Karen Thalacker is a lifelong Iowan.  She is a graduate of Wartburg College in Waverly, IA, and Drake University Law School in Des Moines, IA. 

Karen began her legal career as an Assistant County Attorney where she prosecuted criminal cases including the first contested stalking case in the State of Iowa.  Karen entered private practice in 1994 and has been an attorney with Gallagher, Langlas and Gallagher since 2006.  She has a general practice with an emphasis on domestic relations, civil litigation, and personal injury.  She is a member of the Bremer County Bar Association and the Iowa State Bar Association and is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Iowa. 

Karen has been a Lecturer in Public Law at Wartburg College since 1997 teaching classes in Business Law and Constitutional Law.  She is active in her community including serving eleven years on the Waverly Health Center Board of Trustees.  Karen has been named a “Friend of Education” by the Waverly-Shell Rock Community School District and she also received a key to the city of Waverly for efforts on behalf of victims of domestic violence.  She has served as President of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Waverly, Iowa, and also chair of the school board at St. Paul’s Lutheran School.

Karen is the author of three books including “Knitting with Gigi” (2007), “Gigi Knits ... and Purls” (2008), and “The New Lawyer’s Handbook: 101 Things They Don’t Teach You in Law School” (2009). 

Karen resides in Waverly with her husband and four children.