Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Karen Duncan to a 3rd District judgeship, working out of Owatonna.
Duncan, who is currently chief public defender in the district, replaces Judge Casey Christian, who retired at the end of December.
Duncan previously had been in private practice and also was an assistant county attorney for Rice and Olmsted counties in Minnesota and for Benton County in Iowa. She earned her B.A. from the University of Minnesota and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.