Star Tribune
Minnesota’s governor, other top state officers could see two pay raises
Minnesota’s top government executives could see pay hikes under bills moving at the State Capitol.
A bipartisan Compensation Council recently recommended that the state’s constitutional officers — the governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state and lieutenant governor — should all receive a 9% increase this year and a 7.5% hike in 2024.
It would be the first time the leaders have received raises since 2016. Minnesota’s salaries for all of those positions currently lag behind the national average, with the governor’s pay ranking 37th in the nation, according to data from the Council of State Governments.
However, DFL Gov. Tim Walz has said he does not plan to accept the higher sum, which would apply to future governors. The council suggested boosting the governor’s salary, currently around $127,600, to nearly $150,00 by July 1, 2024.
“The Governor values public service and believes state officials should be paid fairly. Because the Governor appoints members of the council and would sign the bill, he would not take this salary increase,” spokeswoman Claire Lancaster said in a statement.
The House and Senate have signed off on sweeping state government budget bills that contain different approaches to the potential pay boosts. The two chambers must align those bills in a conference committee and send the final measure to the governor’s desk for his signature.
The five state leaders would see their salaries increased by the recommended amounts under the Senate version of the bill.
The House measure leaves the pay decision up to each of the constitutional officers, said bill sponsor Rep. Ginny Klevorn, DFL-Plymouth. The legislation devotes millions of dollars to the offices of the governor, state auditor, attorney general and secretary of state. Klevorn said officials would be able to determine whether to use a portion of those dollars to accept a raise.
But the bill would change that process in the future. Klevorn wants to alter the role of the Compensation Council so that it would not just recommend salaries, it would “prescribe” them.
“It takes [the decision] away from the electeds and puts it more in the hands of the compensation commission,” Klevorn said, adding that the goal of the pay increases is “to make sure we can recruit and retain high-quality talent and have the type of government the people of Minnesota deserve.”
The Minnesota Supreme Court chief justice and the governor appoint the 16-person Compensation Council, which offers salary recommendations in odd-numbered years. The group also recommends pay for Supreme Court justices, other judges, state agency leaders and the heads of some metropolitan agencies.
Last month they recommended raising the attorney general’s pay from slightly more than $121,000 currently to $142,000 in July 2024. The auditor and secretary of state would both receive about $127,000 by next year, while the lieutenant governor would get roughly $97,000.
A 65-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by a pickup truck near Christmas Lake Friday afternoon as she was walking through a crosswalk, the Minnesota State Patrol said.
The woman was crossing Highway 7 around 1 p.m. when she was hit by a 2019 Ford F-150 turning left from Christmas Lake Road onto the highway headed east, the State Patrol said in its report. The intersection is just east of Excelsior, between Saint Albans Bay and Christmas Lake west of Minneapolis.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnetonka police, and other agencies responded to the fatal collision. The State Patrol has not released the identity of the pedestrian.
The driver has not been arrested. Agencies are still investigating the collision, State Patrol Lt. Michael Lee said. Alcohol was not involved in the crash, the State Patrol said.
Former trooper Shane Roper, 32, had his last day Tuesday, State Patrol Lt. Michael Lee said. Roper’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment Friday evening.
In July, Roper was charged with criminal vehicular homicide and manslaughter. He was also charged with criminal vehicle operation related to five other people who were seriously injured in the incident.
The criminal complaint states that Roper had been pursuing someone “suspected of committing a petty traffic offense” as he exited Hwy. 52 onto 12th Street SW. As he neared the intersection with Apache Drive, he reportedly turned his lights off and continued to accelerate with a fully engaged throttle.
Roper was traveling at 83 mph with his lights and siren off as he approached the intersection, a Rochester police investigation found. The trooper’s squad car slammed into the passenger side of a car occupied by Olivia Flores, which was heading west and turning into the mall.
Flores died from the blunt force injuries. She was an Owatonna High School cheerleader and set to graduate June 7. There were two other people in the car with Flores.
Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said in a statement following the charges that Roper violated his duty in “a gross fashion.”
Roper told investigators he was not paying attention to his speed at the time of the crash, and that he believed his lights were still activated when he exited the highway.
Steven Frane Bailey, 56, of St. Louis Park was arrested in connection with the incident and charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and nine counts of criminal vehicular operation. His blood alcohol content measured at 0.325% after officers administered a preliminary breath test at HCMC, according to charges filed in Hennepin County District Court.
In his first court appearance Wednesday, Bailey told a judge his use of alcohol is not a problem. He has an extensive history of drunken driving convictions, starting in 1985 in Wisconsin. Additional convictions followed in Wabasha County in 1993 and Hennepin County in 1998, according to court records. Two more convictions followed in 2014 and 2015.
A Hennepin County judge set his bail at $500,000 with several conditions, including that Bailey take a substance use disorder assessment, that he abstain from drinking alcohol, avoid Park Tavern and stay away from the victims and his family.
His next court appearance is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1.
Staff writers Paul Walsh and Jeff Day contributed to this report.
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