Before Kim Wanker took the bench in Pahrump, she knew the community through visits to the racetrack. Racing cars brought her to the area, but its small-town atmosphere helped persuade her to purchase a home in Mountain Falls in 2006. She still owns that home and said she is the only original homeowner remaining in her section of the Bella Sera neighborhood.
Having grown up in western Nebraska, Wanker appreciated the connection people had to one another. That connection became a larger part of her life after her appointment to the district court in 2011, as her responsibilities took her into courtrooms and communities throughout the district.
Now seeking reelection to Department 1 of Nevada’s Fifth Judicial District Court, Wanker said she wants to continue her work with drug court, help complete improvements to court technology and contribute a rural perspective to discussions about Nevada’s judicial system.
Her interest in another term comes after a career that began far from the Nevada desert.
Born in Kansas, Wanker moved with her family to western Nebraska when she was five. She grew up in Scottsbluff and remained in Nebraska through law school, earning degrees from Nebraska Western College, the University of Nebraska and the University of Nebraska College of Law.
Education was a familiar part of family life. Her mother taught for 40 years, and her grandparents were teachers as well. Wanker said that background continues to shape her interest in schools and in helping young people prepare for their futures.
During college, she worked as a legislative page and legislative research intern for the Nebraska Legislature. She graduated from college with a 4.0 grade point average and later completed law school with distinction.
Her legal career began in Colorado, but a call from a former law school moot court partner opened the possibility of moving west. Her friend was practicing in Nevada and encouraged her to consider opportunities in a growing Las Vegas.
With help from an aunt who lived in the area and mailed her pages from the telephone directory, Wanker began sending résumés to law firms. When she visited, she found that the desert suited her. After years of Nebraska winters, the warm weather was an attraction, too.
Wanker joined Gordon and Silver in Las Vegas before eventually establishing her own practice. Her work focused largely on business and employment law and litigation, including representing employers in workers’ compensation matters. She also served as in-house counsel for a construction company, helping manage its self-insured workers’ compensation program while maintaining a private practice.
As that practice grew, she moved into it full time, handling cases in state and federal courts. After more than two decades as an attorney, she began considering how she might use that experience in a different role.
The opportunity came following the death of District Judge John P. Davis. Wanker applied through the Commission on Judicial Selection and was among three finalists whose names were submitted to then-Gov. Brian Sandoval. He appointed her in 2011.
The move to the bench brought a broad range of responsibilities. Wanker described rural district court service as work that requires judges to move among criminal proceedings, civil disputes, family matters, juvenile cases, probate and guardianships.
That variety has made preparation a central part of her approach. She said she reads her case files and conducts her own electronic legal research, believing the judge should be the most prepared person in the courtroom.
While the legal questions change from case to case, Wanker said one part of the job has been especially meaningful: working with drug court participants as they address addiction and rebuild their lives.
“That is the most rewarding part for me, is helping people get back on their feet and turn their lives around,” she said.
Continuing that work is one reason she is seeking another term. She also wants to help carry forward changes intended to make the court easier to use and better equipped to manage its workload.
Among those changes is a transition to a new case management system through Tyler Technologies. Wanker said implementation is expected to take approximately a year, including the work of integrating existing case records into the new system.
For attorneys and other court users, she said, the anticipated benefits include electronic filing and improved access to publicly available documents. Those tools would provide more flexibility to submit filings and review information remotely.
Having used electronic filing during her years in private practice, Wanker said she has long wanted to see those capabilities available locally.
Technology is one part of the court’s needs. Staffing is another. Wanker estimated that each of the district’s two judges carries approximately 2,000 active cases. While she believes a third judge is needed, she identified a hearing master who could handle assigned matters as a more immediate step toward managing those demands.
She also hopes to continue participating in statewide discussions affecting rural courts. Wanker previously served on a committee that revised the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure and said she would like to contribute to anticipated discussions about judicial district changes in 2027.
Those professional goals have remained on her mind during a year in which breast cancer treatment has required her to step back from some of her responsibilities.
Wanker said a reaction to an earlier chemotherapy regimen resulted in two intensive care stays before she transferred her care to Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Arizona. The new treatments have gone very well and she only has one chemotherapy treatment remaining, scheduled for the end of October.
She had already begun returning to work part time and resumed the drug court calendar, with plans to take back her criminal and civil calendars in stages. Senior judges have covered proceedings during her absence.
Beyond the courtroom, treatment has meant missing community gatherings while taking precautions to protect her health. Wanker described that absence as one of the hardest adjustments.
She said she tries to attend events throughout the communities she serves and support local causes with both her time and donations. Being unable to participate has reinforced how much she values that part of her life.
For Wanker, life in the community has also provided room for interests that predate her judicial career. She enjoys the outdoors, and although she no longer races, cars remain a connection to both her earlier visits to Pahrump and her family.
Among her classic cars is a 1965 Mustang convertible her parents purchased new—the same car in which she learned to drive. It spent years stored in her grandparents’ barn before her father called shortly after she became a judge with a straightforward message: If she wanted it, she needed to meet him in Kansas. Otherwise, he planned to sell it.
She quickly booked a flight, and the Mustang remains with her today.
Asked what she hopes residents understand about her beyond her public role, Wanker said she wants them to see a person who values the communities she serves and understands the responsibility of working for them.
“I work for the people,” she said. “The people don’t work for me.”
In the courtroom and in her office, she said, that responsibility includes being willing to listen when something needs attention. She encourages staff members to ask questions, point out problems and work with her to correct mistakes—even when the mistake is hers.
“Nobody’s perfect,” she said. “Tell me what it is, and we’ll figure out a solution to fix it.”
Wanker’s bid for another term gives voters an opportunity to consider her years on the bench and her priorities for the court’s future, including continued work with drug court, technology improvements and additional court support. Early voting is underway ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3. In Pahrump, voters can cast their ballots at the Bob Ruud Community Center, 150 N. Highway 160, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 19–23 and Oct. 26–30, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24. The location is closed Sundays. Early voting is also available at the Pahrump Senior Center, 1370 W. Basin Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 21 and Oct. 28.
