Former Minnesota Vikings star Paul Krause of Lakeville will retire from the Dakota County Board of Commissioners after 20 years, the county announced on Friday.

Krause, 72, has represented District 6 since 1995 and won't seek re-election when his term ends at the end of 2014, he has informed the county.

The race to replace him has already begun; retiring state Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville, announced in mid-March that she'll run for the County Board seat after leaving the Legislature. The seat represents Lakeville on the seven-member board.

Krause, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who also played for Washington, holds the all-time NFL record for interceptions with 81. He played in all four of the Vikings' Super Bowl appearances.

"We'll all miss his steady and practical approach to our work," said Board Chairwoman Liz Workman. "Paul is a man who says what he means and means what he says. That kind of genuine, straightforward presence on the board has been invaluable to us all."

Krause is the chairman of the county's Physical Development Committee of the Whole and of the Regional Railroad Authority and vice chairman of the Counties Transit Improvement Board, a five-county body established in 2008 to invest in and advance transit projects.

DYLAN BELDEN