Governor Tim Walz last week announced the appointment of Allison Whalen as District Court Judge in Minnesota’s Eighth Judicial District. Whalen will replace the Honorable David L. Mennis and will be chambered in Benson in Swift County.  

The Eighth Judicial District includes Pope County.  

 “Allison Whalen will be an excellent addition to the Eighth Judicial District bench,” said Walz. “Her diverse practice background and measured approach to the law will help her tackle the challenges she will face in this important position.”

  Minnesota’s Eighth Judicial District encompasses Pope, Big Stone, Chippewa, Grant Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Renville, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Wilkin, and Yellow Medicine Counties.

  Allison Whalen is an assistant county attorney in the Stevens County Attorney’s Office, where she handles a caseload of criminal prosecution, juvenile delinquency, child protection, civil commitment, guardianship and conservatorship, child support, and appellate matters. She was previously an assistant county attorney in the Swift County Attorney’s Office and a law clerk to the Honorable Matthew E. Johnson on the Minnesota Court of Appeals and the Honorable Michael R. Savre in Minnesota’s First Judicial District. Whalen’s community involvement includes serving on the board of the 16th District Bar Association and as a member of the Stevens County Children’s Justice Initiative and the Stevens County Violence Prevention Task Force. She received her B.A. from the University of Minnesota and her J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law.