Romney and Pawlenty to speak in Bloomington

Two Republican presidential hopefuls — former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and current Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty — will speak April 9 at an event sponsored by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota.

Romney, who is generally considered the frontrunner for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, will discuss “The Case for American Greatness” (based on his recent book, “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness”), and Pawlenty is billed as the event’s “special guest.”

General admission to the event, which will be held at the Sofitel Minneapolis in Bloomington, is $30, which includes a ticket to hear Romney’s speech and a dessert reception. For $500, you can get a reserved table for 10 people at the speech and dessert reception, plus five autographed copies of Romney’s book; a price of $1,000 per couple gets you a private dinner with Romney, a private reception, a photo opportunity, two autographed books and a table for 10 at the speech and dessert reception.

For $5,000, supporters can be “dinner hosts,” which includes two seats at Romney’s table for dinner, plus a private reception, a photo opportunity, two autographed books and a table for 10 at the speech and dessert reception.

For more information, call 612-354-2160 or e-mail Christina Pajak.

David M. Ross has been appointed to the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center board of directors.

Ross, of Duluth, has been president and chief executive officer of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce since 1997. He previously worked in executive positions at health and rehabilitation centers in the state.

The board administers, promotes and operates the Duluth Convention Center and is made up of 11 members, including four appointed by the governor and seven by the mayor of Duluth.

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners is seeking applicants for a vacancy on the Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District Board.

The vacancy comes with the resignation of board member Kristine Sundberg, whose term ends July 31, 2011.

The board is responsible for coordinating management of water and related land resources within the areas of Riley, Purgatory and Bluff creeks in southwest Hennepin and northeast Carver counties. Board members may not be public officers of the county, state or federal government and must be a resident of the district.

It is helpful for board members to have backgrounds in water conservation, development, law, engineering, the environment or public engineering. Members serve three-year terms.

The application deadline is April 15. For more information or to apply online, visit the Hennepin County website.

One person has been appointed and two reappointed to the Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards.

The new appointee is Judge Shaun R. Floerke of Duluth, and the reappointed members are William J. Egan of Edina and Cynthia C. Jepsen of Marine on St. Croix.

Floerke has been a Sixth Judicial District trial court judge in Duluth since 2004, and is assistant chief judge of the judicial district. He previously worked as a private attorney and in the St. Louis County attorney’s office. He was appointed to the board as a trial court judge member.

Egan is an attorney, partner and chair of the labor and employment law and litigation practice group for the Oppenheimer, Wolff and Donnelly law firm in Minneapolis. He also has been an adjunct instructor at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. Egan has been a member of the board since 2006 and currently serves as its chair; he was reappointed as an attorney member.

Jepsen is a principal contract lobbyist and consultant for Capital Resource. She previously held positions in regulatory affairs and government, including a number of jobs in former Gov. Arne Carlson’s administration. She has been a member of the board since 2006 and was reappointed as a public member.

The Board on Judicial Standards investigates allegations of misconduct by Minnesota judges and referees and recommends discipline to the Minnesota Supreme Court. It is made up of 10 members, all appointed by the governor.

Lakeville attorney Stephen Baker has announced his candidacy for judge in Minnesota’s First Judicial District.

Baker is a Minnesota native who spent 15 years as a prosecutor in the state’s First and Fourth Judicial Districts. He has been a member of the Criminal Justice System DWI Task Force since 1997 and a volunteer arbitrator for the Minnesota and North Dakota Better Business Bureau for more than 10 years.

The First Judicial District includes the counties of Scott, Carver, Dakota, Goodhue, Sibley, McLeod and LeSueur.

Timothy J. Morin has been appointed to the Midwestern Higher Education Commission.

Morin, of Minneapolis, is a strategic marketing and business development executive with an emphasis in e-commerce and software development. He is executive vice president of business development, marketing and sales for Four51 Inc. of Edina.

He replaces David Laird on the commission as the governor’s designee.

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact is an interstate compact of 12 Midwestern states that works to advance education through cooperation. It is made up of five members from each state, including three gubernatorial appointees.

Four people have been appointed and one reappointed to the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice.

Debbie Boe, V. John Ella, Kelli Johnson and Dr. Jon V. Thomas were appointed to the board, and Dr. Gregory B. Snyder was reappointed, all to four-year terms.

Boe, of Chaska, is a paralegal for the Gislason and Hunter law firm in Minneapolis. She also owns and operates Debbie’s Legal and Geneaological Services. She was appointed to the board as a public member.

Ella, of Robbinsdale, is an attorney of counsel to the Jackson Lewis law firm of Minneapolis. He previously worked for law firms in Minneapolis and Willmar and was appointed to the board as a public member.

Johnson, of St. Paul, is a senior research fellow at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She previously served on the board from 2004 to 2008 and was appointed as a public member.

Thomas, of Vadnais Heights, is an otolaryngologist and chief operating officer of Ear, Nose and Throat SpecialtyCare of Minnesota. He is also chief of staff-elect and a member of the senior management team at United Hospital in St. Paul. He was appointed to the board as a physician member.

Snyder, of Minnetrista, is an assistant clinical professor and fellowship director of vascular and interventional radiology at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine. He also co-founded InterRad Medical Corp., a medical device company that received an exclusive patent for a subcutaneous catheter anchoring system. He was reappointed as a physician member.

The Board of Medical Practice is responsible for licensing and disciplining physicians, as well as the regulation of acupuncturists, athletic trainers, physician assistants and respiratory care practitioners. It consists of 16 members, all appointed by the governor.