BEMIDJI-Judge Tamara Yon recently was elected to serve as chief judge of Minnesota's Ninth Judicial District by her fellow judges in the district. She is currently serving her second, consecutive term as assistant chief judge for the district. Her first term as chief judge will begin July 1 when current Ninth Judicial District Chief Judge Paul Benshoof completes his second term.
"I am grateful for the support from my fellow judges. The judges and staff in the Ninth Judicial District provide exemplary services, and I look forward to supporting their work in this new role," Yon said in a release. "Chief Judge Benshoof has given us diligent and measured leadership in the Ninth Judicial District over the last four years and we thank him for his service."
Minnesota's Ninth Judicial District serves the counties of Beltrami, Aitkin, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake and Roseau. Twenty-four judges serve the district.
Yon was appointed to the bench in April 2006. She earned her law degree from the University of North Dakota Law School and her bachelor's degree from Concordia College.
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Before joining the bench, she worked in private practice for 12 years. During that time, she served as a Chapter 7 trustee for the U.S. Department of Justice. Yon also has been an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota-Crookston since 1999 and is involved in many community organizations. Her chambers are located in the Polk County Justice Center in Crookston. Benshoof's chambers are located in Bemidji.
Judge Jana Austad was elected to serve as the assistant chief judge in the Ninth District. She earned her law degree from William Mitchell College of Law and her bachelor's degree from Augsburg College.
