Supervised release worker named Agent of the Year

A state worker who helps law offenders turn their lives around was recently honored for his work. The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) recognized Michael Schommer with the Corrections Agent of the Year award.

Schommer is an intensive supervised release agent for the DOC, working with high-risk offenders recently released from prison. He trains other agents and is part of a team that covers a 13-county area in western Minnesota that includes Moorhead, Fergus Falls and Alexandria.

“Michael works tirelessly with the offenders he supervises to hold them accountable, help them change and make our communities safer,” said Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy.

Schommer has been a sandbagging volunteer during the Fargo-Moorhead floods and organized a group of offenders to help. He also partnered with local law enforcement to present the NetSmartz program at area schools to teach children safe online communication.

Schommer has been a DOC agent since 2005. Offenders sentenced to prison serve two-thirds of their time in prison and the last one-third in the community, supervised by agents like Schommer.

The Corrections Agent of the Year award is presented annually in conjunction with Probation, Parole and Community Supervision Week, this year July 15-21. The winner is nominated by peers as someone who consistently portrays a professional demeanor and who demonstrates commitment to the DOC vision and values.

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