New County Treasurer, Recorder Take Office

Mills County’s new county treasurer - Melissa Loghry - and new county recorder -Lori Murphy - are officially on the job

Both Loghry and Murphy were administered their oaths of office last Tuesday after being appointed to their respective posts by the Mills County Board Of Supervisors. Loghry assumed her duties immediately Tuesday morning, replacing Jill Ford who retired in December. Murphy took the reins at the recorder’s office Monday, replacing LuAnne Christiansen, who also retired.

Loghry, a 2001 Glenwood Community High School graduate (Melissa Crouch), has been employed in the treasurer’s office for more than six years. She had previously worked in the Pottawattamie County Clerk Of Courts Office.
“June of 2018 is when I started in the motor vehicle department, as an auto clerk,” she said. “Our oldest son was going into kindergarten and at the time my husband and I both commuted to Council Bluffs for work. With him starting kindergarten, I wanted to be a little bit closer, which I think most parents do.

“There was a position open and I applied for it,” Loghry said.

Loghry and her husband, a Sidney native, have lived in Glenwood since relocating from Council Bluffs in 2015.

“We did kind of want to have a smaller community for our children,” she said.

As county treasurer, Loghry will oversee a staff of six employees, including herself – two in motor vehicles, two in driver’s licenses and two for property taxes.

Loghry said working with the public is the aspect of the job she enjoys the most.

“The personal interaction with people, being able to talk to somebody and help them through the process,” she said. “They come in, motor vehicle wise, you’re able to help them. There’s certain terminologies that we know in the office. We know what you’re coming in to do but you don’t know that or know the process.”

Loghry said she’s appreciative of the guidance she received over the years from Ford.

“Jill was the treasurer when I started,” she said. When I moved to property tax, roughly 2022-23, she trained me with all that – taking in property tax payments and some of the daily processes, balancing and everything like that.

“She was a very good mentor. She was very good, very thorough at her job and I think if you were to speak to the board of supervisors, they would agree on that.

She did a very good job in the time that she was treasurer.”

Murphy has worked in the recorder’s office for 10 years and like Loghry, enjoys the personal interaction with the publc.

“Most of the time, people in the public are nice and when people appreciate what you do, it’s rewarding,” Murphy said.

Recording official documents is the primary service provided at the office.

“We record all the real estate transactions, like the deeds, contracts, and all other kinds of documents, like affidavits, powers of attorney, mortgages, mortgage release, military discharge.

“We also do vitals - we issue vital records like birth, death, marriage. We also take marriage applications. We don’t marry them, but they apply here. Then, they can go upstairs to get married.”

Additionally, the recorder’s office handles hunting and fishing licenses and registration and renewals for off-road vehicles and boats.

While many documents, including those dating back to the 1800s, are recorded in bound books, all pubic records in the recorder’s office have been scanned and available for viewing online.

“The older stuff is on our website,” Murphy said. “From 1995 to present day, it’s at Iowa Land Records.”

Murphy said working under Christiansen has been a valuable learning experience that has made the transition go smoothly. Christiansen’s last day on the job was Friday. Christiansen worked in the recorder’s office for more than 26 years, serving the last five years as recorder.

Murphy has been a Mills County resident for more than 20 years. She and her husband have two daughters.