Judge Savre to retire from bench March 31

First District Judge Michael Savre is retiring at the end of March after 13 years on the bench. He primarily handled McLeod County cases where he is chambered, but also presided over matters in every one of the seven counties that make up the state’s First Judicial District: Dakota County, Scott County, Carver County, Goodhue County, LeSueur County, Sibley County and McLeod County.
Savre was first appointed in April 2004. He comfortably won a contested election in 2006 and ran unopposed in 2012. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Luther College and earned his law degree at the University of Minnesota. He was a partner in the Glencoe firm of Gavin, Olson, Savre and Winters, Ltd, and practiced law for 23 years prior to taking the bench.
 “I truly loved being a judge. Every day was interesting and, because every person is unique, no two cases were ever the same,” Savre said. “There are some exceptions, but most people, when they come to the courthouse, are at a low point in their life. Whether they are being sued, evicted, going through a divorce, or have been charged with a crime, few people want to be in a courtroom. Whether or not it showed, I always tried to remember that,” he said. “The least I could do was greet everyone by name and wish every litigant ‘good luck’ at the close of their matter. Every person deserves to be treated with respect, no matter the choices made that brought them to the courtroom. I hope my demeanor on the bench expressed that belief.”
After he packs up his books and gavel (“never took it out of the drawer, not even once,” he insists), the judge intends to spend more time with family and maybe get in a round or two of golf. “I’m not certain what the future holds,” he closed, “but there are a lot of new things I have an interest in exploring – and I’m eager to get started.”