After more than three decades as Dakota County Attorney, James Backstrom told staffers Friday morning that he plans to retire next month.
Backstrom’s office confirmed that he plans to retire on Feb. 27. He has served as county attorney since 1987 and spent his entire career in the Dakota County Attorney’s Office.
Backstrom's term goes until 2022. His successor will be chosen by the Dakota County Board of Commissioners.
Backstrom’s father was a firefighter and his mother was a beekeeper. He was raised in Duluth. His mother was seriously injured in a head-on car crash when he was a teenager. The 15-year-old boy who was driving the other car had been drinking.
"I didn't know I wanted to be a prosecutor then,” he told MPR News in 2007. “But now when I look back at my life, I found my way into a career where I could do something to make a difference in those situations.
He’s known for his tough-on-crime approach, but has a hobby moonlighting as an Elvis impersonator.
Backstrom is a graduate of William Mitchell College of Law. Before taking over as county attorney, he served as an assistant county attorney in Dakota County for almost a decade, half of which was spent as head of the office’s civil division. He's also a former president of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association.
Backstrom’s office recently agreed to review the fatal Minneapolis police shooting of Dolal Idd to determine whether officers involved in the shooting should be charged.