Governor Walz fills Judge Tarnowski’s vacant seat

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) - Governor Walz has officially filled the vacant seat of Judge Sally Tarnowski.

Nicole Hopps will take the District Court Judge position for Minnesota’s Sixth Judicial District.

She will be chambered in Duluth.

Hoops will be replacing the late Honorable Sally Tarnowski.

Tarnowski tragically died in March after being struck by a car in Venice, Florida.

“It is my pleasure to appoint Nicole Hopps to the St. Louis County bench to fill the seat left by the late Judge Tarnowski, who served the district with great distinction and who leaves a deep and lasting legacy in the Sixth Judicial District,” said Governor Walz. “With Hopps’s years of experience as a public defender, striving for equitable and just outcomes for her clients, I am confident she will be a remarkable and fair jurist and leader for the Sixth Judicial District.”

Minnesota’s Sixth Judicial District includes Carlton, Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties.

Hopps was the managing attorney for the Sixth Judicial District Public Defender’s Office in Duluth.

There she supervised attorneys and supported staff serving indigent clients, including in the areas of rehabilitative justice, diversion, and welfare programs.

She previously served in the Sixth Judicial District as an assistant public defender.

Hopps’s community involvement includes volunteering with the Carlton County Community Outreach Program, the South St. Louis County Mental and Behavioral Health courts, and the Indian Child Welfare Act Court team.

She also serves on the board of directors of Chum.

Hopps earned her B.A. from the University of Minnesota Duluth and her J.D. from the University of North Dakota School of Law.

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