Minnesota labor federation taps first female leader

Shar Knutson has been elected president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, becoming the first woman to lead the state’s largest labor federation. Knutson was widely expected to face off against two other challengers for the post: Bill McCarthy, president of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, and Mary Kathryn Ricker, head of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers. But only McCarthy and Knutson were ultimately nominated, with the latter prevailing on the first ballot.