EXHIBIT 23

                       CONSENT OF MCGLADREY & PULLEN, LLP

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
-------------------------------
To the Board of Directors
First Midwest Financial, Inc.
Storm Lake, Iowa




We consent to the incorporation by reference in the First Midwest Financial,
Inc. Registration Statement on Form S-8 of First Midwest Financial, Inc.,
pertaining to the First Midwest Financial, Inc. 1995 Stock Option and Incentive
Plan, of our report dated October 24, 2002, which appears in the annual report
on Form 10-K of First Midwest Financial, Inc. and subsidiaries for the year
ended September 30, 2002.


                                                   /s/ McGladrey & Pullen, LLP
                                                   -----------------------------
                                                       McGladrey & Pullen, LLP




Des Moines, Iowa
December 27, 2002