Saint Paul, MN - The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today it is recommending three candidates to Governor Mark Dayton for consideration to fill the current vacancy occurring in Minnesota's Fifth Judicial District. This vacancy was created upon the retirement of the Honorable Bruce F. Gross. The district court judgeship will be co-chambered in Cottonwood and Murray Counties in the Fifth Judicial District.

Nicholas Anderson - Mr. Anderson serves as the Cottonwood County Attorney where he is responsible for the prosecution of all civil and criminal cases brought by the County. He also maintains a solo general practice where he prosecutes conflict cases for local city and county attorneys. Mr. Anderson previously served as Assistant Cottonwood County Attorney and was a judicial law clerk in Thief River Falls. He frequently judges local mock trial competitions and has volunteered with Windom's National Night Out Program.

Patrick Rohland - Mr. Rohland serves as the Redwood Falls City Attorney where he handles all aspects of criminal prosecutions as well as civil matters for the city. Prior to this, he served in the Redwood County Attorneys' Office and practiced in real estate law at the firm of Fabyanske, Westra, Hart and Thomson, P.A. Mr. Rohland serves as a Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 97 and is a youth group leader with Cornerstone Christian Church. He is also actively involved with Venturing Crew 97 and is a volunteer with Relay for Life.

Christina Wietzema - Ms. Wietzema currently works as an Assistant Public Defender for the Fifth Judicial District where she represents indigent clients in all areas of public defense. Prior to this, she represented clients in family law, real property and criminal law as an associate attorney with Bernardy and Scholl, P.A. Ms. Wietzema is a member of the Rock Nobles Community Corrections Advisory Board and is a volunteer mock trial judge. She is also an active volunteer with St. Mary's Catholic Church.

Minnesota's Fifth Judicial District consists of Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock and Watonwan counties.

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