Minnesota / Commerce Department

Agency file

Commerce Department

Source file: Minnesota — State Employee Payroll / ingested Jun 18, 2026

The Commerce Department regulates industry and protects consumers — licensing, oversight, and enforcement of standards.

In 2025, this agency had 474 employees with median total compensation of $84,542; the highest distinct record was $232,253.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $39.8M
Employees: 474
Median total: $84,542
Highest record: $232,253

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$117$174,262+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 474 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($84,542) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $82,849 (99%)
Overtime — $64 (0%)
Other — $1,037 (1%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$35,619

$65,054

$84,542

$103,779

$120,895

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $120,895 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $35,619. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

State Program Administrative Principal

37 · $90,630

Commerce Analyst 3

22 · $91,025

State Program Administrative Intermediate

22 · $75,440

State Program Administrative Senior

20 · $84,622

Financial Inst Examiner Senior

19 · $102,356

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 2 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2024	$34.2M —	413 —	$81,364 —
2025	$39.8M ▲ 16.2%	474 ▲ 14.8%	$84,542 ▲ 3.9%

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Christopher Ness

Investigator Senior/Commerce Department

2024 total comp

$43,593

Sub-department: Enf Insurance Enforcement
Base pay: $36,586
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $7,007
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $43,593
Hire date: 1990-02-28
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 14
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: No
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Christopher Ness works as a Investigator Senior for Commerce Department within Enf Insurance Enforcement. Hired in 1990, they have about 34 years of service as a full-time employee. Christopher earned $43,593 in 2024. Union affiliation: MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Michelle Gransee

Pub Util Regulation Unit Manager/Commerce Department

2025 total comp

$43,459

Sub-department: Energy & Telecom Admin
Base pay: $22,415
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $21,044
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $43,459
Hire date: 2009-08-17
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 19
Union / bargaining unit: Manager
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 220
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Michelle Gransee works as a Pub Util Regulation Unit Manager for Commerce Department within Energy & Telecom Administrative. They have served since 2009 (about 16 years) as a full-time employee. Michelle earned $43,459 in 2025. They are represented by Manager.

Alys Edelweiss

Central Services Administrative Specialist/Commerce Department

2025 total comp

$42,737

Sub-department: Admin Services Director
Base pay: $42,737
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $42,737
Hire date: 2023-09-13
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 60
Union / bargaining unit: Clerical
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 206
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Commerce Department, Alys Edelweiss serves as a Central Services Administrative Specialist within Administrative Services Director. Their tenure dates to 2023, about 2 years, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $42,737. They are represented by Clerical.

Matthew Reed

Financial Inst Assistant Examiner/Commerce Department

2025 total comp

$42,516

Sub-department: FE Banking South
Base pay: $42,516
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $42,516
Hire date: 2024-11-20
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 9
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Commerce Department, Matthew Reed serves as a Financial Inst Assistant Examiner within Fe Banking South. Their tenure dates to 2024, about a year, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $42,516. They are represented by MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Karah Gross

Commerce Analyst 3/Commerce Department

2025 total comp

$41,400

Sub-department: Enf Fraud Invest - Group 1
Base pay: $40,443
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $958
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $41,400
Hire date: 2019-07-22
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 12
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Commerce Department, Karah Gross serves as a Commerce Analyst 3 within Enf Fraud Invest - Group 1. Their tenure dates to 2019, about 6 years, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $41,400. They are represented by MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Chase Christopherson

State Program Administrative Principal/Commerce Department

2025 total comp

$41,115

Sub-department: Energy Market Transformation
Base pay: $41,115
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $41,115
Hire date: 2024-12-04
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 14
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Chase Christopherson works as a State Program Administrative Principal for Commerce Department within Energy Market Transformation. They have served since 2024 (about a year) as a full-time employee. Chase earned $41,115 in 2025. Their bargaining unit is MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Kari Satterness

Commerce Analyst 1/Commerce Department

2025 total comp

$40,964

Sub-department: Enf Insurance Enforcement
Base pay: $40,964
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $40,964
Hire date: 2024-09-25
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 8
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Commerce Department, Kari Satterness serves as a Commerce Analyst 1 within Enf Insurance Enforcement. They have served since 2024 (about a year), working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $40,964. They are represented by MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Azsareea Smith

Commerce Analyst 1/Commerce Department

2025 total comp

$40,964

Sub-department: Enf Insurance Enforcement
Base pay: $40,964
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $40,964
Hire date: 2024-09-25
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 8
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Azsareea Smith is a Commerce Analyst 1 at Commerce Department within Enf Insurance Enforcement. They have served since 2024 (about a year), working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $40,964. Union affiliation: MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Manuel Alas

Weights & Measures Investigator 1/Commerce Department

2025 total comp

$39,674

Sub-department: Weights & Measures Lt Duty
Base pay: $39,674
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $39,674
Hire date: 2024-09-25
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 68
Union / bargaining unit: Technical
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 207
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Manuel Alas holds the role of Weights & Measures Investigator 1 at Commerce Department within Weights & Measures Lieutenant Duty. Their tenure dates to 2024, about a year as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $39,674. Their bargaining unit is Technical.

Tessa Kothlow

Planner Senior State/Commerce Department

2025 total comp

$37,418

Sub-department: EERA Staff
Base pay: $37,418
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $37,418
Hire date: 2024-05-22
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 10
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Tessa Kothlow is a Planner Senior State at Commerce Department within Eera Staff. Hired in 2024, they have about a year of service, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $37,418. Union affiliation: MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Cade Bolen

State Program Administrative Principal/Commerce Department

2025 total comp

$37,298

Sub-department: Programs for Innovation & Equi
Base pay: $36,466
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $833
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $37,298
Hire date: 2023-12-20
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 14
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: B13
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Cade Bolen holds the role of State Program Administrative Principal at Commerce Department within Programs for Innovation & Equi. They have served since 2023 (about 2 years) as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $37,298. They are represented by MN Assoc of Professional Empl.