Mayor Frey nominates Target executive to serve as Minneapolis city attorney

A high-level Target executive has been nominated to serve as Minneapolis' city attorney, Mayor Jacob Frey's office announced Friday.

Jim Rowader was nominated by Frey and must now be approved by City Council.

Rowader has worked for Target Corp. since 1994 and has served since 2010 as its vice president and general counsel for employee and labor relations.

Before joining the company, he worked for a private law firm and for the National Labor Relations Board, according to his résumé.

Rowader also serves as vice chair of the city's Workplace Partnership Group and Advisory Commission. He has served on boards for the Hispanic National Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU-MN) and the Minnesota Justice Research Center.

The mayor said in a statement that he is recommending Rowader because he "has built his career on a commitment to workers' rights and a constant push for racial and economic justice."

"His decades of work to make the legal system more fair and inclusive and expertise leading complex labor relations strategy will be invaluable to the hard work ahead in City Hall," Frey said.

A public hearing on Rowader's appointment is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 6, with a final vote by City Council on Aug. 14. The salary for the position has not been set but ranges from $165,122 to $202,221.

Erik Nilsson, who has served as interim city attorney since November, will return to his previous role as deputy city attorney. Nilsson took over on an interim basis after then-City Attorney Susan Segal left to become a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

LIZ NAVRATIL