Tammy Merkins (’99) Named Becker County Attorney

Tammy Merkins (’99) has been appointed county attorney of Becker County, Minn., effective July 8. She will fill the remaining two and a half years in the term of Gretchen Thilmony, who has been named a judge in the state’s 7th Judicial District. Becker County is located in northwestern Minnesota; its county seat is Detroit Lakes.

Merkins joined the Becker County Attorney’s Office in 2006. As she told the Detroit Lakes Tribune, “I’ve probably covered every area of law we do here—criminal cases from misdemeanors to felonies, civil commitments, guardianship, child support, paternity, family court. Our office has always had a good reputation, fair and responsible, and I plan to continue that. Serving the residents of Becker County really means something, and I take it to heart.”

Merkins grew up on a farm near Ada, Minn. After graduating from high school, she attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., earning her bachelor’s degree in political science. While attending the Law School, she clerked at the St. Paul firm of Westrick & McDowall-Nix, and then worked as an attorney there for three years. She moved to Detroit Lakes with her family in 2003 and spent three years with the firm of Thorwaldsen & Malmstrom before joining the Becker County Attorney’s Office.