Mower County District Court Judge Kevin Siefken is ready to get into the swing of things.

Siefken was sworn in as Mower County’s newest judge Friday inside the Mower County Jail and Justice Center. He will start overseeing cases toward the end of the month.

“I’m not sure it will quite set in for a while,” Siefken said after the ceremony. “I feel a lot of responsibility.”

Siefken gave thanks to the legal mentors who helped him in his career as an attorney in Freeborn and Mower counties. He especially noted Senior Judge Donald Rysavy, who Siefken said taught him “to be a great judge” before he learned to be a good lawyer.” Mower County’s Rysavy and Senior Judge Fred Wellmann retired earlier this year.

Siefken was president and shareholder with Albert Lea’s Christian and Peterson, where his caseload included family law, criminal, civil litigation, child protection and civil commitments.

He also served as special assistant Albert Lea attorney and previously was an assistant public defender for the Third Judicial District. He worked as a public defender in Austin in the mid- to late 1990s.

Siefken is an advisory board member of the Albert Lea Salvation Army, the president of Habitat for Humanity Freeborn/Mower, an agency representative to the United Way of Freeborn County and a volunteer attorney with the Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services.

Several colleagues, family members, local leaders from Austin and Albert Lea, and many judges packed the court room Friday to see Sieken take the bench.

He appeared to take the new position in stride, as he joked how seeing so many judges in robes reminded him of the fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the “Harry Potter” book series. Siefken used the comparison to show how he’ll need the judges’ help and guidance to be successful.

He also credited his family with supporting him through many long work days and thanked his high school principal, who pushed Siefken to run for student council president and get involved rather than get in trouble.

“I figured he was just rounding up the usual suspects,” he joked.

Siefken thanked his parents as well, for sticking with him through his childhood, even when he got into trouble more than a few times.

“Through it all, you knew, in your hearts that somewhere there would be a courtroom involved,” he joked.

Mower County’s other newest judge, Jeffrey Kritzer, will be sworn in later this month.