Saint Paul -- Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Barbara R. Hanson to a Seventh Judicial District trial court bench in Otter Tail County. Hanson will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Kathleen A. Weir on January 4, 2005. The Supreme Court certified the chambers of this judgeship for the city of Fergus Falls in Otter Tail County.

Hanson is an assistant Otter Tail County attorney, a position she has held since 1984. Hanson earned her juris doctorate degree with distinction from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks in 1984, her bachelor of science degree cum laude from Bemidji State University in 1977, and her associate of arts degree from Fergus Falls Community College in 1975.

"Residents of the Fergus Falls area have told me how important they feel it is for them to have a judge who is fair, treats people with respect, and is invested in the community," Governor Pawlenty said. "Barb Hanson has demonstrated that she has these qualities. Her conduct professionally as well as personally has prepared her for this judgeship."

Hanson is a member of the Otter Tail County Juvenile Advisory Council, the Fergus Falls High School Choral and Band Boosters, the Lake Region Halfway House Board of Directors, and is active in her church. She has also trained child protection social workers and law enforcement officers on a variety of legal topics and served on the Process Parenting Advisory Council and the CARE (Children are the Responsibility of Everyone) Council.

Hanson, 49, was born in Perham and lives in Fergus Falls with her husband, Charles, and their two children Amanda, 18, and Matthew, 14.