Agency file

Senate

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

The Senate is part of the legislative branch — making laws, setting policy, and overseeing government.

In 2025, this agency had 295 employees with median total compensation of $60,939; the highest distinct record was $226,735.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $19.8M
Employees: 295
Median total: $60,939
Highest record: $226,735

What the records show

Compensation analytics

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

Salary distribution

$4,424$172,129+

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

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 295 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($60,939) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $65,668 (98%)
Overtime — $8 (0%)
Other — $1,585 (2%)
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

$16,491

$25,434

$60,939

$94,525

$130,485

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $130,485 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $16,491. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Legislative Assistant I

55 · $24,631

Legislative Assistant II

22 · $56,255

Sergeant I

14 · $23,287

Committee Page

11 · $16,200

Committee Administrator I

10 · $62,683

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	$17.4M —	264 —	$62,145 —
2025	$19.8M ▲ 14.0%	295 ▲ 11.7%	$60,939 ▼ 1.9%

Compare

Similar departments

Departments elsewhere with the most similar mix of roles — a proxy for the same kind of agency, matched by workforce composition rather than name. Pay is not cost-of-living adjusted.

Board of Supervisors City and County of San Francisco80% match
Legislature Tennessee59% match
Legislative Department City of Seattle54% match
Metropolitan Council City of Baton Rouge / East Baton Rouge Parish52% match
Common Council - City Clerk City of Milwaukee48% match
Metro Council Louisville Metro, Kentucky39% match

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Kara Josephson

Committee Administrator IV/Senate

2025 total comp

$108,503

Sub-department: Majority Committee Admin
Base pay: $108,503
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $108,503
Hire date: 2023-01-11
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 9
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Senate, Kara Josephson serves as a Committee Administrator IV within Majority Committee Administrative. Hired in 2023, they have about 2 years of service, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $108,503. Union affiliation: Non-Employee.

Elizabeth Fraser

Committee Administrator II/Senate

2025 total comp

$107,775

Sub-department: Majority Committee Admin
Base pay: $105,174
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $2,601
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $107,775
Hire date: 2007-01-02
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 7
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Senate, Elizabeth Fraser serves as a Committee Administrator II within Majority Committee Administrative. They have served since 2007 (about 18 years), working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $107,775. They are represented by Non-Employee.

Mitchell Berggren

Committee Administrator III/Senate

2025 total comp

$107,357

Sub-department: Majority Committee Admin
Base pay: $107,357
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $107,357
Hire date: 2023-01-03
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 8
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Mitchell Berggren holds the role of Committee Administrator III at Senate within Majority Committee Administrative. Their tenure dates to 2023, about 2 years as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $107,357. Union affiliation: Non-Employee.

Wendy Haavisto

Legislative Assistant IV/Senate

2025 total comp

$107,127

Sub-department: Minority General Admin
Base pay: $104,671
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $2,456
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $107,127
Hire date: 1996-11-27
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 6
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Wendy Haavisto holds the role of Legislative Assistant IV at Senate within Minority General Administrative. They have served since 1996 (about 29 years) as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $107,127. Their bargaining unit is Non-Employee.

Gina Countryman

Deputy Chief of Staff/Senate

2025 total comp

$106,852

Sub-department: Minority Leadership
Base pay: $106,852
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $106,852
Hire date: 2005-01-31
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 12
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Senate, Gina Countryman serves as a Deputy Chief of Staff within Minority Leadership. Hired in 2005, they have about 20 years of service, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $106,852. They are represented by Non-Employee.

Jason Fossum

Legislative Director/Senate

2024 total comp

$106,245

Sub-department: Minority Leadership
Base pay: $106,245
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $106,245
Hire date: 2013-11-15
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 11
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Jason Fossum works as a Legislative Director for Senate within Minority Leadership. They have served since 2013 (about 11 years) as a full-time employee. Jason earned $106,245 in 2024. Union affiliation: Non-Employee.

Skyler Vilt

Media Relations Specialist IV/Senate

2025 total comp

$105,969

Sub-department: Majority Communications
Base pay: $103,476
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $2,493
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $105,969
Hire date: 2013-01-22
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 9
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Skyler Vilt is a Media Relations Specialist IV at Senate within Majority Communications. They have served since 2013 (about 12 years), working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $105,969. Their bargaining unit is Non-Employee.

Hannah Grunewald Noeldner

Fiscal Analyst III/Senate

2025 total comp

$104,283

Sub-department: Fiscal Analysts
Base pay: $104,283
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $104,283
Hire date: 2017-05-31
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 11
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Hannah Grunewald Noeldner works as a Fiscal Analyst III for Senate within Fiscal Analysts. They have served since 2017 (about 8 years) as a full-time employee. Hannah earned $104,283 in 2025. Union affiliation: Non-Employee.

Shemeka Bogan

Executive Assistant/Senate

2025 total comp

$104,078

Sub-department: Majority Leadership
Base pay: $101,627
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $2,452
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $104,078
Hire date: 2020-01-08
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 8
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Shemeka Bogan is a Executive Assistant at Senate within Majority Leadership. They have served since 2020 (about 5 years), working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $104,078. They are represented by Non-Employee.

Laura Paynter

Analyst II/Senate

2025 total comp

$104,075

Sub-department: Fiscal Analyst Counsel
Base pay: $104,075
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $104,075
Hire date: 2021-10-27
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 10
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Laura Paynter works as a Analyst II for Senate within Fiscal Analyst Counsel. They have served since 2021 (about 4 years) as a full-time employee. Laura earned $104,075 in 2025. Union affiliation: Non-Employee.

James Haggar

Executive Assistant/Senate

2025 total comp

$103,044

Sub-department: Majority Leadership
Base pay: $103,044
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $103,044
Hire date: 2024-04-16
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 8
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

James Haggar is a Executive Assistant at Senate within Majority Leadership. Their tenure dates to 2024, about a year, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $103,044. They are represented by Non-Employee.

Rachel Aplikowski

Director of Media Relations/Senate

2025 total comp

$102,773

Sub-department: Minority Leadership
Base pay: $102,773
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $102,773
Hire date: 2014-12-15
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 11
Union / bargaining unit: Non-Employee
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: L11
Bargaining Unit Number: 223
Branch: Legislative
Branch Code: Legislative
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Senate, Rachel Aplikowski serves as a Director of Media Relations within Minority Leadership. They have served since 2014 (about 11 years), working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $102,773. Their bargaining unit is Non-Employee.