Renee Worke Biography – Renee Worke Wiki

Renee L. Worke currently serves as a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals, having been appointed on June 9, 2005, by then-Governor Tim Pawlenty, a Republican. She secured her position through election in 2006 and was re-elected for another term in 2012.

Prior to her tenure on the Appeals Court, Judge Worke was appointed to the Third Judicial District Court in Waseca County on November 8, 1996. She was subsequently elected in 1998 and again in 2004, demonstrating her enduring commitment to the judiciary.

Judge Worke’s legal career began at the law firm Rietz, Rietz, Rietz & Worke, located in Owatonna, MN, where she was a partner. Her extensive experience also includes roles as an assistant public defender for the Third Judicial District, an administrative law judge for the child support division, and a judge for the office of administrative hearings. Her early career saw her serving as a law clerk for District Court Judge Urban J. Steimann in Faribault, MN.

An alumna of Minnesota State University Mankato, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, Judge Worke also earned her law degree from the William Mitchell College of Law. She further honed her expertise as a Humphrey Institute Policy Fellow at the University of Minnesota and attended the Institute for Faculty Excellence in Judicial Education at the University of Memphis.

Throughout her distinguished career, Judge Worke has garnered numerous accolades, including the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Minnesota State University, the Women Leader Award from the Ann Bancroft Foundation, the Woman of Achievement award from the Owatonna Business & Professional Women’s Organization, and the Rosalie E. Wahl Judicial Award of Excellence from the Minnesota State Bar Association.

Renee Worke Age

Judge Renee Lee Worke was born in 1958.

Renee Worke Salary

Judge Renee Worke receives an annual salary of $202,528.

Arrest

In December 2025, Minnesota Court of Appeals judge Renee L. Worke was charged with drunken-driving after she crashed her vehicle into a snowbank. According to charges filed in Steele County, she struck a snowbank on eastbound Highway 14 at the I-35 overpass in Owatonna at around 9:15 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29.

A deputy arriving at the scene found Worke had “glossy” eyes and was slurring her speech, the complaint states. She told police she was traveling back from visiting friends in Waseca, and allegedly said she had one glass of wine two hours earlier.

A deputy claims that Worke had “bloodshot” eyes and her breath had an odor of alcohol. When she exited the vehicle, deputies claim she had unsteady balance and “required assistance while walking back to the squad car.”

She was taken to the Steele County Detention Center to carry out sobriety testing and gave a breath sample, which showed an alcohol concentration of 0.16, twice Minnesota’s legal limit of 0.08. Worke is facing two DWI charges, Bring Me The News reported.

Renee Worke Political Party

She is nonpartisan.