ST. PAUL, MN - The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today it is recommending four candidates to Governor Mark Dayton for consideration to fill two current vacancies in Minnesota's Ninth Judicial District. These vacancies were created upon the retirements of The Honorable Michael J. Kraker and The Honorable John R. Hawkinson. Judge Kraker's seat will be chambered at Mahnomen in Mahnomen County and Judge Hawkinson's seat will be chambered at Grand Rapids in Itasca County. Both seats will be chambered within the Ninth Judicial District.

Heidi Chandler: Ms. Chandler is currently the Assistant Itasca County Attorney, where she prosecutes adult criminal cases and assists in child support, civil commitment, and juvenile delinquency cases. Previously, she was an associate attorney at the Undem Law Office, practicing in civil litigation and as a private criminal and public defender. Ms. Chandler is a school board member at St. Joseph's School, the former President of the Itasca County Bar Association, and a former board member of the Minnesota Family Support and Recovery Council.

Anne Rasmusson: Ms. Rasmusson currently is a partner at Rust, Stock, Rasmusson, and Knutson, P.A., where she practices primarily in family law and litigation matters. She previously served as the chair of the 14th District Bar Association and the Polk County Developmental Achievement Center. Ms. Rasmusson currently serves as chair of the RiverView Healthcare Association.

Eric Schieferdecker: Mr. Schieferdecker is an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota, and primarily prosecutes murder, drug, sexual predator civil commitment, and implied consent cases in the Ninth and Seventh Judicial Districts. Previously, he was the Chief Assistant County Attorney in Beltrami County. Mr. Schieferdecker is a Students First Mentor at Bemidji Middle School and a board member and vice chair of the Sexual Assault Program of Beltrami, Cass, and Hubbard Counties.

Judge Korey Wahwassuck: Judge Wahwassuck is an Associate Judge of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Court, where she hears cases and drafts opinions. Previously, she was a tribal attorney for the Leech Lake Band and a solo practitioner in Missouri and Kansas. Additionally, Judge Wahwassuck served as an adjunct instructor at the Leech Lake Tribal College and helped found and presides over the Leech Lake-Cass County-Itasca County Welness Courts, the first joint tribal-state jurisdiction courts in the nation.

Minnesota's Ninth Judicial District consists of Aitkin, Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau Counties.

An announcement of the appointment will be made following an interview process over the next few weeks.