City Attorney Gary Colwill - gcolwill@siouxfalls.org
Gary is a native of Sioux Falls, graduating from Washington High School in 1965. He received a BA degree from the University of South Dakota in 1969 and a Juris Doctorate in 1972. He was in private practice in Pierre, South Dakota, for 25 years. In 1998 he became Chief Civil Deputy State’s Attorney for Minnehaha County. He became City Attorney for Sioux Falls in June of 2003. Gary is the chief legal advisor to the Mayor, City Council, and all appointed officials of the City.

Chief Assistant City Attorney Gail Eiesland - geiesland@siouxfalls.org
Gail is a South Dakota native, and attended school in Canton. She graduated summa cum laude from Augustana College in Sioux Falls in 1981 with a major in English literature and composition. She later received a master of arts degree in political science from the University of South Dakota. After living and working in Las Vegas and Washington, DC, she returned to USD and earned her law degree in 1994. She worked as a deputy state's attorney for the Minnehaha County State's Attorney's Office from 1994 to December 2003, where she first served as the county's Civil Attorney, and then moved to prosecutorial duties. She concentrated on prosecuting felony drug offenses during the last four years of her employment as a Deputy State's Attorney. She joined the City Attorney's Office in January 2004.

Assistant City Attorney R. Shawn Tornow - rstornow@siouxfalls.org
Shawn is a Minnesota native. He attended Sioux Falls College and received his undergraduate degree in business from the University of SD in 1984. After receiving his law degree from USD, he served with the South Dakota Attorney General's Office as Director and Lead Prosecutor for the state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. He later was a Hughes County, South Dakota Deputy States Attorney. He joined the Sioux Falls staff in 1995.

Assistant City Attorney Karen Leonard - kleonard@siouxfalls.org
Karen is a native of Sioux Falls, graduating from Lincoln High School in 1984. She received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of South Dakota in 1988 and a Juris Doctorate in 1993. After receiving her law degree from USD, she clerked for the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court from 1993 to 1994. From there, she worked as a Deputy State’s Attorney from 1994 to 1998 handling misdemeanor and felony prosecutions. She ended her tenure there as a robbery/burglary and serious assault prosecutor. In 1998, she joined Cadwell, Sanford, Deibert & Garry, LLP and became partner in 2001. Her practice areas included insurance defense, general civil litigation, plaintiff personal injury, domestic relations, and criminal defense. She joined the City Attorney’s Office in March 2005.

Assistant City Attorney Keith Allenstein - kallenstein@siouxfalls.org
Police and Fire Legal Advisor
Keith is a native of Iowa. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of South Dakota in 1992 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska School of Law in 1998. After graduating from law school, he was a Deputy County Attorney in (Lincoln) Lancaster County, Nebraska from 1998 to 2004 working a variety of misdemeanor and felony cases. In 2005, he joined the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office and was there until joining the City Attorney’s Office in May of 2007.

Paralegal Cari Hanzel - chanzel@siouxfalls.org
Cari is a northern Minnesota native. She attended Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minnesota, where she earned her bachelor of science degree in paralegal studies. She worked for the Moorhead City Attorney and the Clay County, MN, Court Administrator before moving to Sioux Falls in 1993. From 1993 to 2003, she was employed as a Paralegal for the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office. Cari joined the City Attorney’s staff in October 2003.

Legal Assistant Kathy Rockwell - krockwell@siouxfalls.org
Kathy is an Iowa native. She received her associate degree from Killian Community College in 1987 and has been employed by the City since that time.

Administrative Assistant Luann Foster - lfoster@siouxfalls.org
Luann is a Sioux Falls native. She graduated with a private secretarial degree from Nettleton Business College in 1977. After working for a private law firm, she joined the City in 1988 in the Police Department Records Division. She has been employed in the City Attorney's Office since 1991.

Human Relations Assistant Carol Garry - cgarry@siouxfalls.org
Carol is a native of Wisconsin. She grew up in Sioux Falls. She began her employment with the City in the Human Relations Commission office as an Outreach Worker in 1993.