Iowa
Iowa Supreme Court justice asked to recuse himself from divorce appeal over alleged affair
A Des Moines man appealing the outcome of his contested divorce has asked one of the state’s Supreme Court justices to take no part in the case because he says the justice had an affair with his wife.
John Len Mordini filed an appeal Tuesday challenging the final disposition of his divorce from Nichole Miras Mordini. Alongside his appeal, he filed a motion asking Supreme Court Justice Christopher McDonald to recuse himself because, he alleges, “the extramarital affair conducted by Justice McDonald and (Nichole Mordini) had a significant negative impact on the marriage and ultimately contributed to the breakdown in the bonds of matrimony.”
More: Attorney whose clients included Steve McFadden suspended over ‘pattern of deceit’
McDonald, who according to his judicial biography is also married, has granted John Mordini’s request. In an amended order filed Thursday, he wrote that there was “a personal relationship” between himself and Nichole Mordini “more than a decade ago.”
The recusal motion does not specify when the alleged affair occurred, but John Mordini said in an email the couple have been married more than 20 years.
John Mordini, who is representing himself, otherwise declined to comment to avoid jeopardizing his appeal. An attorney for Nichole Mordini also declined to comment.
An Iowa Judicial Branch spokesperson said McDonald declined to comment beyond the court filings, pointing to judicial ethics rules against judges or their staff commenting on pending cases.
From 2021: ‘I am truly sorry’: U.S. District judge apologizes for ‘partisan’ comments on Trump pardons
Jeremy Fogel, a retired judge and legal ethics expert with the University of California, Berkeley Law School, reviewed the filings at the Register’s request and said that Iowa, like other states, requires judges to disqualify themselves “in any proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
“Justice McDonald evidently determined that based on his prior relationship with Ms. Mordini and the nature of the appeal, Iowa’s version of that provision applies here. His decision to recuse isn’t an admission that he couldn’t be impartial; rather, it’s a conclusion that a reasonable person might question whether he could,” Fogel told the Register, adding that McDonald’s decision “isn’t surprising and appears to be an appropriate application of the provision.”
The pending appeal will not necessarily be decided by the Supreme Court, which refers a large share of cases to the intermediate Iowa Court of Appeals. McDonald’s recusal means he also will not be involved in deciding whether the Supreme Court should retain the appeal.
McDonald was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 2019 by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Before that, he served on the Iowa Court of Appeals and as a district judge.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Andrew McKeever is hard to miss at an Iowa practice. The St. Mary’s transfer and center stands 7 feet, 3 inches tall and averaged 8.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last season.
‘Nothing like I’ve seen in practice’
Teammates have taken notice of McKeever’s size. Forward Trey Thompson said the center’s hands alone drew a reaction.
“Yeah, he’s big. That’s for sure. I saw him looking at his phone and it looked like a tiny, little iPod in his hand. I was like, ‘Geez, man,’” Thompson said.
Forward Joey Matteoni said McKeever’s presence in the paint stands apart from what he has seen in recent seasons.
“He controls the paint for sure and nothing like I’ve seen in practice the last couple of years. No offense to Cam (Manyawu), but I mean 7′3” is just different,” Matteoni said.
McKeever on why Iowa made sense
McKeever said the decision to transfer to Iowa was straightforward.
“It was a pretty obvious choice for me,” McKeever said. “Their team was so good last year, making an Elite 8 run. I was maybe a key piece that they needed with a little bit more size, even though their bigs were good, but they just didn’t have the height as some of the other teams did in the Big Ten. So I figured I could help in that way.”
From baseball to basketball
McKeever was not always a basketball player. He stood around 6 feet, 2 inches early in high school before a significant growth spurt changed his trajectory.
“I was like 6′2” during COVID and then I grew to 6′10″ when I was out of COVID. I was playing baseball at the time, and I was like, yeah, I got to go to basketball. I locked in during my sophomore season,” McKeever said.
His high school coach pushed him to make the switch permanent.
“My high school coach who I had been with growing up said, ‘You need to stop playing baseball and just focus on basketball.’ That’s kind of when it flipped the switch for me,” McKeever said.
Adjusting to his own size
Even after committing to basketball, McKeever said adapting to his own frame took time.
“Maybe a little uncoordinated and slow for my size. But I kind of worked on it a lot when I was at St. Mary’s and I got better at it,” McKeever said.
McKeever now joins Iowa’s program under head coach Ben McCollum.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – World War II veteran Laverne Severson turns 100 years old on July 14. On Thursday, family, friends and fellow veterans gathered at the Freedom Foundation in Cedar Rapids to honor and celebrate the milestone birthday.
The National World War II Museum says fewer than 1% of World War II veterans remain alive.
Laverne served as a line medic during the war and was stationed in the Philippines.
“As soon as I turned 18, it didn’t take me about a month until I was going overseas,” Laverne said.
His son, Boyd Severson, recalled stories his father shared about life at his base.
“His base over there, he told me they would get air raids every morning. The Japanese would do an air raid and they’d have to run and jump into their foxholes. And this is stuff you see in movies, and he actually lived through this,” Boyd said.
Eric Parker, assistant director of the Freedom Foundation, said veterans like Laverne deserve recognition.
“As long as we are allowed to still be graced with their presence, then we need to just soak that up and just be really thankful,” Parker said. “There needs to be a remembrance and there needs to be a legacy there that we can honor.”
Boyd said the number of surviving World War II veterans in Iowa underscores the importance of events like Thursday’s celebration.
“Slowly but surely we’re losing this generation that, from what I’ve seen, there’s 250 to 275 surviving World War II veterans remaining in Iowa, and my father’s one of them and they all should be recognized. It all should be honored,” Boyd said.
And we had to ask…what’s the secret to a century of life?
“Crackers and peanut butter in the morning for breakfast!” Laverne said.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
-
Nevada5 minutes agoNevada climber dies after fall while climbing in Oregon
-
New Hampshire8 minutes agoMan From Northwood Arrested On Driving Under The Influence Charge: Concord Police Log
-
New Jersey9 minutes agoNJ firefighter dies after crash responding to fire call
-
New Mexico20 minutes agoIsolated storm chances continue for parts of New Mexico this weekend
-
North Carolina23 minutes agoA 4-year-old boy’s simple habit of waving to his neighbors transformed his North Carolina community
-
North Dakota28 minutes agoWest Fargo attorney named to North Dakota Ethics Commission
-
Ohio35 minutes agoStruggling Ohio county seeks funds to care for 16 kids rescued from squalor and prosecute their family
-
Oklahoma38 minutes agoMartha Lillard, last US polio patient using iron lung, dies at 78 in Oklahoma
