[ST. PAUL, MN] – The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today that it is recommending three candidates for consideration to fill the vacancy in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District. The vacancy will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable Donna K. Dixon. This seat will be chambered in Roseau in Roseau County. 

Michael Grover: Michael Grover is an assistant county attorney in the Roseau County Attorney’s Office, where he works primarily in adult criminal prosecution and with the Roseau County treatment courts and domestic violence court. He was previously an associate attorney at Anderson Law Offices, P.A., where he practiced in the areas of municipal law, family law, criminal defense, estate planning, and civil litigation. Grover’s community involvement includes serving on Roseau County’s Community Justice Coordinating Committee, Team EPIC (Encouraging Positive Impact for Change), and the Warroad Port Authority. 

Katie Nolting: Katie Nolting is the Bemidji city attorney, handling both criminal and civil matters on behalf of the city. She previously served as an assistant city attorney for the Bemidji City Attorney's Office and an assistant county attorney for the Beltrami County Attorney’s Office. Nolting is the president of the Beltrami County Bar Association, a member of the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Information and BCA Advisory Group, and a team member of both the Beltrami County’s Domestic Violence and DWI courts. Her community involvement includes serving as an attorney coach for the Bemidji High School mock trial team, a merit badge counselor for Scouting America, and a volunteer for Beltrami County’s Heroes and Helpers program.

Max Schafer-LaCoursiere: Max Schafer-LaCoursiere is an assistant public defender in the Ninth District Public Defender’s Office in Thief River Falls, where he represents clients throughout Northwestern Minnesota. He previously served as an assistant county attorney in the Pennington County Attorney’s Office and as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Tamara L. Yon in the Ninth Judicial District. Schafer-LaCoursiere is president of the Oxbow Foundation, a non-profit organization that manages 70-acres of donated forest and wetland and a community garden in Huot. He is also a volunteer for the Association of the French of the North and serves on the University of Minnesota Extension Committee in Red Lake County. 

For more information about the judicial selection process, please visit the Governor’s Judicial Appointments webpage.