By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

BLOOMFIELD - Andy Rehmer is a young man from rural Missouri, who has settled in farm country to pursue his professional dream.

The native of Smithton in Pettis County is the new assistant prosecuting attorney in Stoddard County. He began his duties with Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver earlier this summer.

“In law school, I worked for the Audrain County Prosecuting Attorney and then (after law school) I ran for Pettis County prosecutor in 2010,” he said. Audrain County is north of I-70 in Central Missouri and is home to Mexico, Mo. Pettis County is a little further west, is the home of Sedalia and the Missouri State Fair.

After losing that first campaign in 2010, Rehmer went to work for a private law firm in Jefferson City before joining the Stoddard County prosecutor’s office.

“I do a little bit of everything,” he said of his duties in the Stoddard County office. He’s working on a trial brief and he files cases, and argues cases – especially ones that Oliver has “conflicted out” of due to a previous connect with defendant when he was in private practice.

“I have no conflicts down here,” Rehmer said. “I do whatever Russ tells me to do!”

Smithton is a rural community – population in the 2000 census was just 510. But its school district pulls in students from the surrounding rural area – with more than 600 students district wide; 283 in the high school.

So Rehmer feels right at home in Stoddard County. He said when he was looking for a home he settled in Advance a community twice the size of the Pettis County home.

“It actually works out well,” he said “One of my good law school buddies lives in Cape Girardeau, and Advance is halfway between Bloomfield and Cape. So it’s worked out well. I like Advance,” he said.

A basketball fan, Rehmer is looking forward to the season this school year.

“I’ve been told you have some good basketball down here,” he said. Yess, Stoddard County has good high school basketball!

When the young Rehmer started his studies at law school, he had plans to go into plaintiff’s work. But his internship with the Audrain County prosecutor changed his outlook and career path.

“At that point, prosecutor work really became my passion,” he explained. He said in prosecutor work “you have to figure out how everything happened.

The other part of the job that excites Rehmer is the fact that he is helping provide an important service to the community.

“It’s a thankless job, but it’s important,” he said. He recalls his former boss in Audrain County saying how he recalled a handful of times when he had been actually thanked by someone for the job he performed. “But you know you are doing something good for society. That’s reward enough.”

Andrew (Andy) Rehmer

Profession:Stoddard County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
Hometown: Smithton in Pettis County
High School: Smithton High School (class valedictorian)
Bachelor’s Degree: Westminster College
Law School: University of Missouri – Columbia

Photo Above: Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver (left) has welcomed Andrew Rehmer to his office in Bloomfield.