Meriel Lester named judge in Minnesota’s 7th District

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Gov. Tim Walz has appointed Meriel Lester to be a district court judge in Minnesota’s 7th Judicial District. Lester will be replacing Judge Leonard A. Weiler and will be chambered in Little Falls in Morrison County.

“It is my honor to appoint Meriel Lester,” said Walz in a news release. “Her ability to see the complexity of the human experience makes me confident that she will use her role to provide fair and impartial justice to the people of Morrison County.”

Minnesota’s 7th Judicial District encompasses Becker County, Benton County, Clay County, Douglas County, Mille Lacs County, Morrison County, Otter Tail County, Stearns County, Todd County, and Wadena County.

Lester is an assistant chief in the Criminal Division of the Stearns County Attorney’s Office, where she has worked extensively in criminal prosecution with a focus on intimate partner violence and other personal crimes.

She was previously an assistant county attorney in Stearns County. Lester assisted in the development of the Stearns County Domestic Violence Court and currently serves as the designated prosecutor for the Central Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force.

Her community involvement includes serving as a youth hockey team manager and as vice president of both the Sartell Sauk Rapids Lacrosse Association and Sartell Sapphire Gymnastics.

She received her B.A. from St. Cloud State University and her J.D. from the University of St. Thomas School of Law.