On Thursday,Governor Mark Dayton announced the appointment of Carol M. Hanks as a district court judge in Minnesota's Third Judicial District. The Third District includes the counties of Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca and Winona.

The vacancy occurred due to the retirement of the honorable Larry M. Collins. The judgeship will be chambered in Waseca.

Hanks is a member of the Fifth District Bar Association and member and past president of the Steele County Bar Associaition. She is a shareholder in Patton, Hoverstern and Berg, P.A. where she handles cases in family and criminal law, estate planning and probate and trust administration. Hanks is a graduate of Minnesota State University and Mitchell Hamline College of Law.

The others recommended as candidates for the judgeship included Steele County Attorney Daniel McIntosh and Third Judicial District Chief Public Defender Jeffrey Johnson.

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