Judiciary committee recommends 3 Northern MN attorneys for Roseau bench

ROSEAU — The Commission on Judicial Selection put forward three candidates for a Ninth Judicial District vacancy.

Judge Donna K. Dixon is retiring. Her seat is chambered in Roseau.

The first candidate is assistant Roseau County attorney Michael Grover.

He works primarily in adult criminal prosecution and with the county’s treatment and domestic violence courts. Grover also has experience in municipal and family law, criminal defense, estate planning and civil litigation.

He serves on the county’s Community Justice Coordinating Committee and is involved with the youth substance use prevention coalition, Team EPIC, and the Warroad Port Authority.

The commission also recommended Bemidji City Attorney Katie Nolting.

She was previously the assistant city attorney and an assistant Beltrami County attorney. Nolting is president of the Beltrami County Bar Association. She’s also a member of the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Information and BCA Advisory Group and the Beltrami County domestic violence and DWI courts.

Nolting coaches the Bemidji High School mock trial team, is a merit badge counselor for Scouting America and volunteers with the Heroes and Helpers program.

The final candidate is Max Schafer-LaCoursiere, a Ninth District assistant public defender in Thief River Falls. He’s also worked as an assistant Pennington County attorney and a judicial law clerk.

Schafer-Lacoursiere is president of the Oxbow Foundation, a conservation nonprofit. He also volunteers with the Association of the French of the North and serves on the University of Minnesota Extension Committee in Red Lake County.

Gov. Tim Walz selects who will fill the vacancy.

The commission recommends candidates based on their experience and community involvement.