NEW ULM - When he wasn't holding court Tuesday, Fifth Judicial District Court Judge John R. Rodenberg was busy packing boxes in his office, shaking hands and thanking district court staff on his last day of work at the Brown County Courthouse.
After 11 1/2 years as a judge in his hometown, Rodenberg was appointed Dec. 27 by Gov. Mark Dayton to fill an at-large seat on the Minnesota Court of Appeals in St. Paul.
"I like new things. I'm looking forward to it," Rodenberg said of his appointment to the Court of Appeals, which utilizes 19 judges to sit on three-judge panels and travel to locations around Minnesota to hear oral arguments.
The Court of Appeals was created in 1983 to give citizens prompt and deliberate review of all final decisions of trial courts, state agencies and local governments.
Court of Appeals' decisions are the final ruling in most of the 2,000-2,400 appeals filed each year.
Rodenberg talked about his judgeship in New Ulm.
"I hope the people who have appeared here in court felt they had a fair hearing on such an important day in their lives," he said.
His judge's chair will be filled by other Fifth Judicial District judges and retired judges on a rotating basis. Watonwan County District Court Judge Greg Anderson will take Rodenberg's seat the rest of the week.
For the time being, Rodenberg will commute to St. Paul from his New Ulm home.
"My wife Dianne and I will have to make a decision (if we move or not)," he said.
At the Court of Appeals, his office will be just down the hall from former Brown County District Court Judge Terri Stoneburner. She was originally appointed to the position by then-governor Jesse Ventura on March 8, 2000.
A 2010 recipient of the Rosalie E. Wahl Judicial Award of Excellence from the MSBA Public Law Section, Rodenberg has been active while working in New Ulm.
Past vice-chairman of the Minnesota Judicial Council, past chairman of the New Ulm Police Commission, a volunteer Mock Trial judge and former Mock Trial coach, Rodenberg coached baseball and officiated and coached hockey.
Prior to his bench appointment, he was an attorney with Berens, Rodenberg and O'Connor, a New Ulm law firm, and he served as part-time Assistant Brown County Attorney.
He received his B.A. from Saint Olaf College in 1978 and J.D. from Hamline University in 1981.
(Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).
