Although details on the activities of the Association in its fledgling days are sketchy, we know that county attorneys first joined in the mid-1920's to form an association, known then as the County Attorneys of Iowa. The group held its first annual fall conference in 1927 and the tradition of holding a spring meeting at Okoboji began in 1962. The name of the organization was changed to the Iowa County Attorneys Association in 1964. The ICAA was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in 1976 and became tax-exempt, under Section 501(c)(3), in 1983.

The primary purposes of the Association have always been to encourage and maintain close coordination among county attorneys and to promote the uniform and efficient administration of the criminal justice system in our state through cooperation with law enforcement agencies, monitoring of legislation and the provision of continuing legal education for prosecutors. In 1975, the Association and its leadership worked hard for passage of the legislation that created the Office of the Prosecuting Attorneys Training Coordinator and the Prosecuting Attorneys Council to assist the Association and the Attorney General in providing enhanced training and other support services for prosecutors.