IRRRB’s Quick Hiring Of Joe Radinovich For $100K Raises Questions

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he’ll tighten hiring rules after a prominent Iron Range Democrat was hired for a civil service job without going through the normal hiring process.

The Star Tribune reports that Walz’s move comes after Joe Radinovich, a former state legislator, was fast-tracked for a job at the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board.

The weekly Timberjay newspaper first reported on Radinovich’s unusual hiring in which the $100,000-a-year job posting time was cut from the usual 21 days to 24 hours.

The Timberjay also reported that an organizational chart produced by board staff nearly a week before the posting listed Radinovich in the job.

IRRR Human Resources Director Barbara Sanders said in a memo requesting the short posting period that it was necessary for several reasons, including meeting the governor’s expectations.

For more details on the Timberjay’s report, click here.