New prosecutor hopes to make county safer

With a keen interest in law enforcement, Laura Isenor had a strong desire to become an FBI agent. In fact, she recently had the opportunity to join the FBI’s hiring process, but something more important got in the way.
She and her husband, Jonathan Isenor, had a baby nearly a year ago. And, after starting a family, she decided to give up on her plans to join the FBI. Isenor now plans to continue doing what she feels is the next best thing — criminal prosecution work. 
Isenor joined the Steele County Attorney’s Office as an assistant prosecutor Jan. 5. She will be one of six attorneys handling most of the criminal matters in the county.  Isenor’s workload will include misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors and all juvenile delinquency cases from misdemeanors to felonies. 
She comes to Steele County after serving as an assistant county attorney in International Falls, in the extreme northern part of the state. Coming to Steele County is a homecoming, of sorts, at least for her husband, who grew up in Blooming Prairie. She is originally from the Twin Cities. 
After graduating from Roseville High School and St. Catherine’s College in St. Paul with a psychology degree, Isenor spent three years in the Washington, D.C., area. 
There she worked for the National District Attorney’s Association and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 
She came back to Minnesota and graduated from Hamline Law School in St. Paul. Her law classes focused on criminal prosecution work. 
Once she finished law school, she got her first attorney job in a two-person attorney office in Koochiching County where she was responsible for child protection, child support, juvenile delinquencies and misdemeanor cases.
Isenor says she initially decided to do criminal prosecution work only because she thought it would give her the edge to get into the FBI. It turns out she now loves what she does as a prosecutor.
One of the common misconceptions many people have of prosecutors is that they are only after punitive consequences for those accused of breaking the law. And Isenor hopes to dispel that myth through her work as a prosecutor.
 “It’s not all about punishment,” Isenor says. “You need to work with them (law breakers) to find out what is causing their behaviors. If we just did punishment, there would be no rehabilitation for that person.”
The county’s newest prosecutor hopes to use a blend of consequences and working with individuals to change their behaviors. “We need to work with them to allow them to become more productive in the community,” Isenor said.
She is excited about Steele County’s recent addition of drug court. Her boss, county attorney Dan McIntosh, was instrumental in getting the drug court up and running last summer. Drug court is aimed at working with non-violent offenders to find restoration in recovery and become productive citizens.
“I will really enjoy working for this office because Dan has insight to make their lives better and take the burden off the courts,” Isenor said, adding the goal of drug courts is to reduce recidivism. 
Through her work as a prosecutor, Isenor hopes to “make Steele County safer and a better place to live and to help victims.”  
And as for the FBI, Isenor is content with her decision to leave those plans behind.  “It made sense because I can enforce the law as an FBI agent or prosecutor,” she said. 
Her husband is also an attorney in private practice. They are making their home in Faribault.