position for the next two years, when the four-year term is up for election.
Ben is originally from a rural area of Ohio. He graduated High School in 1996. He went to Wabash College for Men in Crawfordsville Indiana where he graduated in 2000. He then moved to Montana and attended law school at University of Montana, where he graduated in 2003. After graduating he became a law clerk for Judge Barz, and then Judge Gustafson through 2004. Ben became a Public Defender in Anaconda Montana from 2004-2013, after which he won an election to become the County attorney for Deer Lodge County (Anaconda).
Montana State Hospital, (Warm Springs, Psychiatric Hospital), being in Deer Lodge County, kept Ben active in learning many of the legal aspects of mental health and drug related legalities, along with all other kinds of local issues that all counties deal with on a day-to-day basis. His experience is wide ranging. Ben was the prosecutor for one of Montana’s largest drug busts of 100 pounds of marijuana involving the cartel.
As County Attorney, Ben takes an oath to preserve and protect the constitution of the United States, the state of Montana, then further has an ethical obligation, the same as all attorneys, but as a county attorney, he has an extra oath that he takes to “act in the pursuit of justice”.
Ben has a victim witness advocate dog, Charlie, that he has with him in Roundup. While the dog is also his pet, the dog has been trained to comfort and calm victims to help reduce secondary trauma as they have to relive their experiences going through the judicial process. His dog is currently retired, as there is already a service dog in our county.
A huge fan of all things hunting, fishing, and “tinkering”, Ben is excited about the new landscape around him in Musselshell County. Because of his love of ice fishing and his creative skills, he built an incredible ice house, in which he developed an ingenious way to raise and lower it onto the ice. He has joined the local gun range, where he practices with shooting, along with archery. Ben hopes to learn more about the community, and find ways to be a help, and fit in. Hopefully Ben will find our community suited to him for many years.
Reader Comments(0)