A Constitution Day program highlighting how seemingly minor criminal offenses may have significant consequences will be held at Wartburg College on Thursday, Sept. 28.

Karen Thalacker, an attorney and author, will present “No Offense is Minor: Learn About Your Rights Before They’re Read to You,” from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in McCaskey Lyceum. She will focus on the importance of knowing the law and following it. The audience will have a chance to ask questions at the conclusion.

Thalacker is a 1988 Wartburg graduate and 1991 Drake University Law School graduate. She started her legal career as an assistant Black Hawk County attorney and has been in private practice in Waverly for more than 20 years. She is trained in collaborative law and also acts as a parenting coordinator for high-conflict parents.

Since 2009, Thalacker has served as a judicial magistrate for Bremer County. She is also the Title IX coordinator, chief compliance officer and pre-law adviser at Wartburg. She is the author of “The New Lawyer’s Handbook: 101 Things They Don’t Teach You in Law School” and two knitting books for children.

Congressional legislation passed in 2005 requires institutions of higher education receiving support from the federal government to participate in an activity recognizing Constitution Day, Sept. 17, the date the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1787. Wartburg College has developed programs focusing on timely topics of civic interest as an opportunity to serve the Wartburg and Cedar Valley communities.

For more information, contact Thalacker at karen.thalacker@wartburg.edu or Fred Waldstein at fred.waldstein@wartburg.edu.