It’s been more than three decades since McLeod County saw a change in the county attorney’s office.
Mike Junge joined the county attorney’s office in 1982, was appointed by the County Board to lead the department in 1987 and has served in the role ever since. But his announcement earlier this year that he would be retiring at the end of his current term gives county voters a rare decision to make as they cast their ballots this fall.
Two candidates are vying to fill the position, both boasting significant legal experience. Ryan Hansch, a Brownton resident, is criminal division chief in the Blue Earth County Attorney’s Office in Mankato, where he’s served for the past nine years. Amy Olson Wehseler has served as assistant attorney in McLeod County for 23 years.
Three main areas of responsibility fall under the County Attorney’s Office, including: criminal actions tried on behalf of the State of Minnesota; representation in civil matters and providing legal advice to county departments; and providing representation on behalf of McLeod County in juvenile proceedings.
Both candidates say they are prepared through their career experiences to take on the role as the county’s chief legal authority.
“I know the strengths of the office and what needs to be improved,” Olson Wehseler said. “I’m confident that I am the most experienced, trusted, and qualified candidate. I care deeply about our community and the staff in the county attorney’s office. My opponent has never practiced law in McLeod County. He’s a stranger to the local justice system in McLeod County and experience matters.”
While he’s not served in the McLeod County Attorney’s Office, however, Hansch is not stranger to the life in the county.
Born and raised in McLeod County, Hansch and his wife and three daughters live in rural Brownton. He currently serves as volunteer firefighter and first responder with the Brownton Fire Department. He also serves on the board of directors of the Brownton Food Shelf and the Brownton Baseball Association Board, he said.
“I’m committed to working to ensure county families live in safe communities, where they can grow and thrive,” Hansch said. “I have outside experience leading a team of prosecutors and legal staff, and I’ve had the op-portunity to start initiatives from the ground-up and implement them to better the communities that I’ve served. I think the timing is right for new leadership and a fresh perspective to the McLeod County Attorney’s Office.”
Hansch has been a prosecutor since 2010. His experiences include handling adult, juvenile, and civil matters with the Redwood County Attorney’s Office and Winona County Attorney’s Office.
Being a county attorney is nothing glamorous. A review of McLeod County Jail rosters reflects bookings for offenses that are drug-related, acts of theft, and violence such as assault and sex crimes.
Hansch said chemical dependency is “at the base of a lot of those issues. Addiction drives our substance abuse crimes, so addressing that in a meaningful way, especially with the arrival of fentanyl into our communities — how devastating that can be — drug abuse and addiction is going to be a primary concern.”
Olson Wehseler tells of her experience in criminal prosecution.
“I have specialized in prosecuting child abuse, specifically, infant abuse and child sexual misconduct cases such as child pornography,” she said. “I love doing it. I’ve been very successful at it. Child protection work is when you have parents in the community that are not safe to have their children in their care for a multitude of reasons. We place the children into foster care and we attempt to rehabilitate the parents or terminate their parental rights if they are unable to be rehabilitated, and put their children up for adoption.”
She cited a recent case she prosecuted in which a Glencoe man violently assaulted a three-week-old baby. The man received a sentence of more than six years in prison. Olson sought a longer prison term.
Outside of her prosecutor duties, Olson Wehseler is involved in her faith community. She serves on the parish council at St. Anastasia Catholic Church in Hutchinson and said she has served as rector and Eucharist minister.
She also wants voters to know the County Attorney does not create law.
“We do not make laws. So voters are very interested to know how we feel about hot-button topics,” she said. “We do not have any control over what those laws are. The decisions we have to make are whether to prosecute people, or not. We have to be independent, impartial, and have the integrity, character, and the experience to make the decision that most affects people’s lives.”
Hansch said he believes “We have to connect youth and first-time offenders in the community with resources (addressing chemical dependency or underlying mental health concerns) to get them to work with health care providers.”
Hansch has experience in prosecuting more than 10 homicide cases.
“Those include cases of first-degree murder. I’m very proud of the work I’ve done on behalf of victims (and survivors) in those instances,” he said.
“We’ve also started a truancy intervention program in Blue Earth County,” Hansch added. “We seek to intervene earlier in the process than a truancy petition would be filed. We’re reaching out to those kids. The data is clear who you are going to be dealing with, in adult court. There’s a lot of overlap, there.
“Community and public service are things I’ve been committed to long before this election,” he said. “We do our job to seek justice without fear or favor, passion or prejudice, and represent every resident of McLeod County.”
