Pat Pheifer

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Pat Pheifer

Reporter | Ramsey County Courts

Phone: 651-298-1551

Email: ppheifer@startribune.com

Pat Pheifer covers courts and other legal affairs in Ramsey County.

Dakota County judge is charged with gross-misdemeanor DWI

Charges say Judge Michael Sovis crashed an SUV into parked vehicles in St. Paul on Christmas Eve.

Updated: January 20, 2013, - 07:21 AM

Man who plotted to kill Dakota County attorney gets 16-year prison term

County attorney's neighbor attempted murder-for-hire.

Updated: January 18, 2013, - 08:06 PM

Dakota County jail switching to private nursing contractor

The move should save taxpayers $160,000 a year.

Updated: January 18, 2013, - 06:04 PM

June 9, 2011: Death by totem pole becomes murder case against husband

Romantic Facebook messages unravel account of accident. Minnesota man who left for Texas after wife died faces murder charges.

Updated: January 09, 2013, - 02:44 PM

Dave Gisch retiring as Dakota County emergency director

After 29 years, he's got plenty of war stories to tell -- simulated war stories, that is.

Updated: January 04, 2013, - 06:15 PM

HealthPartners and Park Nicollet wrap up merger

With a single elected board, HealthPartners and Park Nicollet come together. Patients shouldn't see many changes, officials say.

Updated: January 01, 2013, - 07:39 PM

Data privacy ruling under review

The state Supreme Court will take a look at a decision granting a publisher access to public-works subcontracts.

Updated: December 26, 2012, - 07:17 PM

Christmas in Dakota County jail

Dakota County jail inmates miss their families, but these three say they're glad for the chance to turn their lives around.

Updated: December 22, 2012, - 11:11 PM

Jury finds high-profile death plot in Dakota County was real

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom was intended target.

Updated: December 07, 2012, - 09:33 PM

Woodward case goes to the jury: Was it revenge or a game of charades?

In John Woodward's mind, it was the actions of his one-time neighbor, Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom and two others -- not his own actions -- that landed him in prison in 2007 for multiple felony drug convictions, Rice County Attorney Paul Beaumaster told jurors Thursday morning.

Updated: December 06, 2012, - 05:03 PM