Minnesota / Trial Courts

Agency file

Trial Courts

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

The Trial Courts operates the court system — adjudicating cases and maintaining judicial records.

In 2025, this agency had 3,104 employees with median total compensation of $61,906; the highest distinct record was $211,699.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $222M
Employees: 3,104
Median total: $61,906
Highest record: $211,699

What the records show

Compensation analytics

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

Salary distribution

$250$190,118+

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

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 3,104 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($61,906) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $70,796 (99%)
Overtime — $75 (0%)
Other — $660 (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

$17,238

$46,127

$61,906

$82,862

$158,775

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $158,775 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $17,238. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Jud Court Operations Associate

1,005 · $47,550

Jud District Court Law Clerk

427 · $61,903

Jud District Court Judge

282 · $190,117

Jud Court Reporter Steno

152 · $84,682

Jud Court Operation Supervisor

149 · $82,000

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	$210.8M —	3,118 —	$58,520 —
2025	$222M ▲ 5.3%	3,104 ▼ 0.4%	$61,906 ▲ 5.8%

Record list

Employees

Page 2

Karen Hentges

Jud Court Operation Supervisor/Trial Courts

2025 total comp

$104,145

Sub-department: 1st Dakota
Base pay: $103,395
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $750
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $104,145
Hire date: 2004-07-01
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 10
Union / bargaining unit: Agency Exclusion
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: J33
Bargaining Unit Number: 222
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Trial Courts, Karen Hentges serves as a Jud Court Operation Supervisor within 1St Dakota. Hired in 2004, they have about 21 years of service, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $104,145. Their bargaining unit is Agency Exclusion.

Thomas Van Hon

Jud District Court Senior Judge/Trial Courts

2025 total comp

$103,859

Sub-department: Retired Judges
Base pay: $103,859
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $103,859
Hire date: 1995-01-03
Employment type: Intermittent
Pay grade: 1
Union / bargaining unit: Agency Exclusion
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.25
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: J33
Bargaining Unit Number: 222
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Thomas Van Hon holds the role of Jud District Court Senior Judge at Trial Courts within Retired Judges. Hired in 1995, they have about 30 years of service as a intermittent, 0.25 FTE employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $103,859. Their bargaining unit is Agency Exclusion.

Catherine Celander

Jud Court Administrator I/Trial Courts

2025 total comp

$103,836

Sub-department: 5th District Staff
Base pay: $103,836
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $103,836
Hire date: 2000-07-01
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 11
Union / bargaining unit: Agency Exclusion
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Martin

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: J33
Bargaining Unit Number: 222
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Catherine Celander is a Jud Court Administrator I at Trial Courts within 5Th District Staff. Their tenure dates to 2000, about 25 years, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $103,836. Their bargaining unit is Agency Exclusion.

Timothy Kraus

Jud Inform Technician Specialist III/Trial Courts

2025 total comp

$103,679

Sub-department: 4th District Info Tech
Base pay: $103,679
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $103,679
Hire date: 2003-07-01
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 11
Union / bargaining unit: Agency Exclusion
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Hennepin

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: J33
Bargaining Unit Number: 222
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Trial Courts, Timothy Kraus serves as a Jud Inform Technician Specialist III within 4Th District Information Technician. Hired in 2003, they have about 22 years of service, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $103,679. Union affiliation: Agency Exclusion.

Shauna Wood

Jud Human Resources Generalist/Trial Courts

2025 total comp

$103,568

Sub-department: 4th District Human Resources
Base pay: $103,568
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $103,568
Hire date: 2023-09-05
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 10
Union / bargaining unit: Agency Exclusion
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Hennepin

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: J33
Bargaining Unit Number: 222
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Shauna Wood holds the role of Jud Human Resources Generalist at Trial Courts within 4Th District Human Resources. Their tenure dates to 2023, about 2 years as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $103,568. Their bargaining unit is Agency Exclusion.