Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Michael J. Thompson to an Eighth Judicial District trial court bench vacancy in the city of Willmar in Kandiyohi County.  The vacancy occurred with the retirement of the Honorable John C. Lindstrom on August 5, 2005.  Fourteen people applied for this position.

Thompson is the Meeker County attorney, a position he has held since 1990.  He was an assistant Meeker County attorney from 1986 to 1990, a solo practitioner in Litchfield from 1983 to 1986, an attorney with White and Thompson in Litchfield in 1982 and an attorney with the White Law Office in Cosmos in 1981.  Thompson earned his juris doctorate cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1980 and his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Montana, at Missoula, in 1976.

"As a long-time county attorney in a smaller county, Mike has a tremendous background personally trying the types of cases that the Kandiyohi County court handles," Governor Pawlenty said.  "He will be an immediate asset to the bench in the handling of its sizeable caseload."

Thompson is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, and a member and past president of the Twelfth District Bar Association.  He is also a member of the Minnesota County Attorney's Association Board of Directors, serving on its Criminal Law Committee, and a former member of its Long-Range Planning Committee.  Thompson is a member of the Meeker County Law Library Board of Directors; Litchfield Rescue Squad, currently as its chief; Litchfield Baseball Association Board of Directors; and is a Litchfield Babe Ruth youth baseball coach.

Thompson, 52, was born in Amery, Wisconsin, and resides in Litchfield with his wife, Tamra, and their two children, Alyssa, 17, and Chris, 15.