Veteran Official Fills Dayton Cabinet Labor Spot

ST. PAUL (AP) -- A veteran public official is returning to the top post at the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, the same job he held 20 years ago under the last Democratic governor.

Gov.-elect Mark Dayton named Ken Peterson to lead the agency that oversees workplace safety and worker's compensation laws.

Peterson has held a range of jobs in state and city government, including high-level posts in two state agencies and in the attorney general's office.

Peterson is the third piece of Dayton's mostly-empty cabinet.

Dayton has yet to name leaders of his budget, tax, education, public safety and natural resources departments - those that tend to get the most attention.

Peterson served as Labor and Industry commissioner under then-Gov. Rudy Perpich. Dayton was also a member of that cabinet.

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