McIntosh looks back on county attorney career

After working for more than two decades in the Steele County Attorney’s office, Daniel McIntosh has plenty of memories to sift through.

He spent his final day in public service last week, after submitting his resignation in April.

McIntosh graduated from law school in 2001, clerked briefly for a district judge in Hennepin County, then was hired by former County Attorney Doug Ruth in December of that year.

“It was really my first job in practice,” he said. “(Ruth) was an incredible county attorney… I was very lucky to work with him.”

Almost a decade later, McIntosh–then assistant county attorney–was appointed to fill the last year of Ruth’s term. In November 2010, he won his first full term.

“One of the things early on was that the office had a lot of experienced people who left due to retirement, and one was appointed as judge,” he recalled. “I had to kind of do a complete rebuild and was able to bring in some really talented people, and in that time, we were able to make some really good changes.”

Among his memories are “a few very serious murder cases.”

“You’re dealing with grieving family members and victims… To pursue those cases and get a good result was really gratifying,” he said.

On the civil side, McIntosh has found that county boards have changed over the years and “sometimes the focus is a little different overall.”

“I’ve enjoyed working with all of the commissioners,” he said. “The theme of this current board has been wrapping up loose ends.”

That has included transferring ownership of Park Place assisted living and Cedarview skilled nursing care facilities in 2019. He also mentioned the sale of a county-owned property at North Street and Hoffman Drive. A Holiday station store built there opened its doors late last year.

McIntosh said he always enjoyed working in the county attorney’s office, even from his early days.

“The attorneys and staff are extremely dedicated, and very hard-working individuals, who are always focused on doing the right thing,” he said. “That service to the public should stay at a very high level.” 

Now entering private practice at a Rochester firm, McIntosh said he looks forward to the challenge of working with clients, building relationships and “diving into something for a business or an individual to find out what their needs and goals are.”