The Commission on Judicial Selection has forwarded additional candidates to Governor Walz for consideration to fill two vacancies in Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District. The new recommendations, Luke Godzala and Laura Welle, join Marc Hedman-Dennis, Timothy Hochsprung, and Victoria Willis-Gutnik on the full list of candidates for the judicial seats. These positions will be chambered in St. Cloud, Stearns County, and Milaca, Mille Lacs County.
Luke Godzala is a senior attorney in the Civil Division of the Stearns County Attorney’s Office, with prior experience as an assistant city attorney in St. Cloud and a law clerk. His community involvement includes serving on the boards of Magnifi Financial and Oasis Central Minnesota. Laura Welle, an assistant county attorney in the Morrison County Attorney’s Office, focuses on felony and child protection matters, having previously worked in Crow Wing and Becker Counties. She is involved with the BIO Girls Program and the Little Falls Dandee Lions Club.
Other candidates include Marc Hedman-Dennis, an assistant general counsel for Sourcewell, and Timothy Hochsprung, an assistant county attorney in the Douglas County Attorney's Office. Victoria Willis-Gutnik, an assistant county attorney in the Stearns County Attorney’s Office, specializes in intimate partner violence and human trafficking cases. Governor Walz will now review these candidates to make the final appointments.