Michael Ekdahl swore in his predecessor to the 89th District Court. Now, he's filling the seat.

CHEBOYGAN — The 89^th district court will have a new judge stepping into the role this March, following a series of appointments from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Whitmer announced four new judges throughout the state on Feb. 13, including Michael Ekdahl, who was appointed to serve as judge of the 89^th District Court, serving Presque Isle and Cheboygan counties.

Ekdahl was appointed to fill a partial term, taking over the position after Judge Maria Barton’s retirement. His term will start March. 18 and expires at noon Jan. 1, 2025.

He told the Daily Tribune that he has thought about becoming a judge for a while — once he had enough experience under his belt to feel he was qualified.

“I'm really excited about it,” Ekdahl said. “I've thought about it for some time and then this vacancy came up. I'm really excited to serve the people of Cheboygan and Presque Isle counties.”

Originally from the area, Ekdahl graduated from Cheboygan Area High school before receiving a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Michigan. He received his Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School.

Getting to serve as a judge in the community he grew up in is what he’s most excited about in taking on the new role, Ekdahl told the Daily Tribune.

"I moved back here right after law school and I've practiced law in northern Michigan my entire career,” he said. “I'll be back in the courtroom just sitting in a different seat. I'm really excited about it. I think that I can use my experience to hopefully, overall, make the community a better place.”

He’s practiced law in Northern Michigan for 23 years. In addition to practicing law, he has served as a president of the Lions Club and on the board of directors for the Cheboygan Area Arts Council. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Straits Area Federal Credit Union, though his resignation from that role is effective in early March, prior to starting his term as judge.

Subscribe: Get unlimited access to our local coverage

In the role, Ekdahl said he expects to spend a lot of time handling misdemeanor cases, civil infractions and matters between landlords and tenants. He said he also expected to spend time working with the Cheboygan County Sobriety Court, which is for people that enter the court system on alcohol-related offenses.

He was a founding member of the 53^rd Circuit Court’s Drug and Sobriety Court Team as well, serving on the team from 2009-2019.

“I do have some experience with that, and that program is important to me,” Ekdahl said.

Whitmer also appointed Susan Metzger to the Van Buren County Probate Court; Amanda Pollard to the Eaton County Probate Court; and Ellsworth Stay to the 78^th District Court in Newaygo and Lake Counties.

— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Michael Ekdahl appointed to serve as 89th District Court Judge