Minnesota / Transportation Department

Agency file

Transportation Department

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

The Transportation Department plans, builds, and maintains transportation infrastructure — roads, bridges, transit, and motor-vehicle services.

In 2025, this agency had 6,009 employees with median total compensation of $74,811; the highest distinct record was $222,661.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $452.5M
Employees: 6,009
Median total: $74,811
Highest record: $222,661

What the records show

Compensation analytics

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

Salary distribution

$169$151,286+

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

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 6,009 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($74,811) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $72,071 (96%)
Overtime — $1,857 (2%)
Other — $1,369 (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

$22,141

$60,698

$74,811

$96,121

$116,640

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $116,640 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $22,141. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Transp Generalist

1,385 · $63,783

Transp Generalist Senior

529 · $70,954

Transp Specialist

367 · $78,937

Engineering Specialist

226 · $95,514

Engineer Princ

196 · $129,142

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	$411.3M —	5,582 —	$72,251 —
2025	$452.5M ▲ 10.0%	6,009 ▲ 7.6%	$74,811 ▲ 3.5%

Record list

Employees

Page 5

David Klema

Electronic Commun Assistant Directo/Transportation Department

2025 total comp

$146,247

Sub-department: Statewide Radio Communications
Base pay: $143,247
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $3,000
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $146,247
Hire date: 1998-10-26
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 22
Union / bargaining unit: Manager
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 220
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Transportation Department, David Klema serves as a Electronic Commun Assistant Directo within Statewide Radio Communications. They have served since 1998 (about 27 years), working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $146,247. Their bargaining unit is Manager.

Michael Kruse

Engineer Senior Administrative/Transportation Department

2025 total comp

$145,845

Sub-department: Project Delivery
Base pay: $145,845
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $145,845
Hire date: 2009-01-21
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 22
Union / bargaining unit: Manager
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 220
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Michael Kruse is a Engineer Senior Administrative at Transportation Department within Project Delivery. Their tenure dates to 2009, about 16 years, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $145,845. Their bargaining unit is Manager.

Heather Lukes

Engineer Senior Administrative/Transportation Department

2025 total comp

$145,598

Sub-department: ADE Program Support
Base pay: $145,598
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $145,598
Hire date: 2009-02-02
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 22
Union / bargaining unit: Manager
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Olmsted

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 220
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Heather Lukes works as a Engineer Senior Administrative for Transportation Department within Ade Program Support. Hired in 2009, they have about 16 years of service as a full-time employee. Heather earned $145,598 in 2025. Union affiliation: Manager.

Eric Embacher

Engineer Administrative/Transportation Department

2025 total comp

$145,589

Sub-department: Northeast Resident Office
Base pay: $143,143
Overtime: $2,446
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $145,589
Hire date: 1998-02-18
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 15
Union / bargaining unit: MN Govt Engineers Council
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Washington

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 212
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Eric Embacher holds the role of Engineer Administrative at Transportation Department within Northeast Resident Office. They have served since 1998 (about 27 years) as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $145,589. Their bargaining unit is MN Govt Engineers Council.

Brett Mahnke

Engineering Specialist/Transportation Department

2025 total comp

$145,554

Sub-department: Design Build 494
Base pay: $95,512
Overtime: $48,203
Other pay: $1,839
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $145,554
Hire date: 2004-09-07
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 5
Union / bargaining unit: MN Govt Engineers Council
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: -

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 212
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Brett Mahnke is a Engineering Specialist at Transportation Department within Design Build 494. Their tenure dates to 2004, about 21 years, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $145,554. Union affiliation: MN Govt Engineers Council.

Timothy Andersen

Engineer Administrative/Transportation Department

2025 total comp

$145,444

Sub-department: Materials & Road Research
Base pay: $143,155
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $2,289
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $145,444
Hire date: 1984-07-31
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 15
Union / bargaining unit: MN Govt Engineers Council
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 212
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Timothy Andersen is a Engineer Administrative at Transportation Department within Materials & Road Research. Hired in 1984, they have about 41 years of service, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $145,444. Their bargaining unit is MN Govt Engineers Council.

Mark Nelson

Transp Planning Director/Transportation Department

2025 total comp

$145,340

Sub-department: Transit Operations
Base pay: $98,075
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $47,264
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $145,340
Hire date: 2003-09-15
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 22
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: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 220
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Mark Nelson is a Transp Planning Director at Transportation Department within Transit Operations. They have served since 2003 (about 22 years), working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $145,340. They are represented by Manager.

Kelly Brunkhorst

Engineer Senior Administrative/Transportation Department

2024 total comp

$145,316

Sub-department: District 8 Willmar
Base pay: $143,716
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,600
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $145,316
Hire date: 2000-01-05
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 22
Union / bargaining unit: Manager
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Mcleod

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: Yes
Agency Number: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 220
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Kelly Brunkhorst works as a Engineer Senior Administrative for Transportation Department within District 8 Willmar. They have served since 2000 (about 24 years) as a full-time employee. Kelly earned $145,316 in 2024. They are represented by Manager.

Dale Gade

Transp Planning Director/Transportation Department

2025 total comp

$145,296

Sub-department: North Area Manager
Base pay: $145,296
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $145,296
Hire date: 2009-01-07
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 22
Union / bargaining unit: Manager
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 220
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Dale Gade works as a Transp Planning Director for Transportation Department within North Area Manager. They have served since 2009 (about 16 years) as a full-time employee. Dale earned $145,296 in 2025. Their bargaining unit is Manager.

Dan Penn

Engineer Administrative/Transportation Department

2025 total comp

$145,224

Sub-department: Golden Valley NW Resident Off
Base pay: $144,224
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,000
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $145,224
Hire date: 1988-04-13
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 15
Union / bargaining unit: MN Govt Engineers Council
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Hennepin

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 212
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Dan Penn holds the role of Engineer Administrative at Transportation Department within Golden Valley Nw Resident Off. Their tenure dates to 1988, about 37 years as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $145,224. Union affiliation: MN Govt Engineers Council.

Rebecca Parzyck

Transp Metro Right of Way Manager/Transportation Department

2025 total comp

$145,082

Sub-department: Right of Way Metro
Base pay: $145,082
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $145,082
Hire date: 1993-06-16
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 20
Union / bargaining unit: Manager
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: T79
Bargaining Unit Number: 220
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Rebecca Parzyck is a Transp Metro Right of Way Manager at Transportation Department within Right of Way Metro. They have served since 1993 (about 32 years), working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $145,082. Their bargaining unit is Manager.