Dwayne N. Knutsen ’85 Appointed Chief Judge in Minnesota’s 8th District

Dwayne N. Knutsen ’85 has been elected chief judge of Minnesota’s 8th Judicial District by his fellow district court judges. Knutsen’s term of service will begin July 1, 2018.

After graduating from the Law School, Knutsen joined the Montevideo, Minnesota law firm of Prindle, Maland, Sellner, Stennes, Knutsen and Stermer. Alongside he served as the Chippewa County attorney from 1999 to 2010, and was a part-time assistant Eighth Judicial District public defender from 1995 to 1998. He was appointed to the bench July 30, 2010, by Governor Tim Pawlenty. Knutsen is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Minnesota County Attorneys Association, and the Western Minnesota Legal Services Board of Directors. He is also a member and past president of the Montevideo Kiwanis Club, is active with the First Congregational Church in Montevideo—where he served four terms as a trustee and two terms as a moderator—and is a former member of the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association.

The 8th Judicial District consists of the counties of Big Stone, Chippewa, Grant, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Pope, Renville, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Wilkin, and Yellow Medicine. Despite covering thirteen counties, by population, the district is the smallest in Minnesota. Eleven judges serve the district. In 2017, more than 24,000 cases were filed in Eighth Judicial District courts.