Dunn County clerk of court Clara Minor retiring in April

By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE  —  “I told him not to do this! I told him not to do this!” said Clara Minor, Dunn County’s clerk of circuit court, as she made her way to the front of the county board room.

Minor, age 56, is retiring in April, and Dunn County Circuit Court Judge Rod Smeltzer called Minor to the front of the county board room at the March 15 meeting to praise her nearly 25 years of service to Dunn County.

“She has always had my back. She always had Judge Stewart’s back. And she has always had Judge Peterson’s back,” Judge Smeltzer told county board members.

“She is the kind of person we want and need,” he said.

Judge Smeltzer made his remarks during the circuit court’s annual report to the Dunn County Board.

“I have worked with (Clara) a long time and consider her a friend … she has given a great service to the county,” Judge Smeltzer said.

The Dunn County clerk of circuit court position will come up for election again in November of 2018.

Judge Smeltzer and Judge Peterson have appointed Katie Schalley to become Dunn County’s new clerk of court on April 7.

Minor, a Town of Otter Creek resident, has said she is retiring to pursue different interests and is planning to do some consulting work for other clerks of court.

Schalley is a Town of Spring Brook resident who is originally from Barron, Judge Smeltzer said.

Schalley previously worked in the Eau Claire County clerk of court office and has worked in Dunn County as a deputy clerk of court and most recently as a judicial assistant, he said.

Minor was the impetus behind Dunn County’s judicial system successfully making the transition to a paperless system, Judge Smeltzer said.

“Dunn County is ahead of the pack (on paperless). It is required for all (circuit court systems), but the others are still working on it,” Judge Smeltzer said.

Dunn County’s circuit court system officially became paperless January 4, 2016.