Johnson & Sundeen appointed as Acting States Attorney
Patrice Bumstead
Farmer Editor
In December 2024, the BOCC accepted the resignation of State’s Attorney Ty Skarda.
Skarda served as the States Attorney for McKenzie County for six years. He stated in the Dec. 11, special board meeting “It’s been a great experience. A great learning experience. My staff is incredible, the clerks and judges are great to work with, and I have no regrets about taking the position. It’s been very fulfilling.”
Attorney Virgina Perez was appointed as Acting States Attorney shortly after Skarda’s resignation.
The BOCC originally scheduled a special meeting for Monday, March 10, potentially approve hiring Perez full-time to the position, but cancelled that meeting on Friday, March 7, following the resignation of Perez.
The details of Perez’s resignation has not been made public at this time.
The McKenzie County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) held a Special Meeting on Sunday, March 9, regarding the recent vacancy in the McKenzie County States Attorney Office.
During the meeting BOCC Chairman stated “ Johnson & Sundeen has offered to fill in... and start on Monday, to cover everything, so we have some breathing room.”
He continued “They are willing to step in...and right now it is open-ended, so we’re not in a pinch.”
Citizens have reached out to The Farmer with concerns and questions surrounding rumors stemming from multiple employees who have resigned their position within the past few months.
The Farmer reached out to Johnson & Sundeen for comment on the recent appointment, along with the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office for further clarification on the process of appointing special prosecuting attorney’s.
At the time of press, no response has been received from either office. The Farmer will continue its efforts to provide updates on this process as they become available.
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